Security News > 2024 > March > FTC goes undercover to probe suspected antivirus scam, scores $26M settlement

A pair of tech support businesses accused of swindling marks out of their hard-earned cash have agreed to cough up a $26 million settlement following an undercover probe by the FTC. Restoro and Reimage - both headquartered in Cyprus and, based on the the US watchdog's complaint and settlement proposal [both PDFs], two arms of the same operation - have been running a pretty typical Windows antivirus scam since at least 2018, or so the regulator alleged.

"To replicate consumers' experience with defendants' marketing, FTC investigators made four undercover purchases of defendants' services," the FTC said in its complaint.

Once the Restoro and Reimage "System repair" tools were purchased and installed by FTC agents, a telephone number was displayed to call to activate the products.

The FTC charged Restoro and Reimage with violations of the FTC Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule.

George Avraamides, director of Restoro and Reimage, signed off on the settlement agreement, handing $26 million to the FTC to provide redress to any deceived netizens though without admitting fault.

When looking through cached copies of Restoro and Reimage's websites, we found those messages have been present since sometime in late July to early August of last year, making it unclear whether said "Strategic decision" was made in relation to the FTC investigation.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/03/14/ftc_antivirus_probe/