What Happened

Anne has a small coaching business. Her five clients love working with her on healing past trauma and setting life goals. Anne also has a dog named Kelly who she adores.

Last week Anne was working on an email to one of her clients when her screen was filled with a message from Norton Antivirus, reminding her that her subscription was about to expire. There was a link on the screen, but Anne knew better than to click the link.

What Went Wrong

She closed the Norton screen and went to Google. She typed “Norton” into the search bar and clicked the first link. It brought her to the Norton site with a button “extend subscription.” She clicked the button and was told she needed to call.

The man who picked up the phone was very professional and nice. Anne remembers him as being one of the nicest customer service people she’s ever spoken with. He recommended that she purchase the five year extension for $700, and she provided her credit card information.

After the credit card transaction, he told her that he was having trouble extending her license as her computer wasn’t accepting the new license key. He asked her for permission to do it manually on her computer, which she allowed.

He was able to fix the problem, and they ended the call.

The Aftermath

The next morning, at brunch with friends, she told them how nice the Norton man had been. Yet as she told the story, she felt uncomfortable. She couldn’t pin down why she felt that something was off, so when she arrived home, she checked her Norton subscription. It reported that her license expires in August 2025.

She called her bank, and they said the credit card had been flagged for fraudulent transactions. Unfortunately, the $700 had already been processed, but all other transactions that had been made on the card in the past 24 hours had been stopped.

Anne called CyberWyoming in tears. What was she supposed to do next?

Our Advice

Our advice was to not turn on any devices until she had taken them to a computer shop for scanning. The next day the computer shop reported that her phone was safe, but they would have to reset the computer to factory settings. She was going to lose everything on the computer. We also reminded her about clicking on any sponsored ad in Google. Just because a sponsored ad says the link is going to Norton doesn’t mean it really is.

Not only did Anne lose $700, but she had to pay the computer store. Even worse, she feels betrayed by the “nice man,” and feels like she isn’t smart enough to avoid such an obvious scan.

Anne’s story is unfortunate, but it is not unique. The FBI reports that $924 million was lost to scams in 2023, and they believe this is a vast undercount. The FBI has published information on tech support scams, which include Norton Antivirus scams as well. 

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/tech-support-scams 

The emotional loss to victims is painful. Victims often feel shame or embarrassment and are reluctant to talk about being scammed. Although we assured Anne that it was not her fault – these scammers are professional and well-trained – this will linger in her mind for some time. We encourage all victims of scams to contact the AARP Fraud Watch Network and Volunteers of America (VOA) who have created a free program to provide emotional support for people impacted by a scam or fraud, called ReST. Visit www.aarp.org/fraudsupport to learn more about the free program and register.

In Summary

• Don’t click on sponsored ads.
• Carefully examine the link in your browser (the link Anne clicked was to NortonRenewal[.]ru, not Us.Norton[.]com.
• Never give remote access to anyone. Even if it takes longer, tell the technician that you want them to give you instructions and you will perform whatever action is necessary.