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Summary: Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Omnitech Support for their role in a scam involving computer viruses.
Microsoft is working to fight a scam involving its name through litigation, according to CNET.
The scam the company is fighting involves scammers calling people claiming to be employed by Microsoft. The person on the phone says that your computer has a virus and that for a fee the employee can fix it.
The Digital Crimes Unit for Microsoft filed a civil lawsuit in the Central District of California on Thursday. It named Omnitech Support and multiple other firms in the lawsuit as defendants.
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The lawsuit claims that the defendants took part in “unfair and deceptive business practices and trademark infringement.”
Omnitech Support is a division of Customer Focus Services and has been alleged of using the Microsoft name, service and trademarks inappropriately to scam customers out of money or personal information.
The scam goes as follows:
The caller informs a person that a virus has been detected on their computer after telling them they are from Microsoft or a company partner. The victim is then convinced to install remote software so the tech can gain access to the computer. The scammer installs a virus on the computer and then charges a fee to fix it.
“In some instances, Omnitech has actually created security issues for victims by gaining access to their computers and installing malicious software, including a password grabber that could provide access to personal and financial information,” Microsoft said in a blog this week that announced the lawsuit.
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Microsoft worked with investigators who set-up the defendants named in the lawsuit. They used computers not infected by a virus and made contact with the defendants, who still claimed the computers were infected and spoke of a large fee to fix them.
In the legal filing, Microsoft claimed that Americans lost more than $1.5 billion per year due to these scams.
In the legal brief, Microsoft stated the following:
“Defendants have, without authorization, used and misused the Microsoft name and Microsoft’s registered trademarks and service marks in commerce in connection with the provision of phony technical support services. Defendants have utilized the Microsoft trademarks and service marks to enhance their credentials and confuse customers about their affiliation with Microsoft. Defendants then use their enhanced credibility to convince consumers that their personal computers are infected with malware in order to sell them unnecessary technical support and security services to clean their computers. In some instances, Defendants actually create security issues for consumers by gaining access to their computers and stealing information stored on them.”
Microsoft is asking for a permanent injunctions on the actions from the defendants and financial damages. Microsoft has also asked for a jury trial.
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