This phone number is a scam and not HP Support: Edited

[Goodart2]

I had a question about my Instant Ink account; I needed to split the accounts between business and personal use.  No technical issues, no missing Instant Ink, etc.  I googled HP to try to get a more direct URL.  It sent me to a URL which listed itself as HP and was pretty sophisticated at looking like HP.  I clicked on it, and the webpage was perfect, down to the usual information at the bottom of the screens.  It directed me to call (Edited), which I did.

A man answered; the background sounded exactly like those scammy call centers you see on ScammerPayback.  I figured HP stock was tanking or they were running out of money to be using these clowns.  But I continued. He sent me back to this spoof website and started directing me to jump from place to place on my computer, eventually landing in my "System Settings." I realized he wanted to get remote access. I said, "This is an ACCOUNTING problem.  You don't need to get into my computer." He ignored me, and got short with me [another red flag]. But then he readjusted his tack and said that my subscription was closed and we'd have to set up a new one with a new credit card, and that in order to do this he had to get on my computer to change the HP settings.  ?????  

He directed me to the final setting and I just shut off the computer and disconnected it from the router. About 90 minutes later I logged back in.  The very first screen that popped up was black with an arrow dancing around.  I shut it down again.  I finally reopened and put it in "lockdown" mode, checked all of my financial accounts, etc, which were all intact.

I shut the computer off that night, but  logged in the next morning. My desktop display came up as usual.  But when I tried to use my point in the top menu line (to access my internet) the pointer was wobbly and wouldn't stabilize.  So I shut it down again.

I did a deep dive into the computer, including the Activity Monitor, and pulled out a vague "client" app/file which had been loaded onto the computer when the thief started in.  Basically, I had to houseclean everything - which took hours - and it seems to have been eliminated.

The lesson here is that this thief got into the computer before I granted him access through the normal setting.  Trust your instincts.  I don't think HP uses call centers in India.  Watch an episode of ScammerPayback on UTube to hear what these call centers sound like.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @Goodart2,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thank you for sharing the details. To help you further and ensure your account and devices are secure, could you please send me your case ID via private message? Once I have it, I can review the case and assist you properly.

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You can use this link as well: 

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Best regards,