Is it a scam?

[Ian87]

I bought a printer today and when I logged on to hp 123 a screen chat popped up and before I knew it he had done a screen connect and was using my screen to set the printer up. He then said “ it won’t work the printer is fine but you have problems that I can resolve if you pay 200$” I smelt a rat said no and shut down - is there anyone I can report this to ? Is there anything else I can do? He said his name was Richard and he was in Virginia.

[Cheron-Z]

Hi lan87,

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forum.

[Ohio49er]

I too have had the same experience when I went to the hp123.com website to download the drivers for my new OfficeJet all-in-one printer.    A customer service rep named "Bob" popped up and asked if I needed assistance.   I said sure and off to the races we went.  He connected to my pc via ScreenConnect (an app I use on my job), poked around for a while and then said he was having a problem updating the drivers.    When I asked what the problem was, he gave me some vague b.s. about something about temp files and what not.   Then he said he could fix the problem, but it would take the assistance of another tech and there would be a cost involved.

Now I know I was in trouble.   "How much?"  I asked.  The response was $200.    I responded there was no way I was going to pay $200 for tech support on a printer which cost me $50.   He then said he could offer the support for $100 and it would take 20 - 30 minutes.   At this point I knew it was a total scam and after I said there was no way I would pay to download the printer drivers, he broke off the remote session.   

I screwed up by allowing this jerk to access my pc,  waste my time and now I have to run every virus and malware scan I can think of and hope against hope I don't have a nasty little virus or ransomware  ticking away waiting to possess my computer.   I bear the bulk of the responsibility for this mistake, but I want to give some of the blame to Hewlitt-Packard itself.   There should be some way of ferretting out these phony websites and their scams.     There DEFINITELY should be a way to reach a real live person in HP Support without having to go through all these backflips and somersaults to report a serious issue. 

It gives me reason to be concerned about the level of HP's commitment to customer service and protecting their customers from scams, fraud and worse. 

[danny-r]

@Ohio49er

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.

[Ohio49er]

Thanks.  I got the message in my inbox.  I also called HP Customer Support and reported it.  I'm running all my virus and malware scans as well as planning to back up the pc.

Thanks for the heads-up.  

[Dmpro11]

 I too had someone come onto my computer after connecting w chat she directed me to tech support. They came into my computer saying I had all kinds of viruses. Is it so difficult for HP to enclose a bright colored warning paper with our products? For this reason I’m returning my printer.

[Dimsum80302]

Same thing happened and they brought up my PayPal log in screen and since I was feverish with the flu like an idiot I logged and sent them $99. Paypal would not stop transaction even though I called them immediately as the email used and website used "TechAxiel" had no working site nor email.  My bad but Paypal had power to stop payment and after much time appealing their decision, my bank is now working to get funds back with a $35 fee.

[Aldosylv]

Same happened to me. Guy asked for 99 dollars saying my computer files were corrupt

[sandytechy20]

@Aldosylv

Welcome to HP support community.

I am sending you a private message requesting few details. Please check the mailbox icon at the top-right corner of this screen.

I hope this helps resolve this issue completely.

Cheers.

[nikknack13]

The same thing all these people are saying happened to them, happened to me today too. Can someone from HP contact me please, to help me make sure these scammers are not still able to access my files & bank info?