[stylist] Caution, remote computer repair and support

[Vejas Vasiliauskas]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for sending this.
While I've never had this scam, I was almost sucked into another 
one.  (Luckily I was in my LCB computer class at the time, so my 
instructor heard and intervened).
Basically I had to call Gmail Support, and a number popped up 
immediately on my phone that I could call, but I didn't check the 
number.  They wanted me to go to support.meAt that point, my 
instructor stopped me.  There is no such thing as .me
Vejas

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Donahue via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org
To: "'Writers' Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 11 Aug 2017 19:01:53 -0500
Subject: Re: [stylist] Caution, remote computer repair and 
support

Good evening everyone,

This outfit sounnds like a scam! We've received similar contacts 
from
companies claiming our computer was not working and they want to 
give it a
maintenance check.  We tell such folks that we already have a 
reliable and
trustworthy computer repair service and are very happy with them.  
I went on
further to say that if we need a computer repair technician we'll 
call one.
If they persist in "Checking our computer" which is a setup for 
them to
install milicious software we inform them we'll contact the Texas 
Attorney
General for advice.  The conversation abruptly ends.  This is 
excelent advice
to protect one's technology infrastructure from illegal hackers.

Peter Donahue.

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Bill Outman
via stylist
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 3:55 PM
To: 'Writers' Division Mailing List'
Cc: Bill Outman
Subject: [stylist] Caution, remote computer repair and support

Hello, list.



I am putting this out for a number of email lists I am on so 
different
groups I am in touch with can be aware of this issue.



As blind and visually impaired persons we depend a lot on our 
technology and
want it to be functional at all times if we can.



I have had some issues with my Windows laptop for some time, and 
I got an
urgent pop up while doing a Google search.  The notice said I 
should call
Microsoft Technical Support at a given number, only to find when 
I called
they were an independent firm claiming to have Microsoft and 
Apple
certification.  While the repair service seems to have good 
technical merit,
the aggressive sales, lack of full transparency of the company, 
inattention
to accessibility, and lack of documentation of the work and 
contract other
than a bare bones invoice all detracted from what they might have 
duly
earned.



The company is called Itech Services, also doing business as 
Agile.  They
finally agreed to a full refund today after I canceled my service 
due to
concerns about possible fraud and the sloppy practices I outlined 
to them.



They may actually be legitimate, though as I have said they are 
rather fast
and losse, but their business practices need a lot of work for 
them to be
truly top flight.  This had taken place over the weekend.  The 
first session
was this past Saturday, but required a Sunday session because 
they had left
my email disabled the first time.  The work entailed cleanup of 
malware and
application errors, and firewall installation.  But again it 
wasn't fully
documented where I could double check it to make sure harm wasn't 
done as
well, taking away from what appears to be technical merit.



So while this appears to have been resolved without major 
incident in the
end, it is a cautionary tale.  There a number of fraudulent 
operators out
there; my mom had been victimized by one, and it's a shame this 
ruins what
is a justifiable market slot.



Thanks for bearing with me on this story.



Bill Outman



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