Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Alleged tech support scammers settle FTC charges, (Oct 20, 2015)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

The operators of an alleged tech support scam have agreed to settle FTC charges that they tricked consumers into paying millions of dollars for unnecessary technical support services and software that was otherwise free, according to an FTC announcement. The terms of the settlement require Pairsys, Inc. and owners Tiya Bhattachara and Uttam Saha to: (1) turn over multiple real estate properties; (2) turn over the contents of numerous bank accounts; and (3) give up the leases on two luxury cars (FTC v. Pairsys, Inc., Case No.: 1:14-CV-1192).

The FTC suit against the defendants, which was filed last year, charged that they cold-called consumers, pretending to be representatives of Microsoft or Facebook. The FTC’s complaint also alleged that the defendants purchased deceptive online advertisements that led consumers to believe that calls to Pairsys were actually calls to companies’ legitimate technical support numbers.

Consumers who were cold-called, or who were drawn in by the misleading advertisements, were given a high-pressure sales pitch by operators in an overseas call center. The defendants would then: (1) request remote access to consumers’ computers, telling them that otherwise benign portions of their computers were actually signs of dangerous malware or viruses needing “immediate” repair; and (2) pressure consumers into paying for computer security or technical support services, usually at a cost of $149 to $249, but, in some cases, as much as $600.

The settlement includes a monetary judgment of $3,095,037.02, which is suspended pending the defendants’ surrender of the contents of numerous bank accounts and a safe deposit box, along with two pieces of real estate in Albany, N.Y. In addition, the defendants are required to terminate the leases on a 2013 Range Rover and a 2014 Maserati Quattroporte.

In addition, the defendants are banned from: (1) selling any technical support service to consumers; (2) participating in any telemarketing generally; (3) making any misrepresentations to consumers in the sale of a good or service; and (4) collecting money for any technical support service.

The order was filed in and entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews