I recently received a phone call from people claiming to be from Dell. They indicated that there was hacker activity on my computer, proceeding to remotely show me what the problems were. To fix and "block" these so-called "hackers," "Dell" connected me to third-party computer repairers, Computer Repair Gurus.
Computer Repair Gurus claims to be located in Florida, providing software to fix viruses and malware for rather high prices:
-1 year, protection for one computer: $99
-2 years, protection for one computer: $149
-3 years, protection for multiple devices (transferable): $299
As this is part of a larger scam and does not include only Computer Repair Gurus, users should be aware of various phone numbers and scam indicators:
-800-624-9896: This number appears on the cell phone as specifically being from Dell (and a quick internet search will tell you it's a valid number of theirs), and is the initial number they call you from. This is a masked phone number. Dell will not call customers with reports of hacks.
-786-375-9039: This number is Computer Repair Gurus, or may simply appear as "Florida." If you do not give them a valid credit card number (and I didn't give them a valid one!), they will call you from the "payments" department to try to process your purchase. They will keep calling.
-801-410-7837: This comes up as "Utah." Just another number the scammers use.
-888-416-7654: Unknown Name. Another scam number.
-Every individual you speak to (either from Dell or Computer Repair Gurus) will be Middle Eastern. They'll identify themselves with names like Jennifer, Mike, Alex.
There are very likely more numbers and names (I've lost track), but they're all BS.
I was lucky enough to avoid the full effects of this scam by providing a gift card number to them (and then promptly spending the balance of it). Hopefully you won't give them anything, but if you're unsure, a Visa gift card is obviously safer. And if you have any doubts about the legitimacy of the phone call you received, call Dell (or Microsoft, or whoever they're saying they work for)!
Computer Gurus Reviews
I recently received a phone call from people claiming to be from Dell. They indicated that there was hacker activity on my computer, proceeding to remotely show me what the problems were. To fix and "block" these so-called "hackers," "Dell" connected me to third-party computer repairers, Computer Repair Gurus.
Computer Repair Gurus claims to be located in Florida, providing software to fix viruses and malware for rather high prices:
-1 year, protection for one computer: $99
-2 years, protection for one computer: $149
-3 years, protection for multiple devices (transferable): $299
As this is part of a larger scam and does not include only Computer Repair Gurus, users should be aware of various phone numbers and scam indicators:
-800-624-9896: This number appears on the cell phone as specifically being from Dell (and a quick internet search will tell you it's a valid number of theirs), and is the initial number they call you from. This is a masked phone number. Dell will not call customers with reports of hacks.
-786-375-9039: This number is Computer Repair Gurus, or may simply appear as "Florida." If you do not give them a valid credit card number (and I didn't give them a valid one!), they will call you from the "payments" department to try to process your purchase. They will keep calling.
-801-410-7837: This comes up as "Utah." Just another number the scammers use.
-888-416-7654: Unknown Name. Another scam number.
-Every individual you speak to (either from Dell or Computer Repair Gurus) will be Middle Eastern. They'll identify themselves with names like Jennifer, Mike, Alex.
There are very likely more numbers and names (I've lost track), but they're all BS.
I was lucky enough to avoid the full effects of this scam by providing a gift card number to them (and then promptly spending the balance of it). Hopefully you won't give them anything, but if you're unsure, a Visa gift card is obviously safer. And if you have any doubts about the legitimacy of the phone call you received, call Dell (or Microsoft, or whoever they're saying they work for)!