Lost 6 hours on a fake driver update scam last week

Some call came in saying they were from Dell support about a driver issue on my work laptop. I was stupid enough to let them remote in and wasted 6 hours of billable time while they poked around. They tried to sell me a $300 'lifetime support' package but I hung up when they asked for my credit card. Has anyone else dealt with these fake hardware support calls popping up more often now?

2 comments

2 Comments

ross.kevin1mo ago

Oh man, that sucks so bad, I feel your pain. Did they also have that fake urgency about some "critical security flaw" to pressure you? I had almost the exact same thing happen a few months ago with a "Microsoft certified technician" who spent over an hour running some fake scan on my laptop. They kept pointing at random yellow triangles in the system log and telling me I had ransomware, trying to get me to pay $250 for a "cleanup." It's crazy how these scams are everywhere now, I swear I get a call like that at least once a week. I just hang up immediately now, no more letting them talk.

piper_burns1mo ago

My dad fell for one of those "your computer has a virus" calls last year and it still makes me mad thinking about it. Poor guy was on the phone with them for like two hours and they got him to download some remote access program. They kept showing him fake blue screens and error messages until he finally gave them his credit card info for a $300 "lifetime protection plan." The bank caught it and reversed the charge thank goodness but now he won't let anyone touch his laptop without a fight. Funny how these scams always seem to target the people who are just trying to be helpful and cautious.