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Just called a 1 800 for HP to ask about scanning into computer and somehow connected to man who took over computer and told me I had been corrupted in the last 3 weeks through an email and that Trojan Horses were stealing my identity. For $200 he would fix it and it would take about 2 hours. To stay connected. I asked why an HP person would do this and he said because I was a good customer. Told him I had to call back. He gave name Aj Jones and number 1-800-448-9593 and I called Apple support who helped to clean up all possibilities of his stealing and not some one else. He said Apple could not help. Thanks for apple support. v

Posted on Jul 10, 2014 1:28 PM

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Answer 1

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Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Jul 10, 2014 1:33 PM in response to victoriafromfredericksburg

Don't follow any instructions from him. Don't call him back. I think you may have dialed the wrong number for HP support. Try using their website.

OS X- Printer and scanner software available for download

Mac 101- Using a scanner (Mac OS X v10.6)

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Answer 2

Jul 10, 2014 1:34 PM in response to victoriafromfredericksburg

You handled that well...some how you got on a "help" line that takes you to a scammer, there have been other users lately asking about some of these places that instantly say their computer has viruses, trojans, and on and on. A very good site to read through is Thomas Reed's http://www.thesafemac.com Tom is a regular contributor to these communities and does great work and help with attacks on members Macs.

Especially good is his anti-adware help...stop garbage from popping up.

You should also report the number you called to HP as the site was claiming to be theirs.

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Answer 3

Jul 10, 2014 1:59 PM in response to Kappy

Sad thing is that I did go to the website for the number.

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Answer 4

Jul 10, 2014 2:05 PM in response to victoriafromfredericksburg

It could have been a case of mis-dialing, or the website could have been hacked, that does happen these days.

Check the HP site for a communication link to report or give them feedback...they really would like to know these things.

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Answer 5

Jul 10, 2014 2:17 PM in response to Ralph Landry1

I have now contacted HP. It is up to all of us to do what we can to stop this stuff.

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Answer 6

Jul 10, 2014 4:02 PM in response to victoriafromfredericksburg

Sounds like a winner...thanks for sharing on here, we are all in this together.

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Answer 7

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Jul 11, 2014 5:16 AM in response to victoriafromfredericksburg

You were scammed, as the others have said.

The big question is: did you actually give him remote access to your computer, or did he just tell you that he was accessing your computer remotely?

In order to give him remote access, you would either have had to give him your Apple ID password and enable the "Back to My Mac" functionality, if it wasn't enabled already, or you would have to install remote access software that he told you to download. Did you do either of these things? If so, your computer and all your online accounts should be considered compromised. You will need to erase the hard drive and reinstall everything from scratch. See:

How to reinstall Mac OS X from scratch

(Fair disclosure: The Safe Mac is my site, and contains a Donate button, so I may receive compensation for providing links to The Safe Mac. Donations are not required.)

You will also need to change all passwords on all online accounts, especially your Apple ID if you gave him that password. If you gave him a credit card number, that credit card should be cancelled and any strange charges disputed.

If you did not do either of these things, he didn't actually have remote access and was just trying to trick you. If you did not install anything at his request, give him any passwords or give him a credit card number, you're safe and you don't need to do anything else.

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Answer 8

Jul 11, 2014 5:27 AM in response to thomas_r.

I did not give him any of the above. Apple techs helped me to check out the computer following my discussion with him. I do think he called by a similar number last night but I did not answer. Hooray for caller ID. That was scary. I have Apple protection I pay each year and it is so worth it to me as I am not tech davy. Thanks for support. When he said $200 I said adios. later, v

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Answer 9

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Jul 11, 2014 6:14 AM in response to victoriafromfredericksburg

victoriafromfredericksburg wrote:

I did not give him any of the above.

You should be okay, then.

Apple techs helped me to check out the computer following my discussion with him.

It's important to understand two things:

1) If you didn't give him remote access or install something he told you to, there would be no need for anyone to check out the computer.

2) If you did do one of these things, checking out the computer would be utterly worthless, because a tech would not be able to guarantee that your computer is clean.

I have Apple protection I pay each year

I'm not aware of any Apple protection plan that you can pay for yearly. They offer AppleCare, which is an extended warranty and support plan, but you pay for it once only, and cannot renew it. Are you sure that you're actually getting this protection plan through Apple? There are a lot of fake tech support companies out there, and some are known to use unethical advertising techniques to allow you to believe they are Apple. They will only admit they're not Apple if directly questioned on the matter.

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