Scam

[Masie2]

• Last night I couldn't get my Envy printer to print it was off line. Went onto hp support site and virtual assistant popped up. Was told a technician would ring me to help. He took over my computer remotely and told me my drivers were out of date. After a good hour of going into the depth of my computer he told me he would have to ring me back. For half an hour i watched him remotely going through data on my computer then he rang me back. He told me it was to cost me £249 for all the updates he had done and presented me with a form asking for my card number and bank details. I told him my printer was still showing being offline. He then said he was going to fix that. It took him another hour and a half to bring it online. It was as if he wasn't quite sure what to do.  He brought in the help of his co technician Neil and between them they sorted it. He (his name was Jimmy) then presented me with the form asking for my bank details again. I told him I was not going to complete it he said he would get a genuine hp representative to speak to me to prove it was legitimate.  The whole thing was a farce and I said no I was not going to give him my bank details until I had checked it out the following day. He said he would ring me the following day which he did do and I didn't answer it after discovering it was a scam number 01224012250.

So today I have checked with bank and no payments have been taken out. (I didn't know whether he had found my bank details from shopping sites whilst rummaging about in my comp). My printer is working now but what I am afraid of is if he has added any malware onto my computer. I have done a deep virus scan which appears to be ok. How would I know if there is anything corrupted on my computer? 

Is it safe to say I've had a lucky escape?

[Dragon-Fur]

@Masie2 

Welcome to the HP User Community.

I am sorry this happened.

There are a LOT of fake support sites on the Internet.

If you let someone into your computer and they had access to your data, then,

"No, it is not wise to assume you are safe."

You were not talking to HP Support - whomever had control of your computer is not likely to respect your privacy.

• Change every single password to which the thief might have gained access by being in your computer.
• Report the fraud to your bank to prevent the thief from taking your money.
• Use your best computer security software >> Scan your computer for malware, inserted data, unsafe software!

To those reading

Beware of Fake "123" Sites

The "Real Deal"

123.hp.com - Printer setup from the HP® Official site

https://123.hp.com/

The official HP 123 site is where you can find the appropriate (and free) software and drivers for your printer.

The official HP 123 site is not a website where odd chat boxes pop up on the screen and someone tries to offer you "Services" if you would just give out your credit card and information. Not.

• There are several “fake” sites listed (in search engines) for “123” – please make sure you are using the actual “HP” site.

• Notice the website address – the real HP site does not contain any extra verbiage.  For example, there is no “setup” or other extra bits in the address.

• HP websites are the only websites allowed to use the HP copyright circle/logo.  Look for the copyright on any website claiming to be HP. If in doubt, scroll to the bottom of the Website to find HP copyright logo.  Example:  “© Copyright <year> HP Development Company, L.P.”

• If you are asked for money to correct "issues" on your computer OR if the “help” wants to log into your computer, you are using a “fake” site. Do not give these people your information! 

From HP:  HP Fraud Alert: Protect Yourself from Scams, Report Suspicious Calls

Document includes links to USA and Canadian authorities to report the incident.

Excerpted

Recently, HP has seen an increased number of third-party support websites selling HP driver downloads or diagnostic tools. Many of these websites use the HP trademark symbol and claim to be official HP distributors.

If your product supports your operating system, HP offers your driver and software at no additional cost through the HP website.

Use caution when dealing with any website that asks you to pay for HP driver downloads or tools that claim to diagnose your HP products. These websites might not be affiliated with HP in any way.

Do not install BIOS updates from a motherboard manufacturer's website. Only install BIOS updates from HP. Installing BIOS updates from the motherboard manufacturer can prevent the computer from accepting an HP system recovery. This could result in a loss of data.

=================================================================

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Important

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Thank you for participating in the HP Community.

Our Community is comprised of volunteers - people who own and use HP devices.

[Masie2]

Thank you for reading my post and  your advice.  

I'm not really tech minded and don't understand a lot of the computer jargon (I'm getting on a bit in years)! I'd spent a good hour beforehand trying to get my printer online looking for advice on you tube etc. So when the virtual assistant popped up it seemed like help from heaven! 

My printer went offline because I had switched it off as well as my wifi in order to save electricity. Does anyone in the community know is it ok to switch printer off at the wall socket (not the off button on printer) to save electricity or will doing this cause it to be offline when I turn it on again? Thank you

[Repairatrooper · Accepted solution]

A quick explanation on how wireless printer communication works might shed some light for you. When a device like a printer is connected to wifi it goes through a process where it is assigned an network address (called an IP address). In most cases this address is supplied by the router (DHCP server). There is a pool of a certain number of addresses available and this pool is flushed (all addresses of devices not connected are deleted) on a time schedule but also if the device is power cycled. So what is likely happening is that when you turn on your wireless device and printer, a new address is assigned to the printer. There are methods to ensure that the printer has the same address every time which would probably eliminate that problem. Setting this up requires some technical skill, so it may be something you wish to ask your internet provider about.

[sandytechy20]

@Masie2

Welcome to the HP Support community.

I understand that you got a scam call and asked you to pay for the support, I am glad to assist you.

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.