US officials have shut down a series of so-called tech support scams, mostly operating from India, which targeted English-speaking consumers, including New Zealanders.
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a US judge has ordered a halt to six "scareware'' operations and has frozen their assets following
an investigation in cooperation with Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said the schemes involved calls to consumers in English-speaking countries from call centres in India, informing consumers of bogus infections.
The groups also used online ads which informed computer users of the infections, and then sold "fixes'' at prices ranging from US$49 to US$450 (NZ$59 to NZ$549).
"In these outrageous and disturbing cons you get a call from someone pretending to be from a major computer company who dupes you into thinking you have a virus on your computer,'' Leibowitz told a news conference, which also played an audio tape of one of the calls.
