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Office Depot rigged PC malware scans to sell unneeded $300 tech support
The stores offered PC Health Check scans for free, while claiming the value of the scans was between $20 and $60. But PC Health Check was configured to tell consumers their computers were infected regardless of what any scan showed, according to the FTC. At the beginning of each scan, consumers were asked if they experienced PC problems such as repeated crashes or slowness. Any yes answer in that survey guaranteed that the program would flag a problem with the user's computer.
"Many consumers who got false scan results bought computer diagnostic and repair services from Office Depot and OfficeMax that cost up to $300. Suppport.com completed the services and got a cut of each purchase."
In May 2013, OfficeMax warned its stores not to use the PC Health Check Program after customers received a "repair." OfficeMax explained to the stores that if "any of the questions at the beginning of the [PC Health Check Program] are checked, it will automatically suggest a Software repair," because the "tool 'assumes' there is an infection based on questions asked," the FTC complaint said.
Employees who pushed the scans got "positive performance reviews" and "extra commissions" if they "met their weekly PC Health Check runs and tech-support service sales goals," the FTC said. "At the same time, the Office Depot companies censured store managers and store employees who continually failed to meet these company-wide targets." Stores that failed to meet their targets were subjected to "'underperforming' calls with the stores' managers that reproached their stores' performances."
The stores offered PC Health Check scans for free, while claiming the value of the scans was between $20 and $60. But PC Health Check was configured to tell consumers their computers were infected regardless of what any scan showed, according to the FTC. At the beginning of each scan, consumers were asked if they experienced PC problems such as repeated crashes or slowness. Any yes answer in that survey guaranteed that the program would flag a problem with the user's computer.
"Many consumers who got false scan results bought computer diagnostic and repair services from Office Depot and OfficeMax that cost up to $300. Suppport.com completed the services and got a cut of each purchase."
In May 2013, OfficeMax warned its stores not to use the PC Health Check Program after customers received a "repair." OfficeMax explained to the stores that if "any of the questions at the beginning of the [PC Health Check Program] are checked, it will automatically suggest a Software repair," because the "tool 'assumes' there is an infection based on questions asked," the FTC complaint said.
Employees who pushed the scans got "positive performance reviews" and "extra commissions" if they "met their weekly PC Health Check runs and tech-support service sales goals," the FTC said. "At the same time, the Office Depot companies censured store managers and store employees who continually failed to meet these company-wide targets." Stores that failed to meet their targets were subjected to "'underperforming' calls with the stores' managers that reproached their stores' performances."