[sb name="blog-top"]The other day a good friend of mine called me on the telephone. He is a very brilliant lawyer in New Jersey who represents one of the leading brokerage firms in Philadelphia. Anyway, his computer was apparently attacked by a bug, virus, bot, or whatever the hell tech-people are calling them these days. But that wasn't the problem. He had called his anti-virus provider (Norton) to resolve this issue before he had to report this possible leak of sensitive information to his client. However, to his surprise, a Norton operator was having him install ANOTHER virus that was quickly making his computer malfunction while he was following their directions over the phone. Now you see why I have omitted his name.
So how did this all happen?
Well, I'll tell you exactly what went wrong. Firstly, I have no idea how the first virus got on his computer. I believe it was something miniscule that a simple Norton "quarantine" could have eliminated. Only, my friend Google'd "Norton Anti-virus," and immediately dialed the number under the title "Norton Anti-virus customer service." He didn't actually open the search result to the website; he simply looked at the number and made the call.
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When he called the hotline and asked for help with his Norton antivirus, a man with an Indian accent, which anyone calling customer service is accustomed to, on the other side had him download additional software so he could gain control of my friend's computer to "help him" get rid of the virus. This is when I'm told the man changed security setting which made my friend nervous. Then he began downloading online anti-virus software not associated with Norton. This is when my friend quickly hung up and called me,as well as his client's point of contact. Now I'm computer expert. However, he was right in assuming that I could find the answer to fix his problem. Within 5 minutes we fixed his computer, and had that website reported to Google.
The bottom line is search engine results CANNOT be trusted. There are so many company's out there right now defrauding hard-working Americans simply by associating their scheme with top-shelf brands. Clearly these morons trying to get inside of my friend's computer were exploiting the outsourcing of people from India for customer service related issues.
Be careful whenever you are using the internet to resolve any issue regarding money, or privacy. The best way I have found to deal with online customer service is by saving emailed invoices, and using those contact means only. Good luck to you, and watch out for the wolves.
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