Latest news with #SamuelLevine
The Hill
11-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Computer owners duped in antivirus scam to get over $25M: What to know about payments
(NEXSTAR) – More than $25 million in payments will go out this week to customers who were tricked into paying for fraudulent tech support offered by two companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Monday that the payments are part of a an order against with Restoro Cyprus Limited and Reimage Cyprus Limited, both based in Cyprus. The payments follow a settlement that both companies agreed to last year. How did the scam work? Samuel Levine, former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a March, 2024, report that the two companies generated tens of millions of dollars using 'scare tactics and lies.' Restoro and Reimage took advantage of computer owners – many of them elderly – by creating the appearance of serious security issues, then using deception and other tactics to trick the unsuspecting consumers into paying additional money to solve the 'issues,' the FTC said. The scam would often start with fake Microsoft Windows pop-ups warning that viruses had infected the device and prompting the owner to 'scan' it 'to avoid more damage.' The FTC said in a criminal complaint that the 'scans' would trigger warnings of serious computer problems – regardless of whether or not there was actually a virus or other issue – that Restoro and Reimage software could fix. Canadian brewery offering 'Presidential Pack' of 1,461 beers: 'Just enough' for next 4 years After purchasing the software, which sold for $27 to $58, consumers were given a number to 'activate' it. When customers called, however, Restoro and Reimage telemarketers would instead sell them additional services and often tell callers that their problems were so serious that only a technician, whose services would cost hundreds of dollars, could fix it, according to the complaint. Among the many horror stories on social media, one person detailed what happened after Restoro told them they had a problem that could be fixed 'for about $40.' 'I let them access my computer and after about 30-45 minutes of screwing around, they said there were extra problems that would cost $200-$300 to repair (I don't remember exactly how much),' the person wrote on Reddit. 'By this time I was done with them and said no. She kept trying to hard sell me and eventually I hung up on her. She kept calling back.' The Redditor added that a local repair shop did a full scan of the device and didn't find any of the issues Restoro claimed were affecting the computer. What to know about the payments The FTC will be distributing the settlement money on march 13 and 14 in the form of 736,375 PayPal payments. Customers who are eligible to receive part of the $25.5 million will receive an email at some point between Monday and Thursday. The FTC advises people to redeem the payment within 30 days. Anyone with questions about the process can check the FTC's website or contact the administrator handling the payments, Rust Consulting, Inc. at (844) 590-1102.
Miami Herald
30-01-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Fashion Nova owes customers $2.4 million after hiding negative reviews, feds say
Fashion Nova blocked negative reviews from appearing on its website, federal authorities said. Now, the fast-fashion retailer owes nearly $2.4 million in refunds. The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 28, said it's sending checks and PayPal payments to more than 148,000 customers who filed a claim after shopping with the California-based company. Recipients are encouraged to cash their checks within 90 days or redeem PayPal payments within 30 days, the commission said. In March 2022, Fashion Nova agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle accusations that it tried hiding negative customer reviews, blocking those with 'ratings lower than four stars out of five,' the FTC said. The retailer, which bills itself 'the world's leading quick-to-market apparel' brand, was also ordered to pay back customers duped by its 'deceptive review practices,' according to the commission. Officials didn't disclose the refund amounts. 'Deceptive review practices cheat consumers, undercut honest businesses, and pollute online commerce,' Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said at the time. 'Fashion Nova is being held accountable for these practices, and other firms should take note,' he said. McClatchy News reached out to Fashion Nova for comment Jan. 30 and was awaiting a response. Under the terms of the settlement, reviews posted to Fashion Nova's website must accurately reflect the views of all other buyers who posted product reviews, court documents show. Customer reviews must appear regardless of their rating and remain unedited, the feds said. The FTC didn't say when customers should expect to receive their refunds.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Yahoo
Microsoft tests 'scareware blocker' for Edge that uses computer vision to detect scams
Microsoft is rolling out a new tool dubbed "scareware blocker," which uses machine learning and computer vision to identify a very pervasive type of online scam. "Scareware" has blighted the web almost since its inception, often in the form of fake antivirus software that claims to have detected a non-existent threat on a user's machine. They then either trick the user into installing a malicious program, or paying for software they don't need. Just last year, two tech support firms were forced to pay $26 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which had accused the companies of deceptive marketing practices, including using fake Windows pop-ups, to scam consumers. "These companies used scare tactics and lies about threats to consumers' personal computers to bilk consumers, particularly older consumers, out of tens of millions of dollars," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement at the time. Microsoft already offers some tools to block scammy websites that have been detected and reported elsewhere, but the new feature is all about blocking previously unknown scam tools when they attempt to open a full-screen page. Microsoft first teased the blocker at its Ignite conference in November, but now it's calling on users to help test the feature through a preview program in its Edge browser. Scareware blocker requires the user to activate the feature through the "Privacy, search, and services" setting in Edge. This adds an additional level of security to what exists within the likes of Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, which already looks for suspicious activity on web pages. Scareware blocker specifically intervenes if a scam tool attempts to open a full-screen page, a tactic that can make it more difficult both to identify a scam and circumvent it -- for example, a user might not know to hit the "Esc" key to exit full-screen mode. Microsoft said it used thousands of real-world sample scams to train the machine learning model that underpins scareware blocker. It then uses computer vision to compare these samples with new scams it encounters in real-time. If the tool suspects potential scareware, it will exit full-screen mode, stop any audio playback (e.g. an alarm or voice) that might accompany the scam, and give the user the option to continue to the page or close it completely. The fact that Microsoft is using computer vision to analyze users' screens might raise concerns. There are some parallels with Microsoft's controversial AI-powered Recall feature, which takes snapshots of users' screens to create a searchable history of everything they've done on the computer. However, with scareware blocker, Microsoft maintains that the machine learning model runs locally on the user's machine, and nothing is saved or sent to the cloud. To improve the model and broader Defender SmartScreen software, Microsoft is also soliciting feedback from early adopters, presenting them an option to share a screenshot of the scam with Microsoft. Users can also report scenarios where scareware blocker makes a mistake and blocks a genuine website. Sign in to access your portfolio
