Possible scam alert

system · 2017-05-15T22:40:49.000Z

Greetings all,

I’m an IT in the Treasure Coast region of Florida and have been using and recommending Avast for over 8 years. A client just called me with a concern that I have deduced is some kind of scam and thought the community should know.

According to her, she was so impressed with the features of the free version of Avast that she decided to purchase a premium license which she said was on sale for $19.99. Where this sale was listed she did not specify. Her card was instead charged $89.99, and after contacting AMEX to inquire about it, she was given the phone number of the seller. The rep she spoke to during this call told her that Avast is a “rogue company” and that their antivirus should be uninstalled right away. I looked up the number in question and found it belongs to a BayLeaf Technologies, a company I have never heard of. Interestingly, despite the rep telling her to uninstall Avast, their website states they provide support for it and others like TrendMicro and Norton. I gave her the official Avast support number and she said she would inquire tomorrow.

I’m confident there was a mistake done on her end somewhere as I’ve helped other customers purchase licenses before and have never experienced this. I don’t appreciate questionable sources discrediting legitimate companies especially when I endorse them in my line of work.

Eddy · 2017-05-16T00:00:04.000Z

Bayleaf is a Californian based company that claims to provide support for several anti-virus software products including avast.
Their website could be called at least misleading.
http://bayleaftechnologies.com/help-support-for-avast/

Look at the different phone number.
https://www.avast.com/en-us/total-care

Could be you made a typo or she told you the wrong price, but the premium license is not $89,99 but $79,99.
https://www.avast.com/en-us/store#security

I have to guess here without knowing further details, but I would say she saw a promotional ad from avast either in the GUI or in a pop-up from avast.
If this is the case she should ask avast to have a look and check if she was charged the wrong amount or not.

Bayleaf is not listed as a official reseller.
https://www.avast.com/locate-dealer

If the number she called was from Bayleaf and if Bayleaf was the seller…
It sure is strange that say that avast is rogue software.
Why the heck would a company sell rogue software and give support for it but when a customer calls them say to remove it as it is rogue software ?

It is of no use for her to call avast as things like this are not handled by the phone support.

I suggest that she check her bank/credit card statements to see to who she exactly paid.

mchain · 2017-05-16T05:08:02.000Z

Pretty sure avast had nothing to do with what happened here. Prevention:

A key step for all users and clients is to come here to have questions answered or help provided.
Included in that help is a caution to never use avast phone help that extends to actual TeamViewer session(s), help at the phone center is supposed to be free as long as the issue is covered.
Addtionally, an adblocker installed will eliminate most, if not all, bogus avast or other support companies, in a Google search.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams recommended reading for all clients.

bob3160 · 2017-05-17T15:27:59.000Z

We all know there’s a sucker born every minute.
That’s the reason why scams are so successful.
It’s also the reason why the Security related industry is thriving.

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