WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a $136,000 settlement with a California tech support company for alleged involvement in an India-based scam.
According to the FTC, Parmjit Singh Brar, who operates Genius Technologies LLC and Avangatee Services LLC, is accused of helping to support a scheme by Indian telemarketers who tricked consumers into buying "bogus" tech support services. The consumers were contacted by phone or through Internet pop-up ads which were "disguised" as security alerts, the FTC complaint states.
The FTC also alleges the telemarketers "claimed to be from well-known tech companies" and telling consumers their computers "were at risk" while persuading consumers to allow remote access to their computers. The company would then find "a serious cyber-threat" and charge a "substantial sum of money" in order to install "high-quality" security software to fix the problem. According to the FTC, the telemarketers then illegally obtained the consumer's personal information while installing out-of-date security software.
Brar agreed to pay a $7,577,516 monetary judgment and is permanently banned from marketing, promoting or offering tech support services as part of the settlement.