JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There's a computer scam going around in Florida and News4Jax spoke with a woman who fell for it.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi recently announced complaints against companies allegedly involved in the operation of what are known as tech support scams. Jacksonville resident Laura Weston hates to admit it, but she fell for it.
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“I felt like a complete idiot,” Weston said. “I see people fall for these things all the time. It happens all the time."
Tech support scams trick consumers into believing their computers are infected with viruses and malware and get users to fork out of hundreds of dollars for what they think are repairs.
Weston got a call from someone claiming to be with Hewlett-Packard, telling her she had a virus on her computer. Ironically, she happened to be using the same computer at the time of the call.
The person claiming to be tech support told Weston it would be $200 for the service and $100 to remotely access her computer.
“I fell for it and gave him the money, and they remotely accessed my computer moving my mouse,” Weston said.
Shortly afterward, she felt like something wasn't right.
“I realized it was a scam and I called them and called them,” Weston said. “And (there was) either no answer or, ‘OK, I'll get my manager,’ and hangs up. It was a scam. It was bad.”
The scams are up about 13 percent since 2015, according to reports. Victims like Weston usually lose hundreds of dollars, plus their personal information gets put at risk.
“I did end up contacting HP and talked to them and they let me know that I was scammed,” Weston said.
Anyone who thinks they are being scammed can file a complaint with the attorney general's office. Click here for a link to its website.