Why did this happen?

[Treid2]

Yesterday, I bought a new 2800 E DeskJet. I took it out of the box and took the instructions  out and typed in 123 hp.com like I was directed to. I clicked on set up and was directed to someone who wanted to clean my computer by remote and sell me a very expensive antivirus package. I know this has happened to a lot of people. Why is HP not doing something about it?

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Treid2 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

Thank you for sharing this — that experience is absolutely unacceptable, and you're right to be deeply concerned. What you encountered is a classic example of a scam website, and it's deeply frustrating when it happens during what should be a simple product setup.

Let me walk you through what likely happened and how to protect yourself — and your new printer — moving forward.

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What Actually Happened?

You were likely misdirected to a fraudulent website that mimics the official HP setup site. These fake sites often look convincing and may show up in search results if typed slightly wrong (e.g., “123hp.com” vs. “123.hp.com”).

Here’s the important distinction:

Official HP Setup Site:
https://123.hp.com (note the dot between "123" and "hp")

Common Scam Sites:
Sites like 123hp.com, hp123.com, or those with ads or pop-ups offering "tech support" are not affiliated with HP. These often lead to scammers posing as tech support agents who try to gain remote access to your computer and sell unnecessary services.

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Why Is This Happening?

These scam websites:

Use similar domain names to trick users.

Pay for ad placement in search engines to appear above real results.

Are not owned or controlled by HP.

While it might feel like HP should be able to stop this, in reality, these scams operate outside HP's control. HP can report fraudulent sites to domain registrars and law enforcement, but scammers often change domains frequently to avoid shutdown.

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What You Can Do Now

Do not allow remote access to your computer unless you're 100% certain you're speaking with an official representative.

Avoid downloading anything from third-party setup websites.

Visit HP’s verified setup page:
https://123.hp.com — this will walk you through official printer setup.

Report the incident directly to HP here:
https://www.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp/validate-support.html
They may be able to investigate further or assist in protecting other customers.

Run a malware scan on your device using trusted antivirus software, especially if any remote access was granted or downloads occurred.

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HP Fraud Alert: Protecting yourself from scams

https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/ish_9502771-9497438-16

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Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye