Norton is getting shady

[JamesV]

A neighbor called me today and asked if I could look at her PC. It's a crappy Dell that she never had AV on, until I told her she should have it... she went out and bought Norton (that I didn't recommend).

Fast forward to today a year and a bit later, and she calls all wrought out of shape. She did some remote thing with them for an upgrade, and they said they found hundreds of viruses and would remove them for $100. WTF?

There are scams like that, but this was a Norton guy running something on her PC, from a key she got at a store (no CD, just a key and URL where she setup/had this convo).

So I got her PC, ran Norton (her old version) which found nothing, then uninstalled Norton and setup Windows Defender (Win 8) and ran that. Defender found 39 tracking cookies (no big deal). Then I installed Malwarebytes and ran that; found nothing.

Granted I wasn't on the phone with her and the Norton guy, so I didn't hear this directly, but are these AV companies resorting to illegal scareware tactics now to keep customers? First I've heard of it.

 

[corkyg]

There are OEM impersonators that purport to be from companies like Norton, Adobe, etc. They respond to online queries and offer to help. That always comes with a request for a credit card number, etc. These are basically scams. Some say they are sub-contractors. But, that is not the way legit companies operate.

 

[Elixer]

I know there are scammers out there that pretend to be other companies, like Corky says, but, in this case, I bet it was one of those online ads/popups that she clicked on that pretended to be Norton.

While I dislike Norton, I highly doubt they would do that, especially since their product is way under $100.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Variant on the "Veendows Update" Indian tech-support scam.

People Google "Norton Support" (or in the case of someone I know, "Amazon Support"), and then they click on the first link that they see (an ad, to a scammy service).

Then they get taken.

Sad, really, how some people have no clue.

 

[JamesV]

Like I said, I wasn't there, but she said the URL she followed that got her connected to a Norton tech was found inside the box she bought at Office Depot.

I have my reservations about what she said, and immediately asked her if she entered CC info (because she said she had to fill out a form with her new key); to which she replied "no, but I contacted my bank and CC companies after". Which makes me think, like you VirtualLarry, that she was click-baited.

 

[Mushkins]

Like I said, I wasn't there, but she said the URL she followed that got her connected to a Norton tech was found inside the box she bought at Office Depot.

I have my reservations about what she said, and immediately asked her if she entered CC info (because she said she had to fill out a form with her new key); to which she replied "no, but I contacted my bank and CC companies after". Which makes me think, like you VirtualLarry, that she was click-baited.

It's entirely possible she typed it wrong and ended up on a phishing site, or she's just saying that because she's embarrassed. Rule #1 of support is "don't believe everything the user tells you, many will make stuff up to deny they did anything wrong."

 

[Captante]

I've been using Norton on my personal machines (and most of my customers) for the last several years and have had exactly zero issues. The bad reputation they have is leftover from way back. I've also dealt with Norton/Symantec support more then once and aside from a few language-related problems they've been helpful and professional.

I can pretty much guarantee you she got scammed somehow and wasn't on the phone with Symantec at all.

 

[Binky]

I'd put Norton back on that machine and tell her to be more careful next time.

 

[NortonSupport]

A neighbor called me today and asked if I could look at her PC. It's a crappy Dell that she never had AV on, until I told her she should have it... she went out and bought Norton (that I didn't recommend).

Fast forward to today a year and a bit later, and she calls all wrought out of shape. She did some remote thing with them for an upgrade, and they said they found hundreds of viruses and would remove them for $100. WTF?

There are scams like that, but this was a Norton guy running something on her PC, from a key she got at a store (no CD, just a key and URL where she setup/had this convo).

So I got her PC, ran Norton (her old version) which found nothing, then uninstalled Norton and setup Windows Defender (Win 8) and ran that. Defender found 39 tracking cookies (no big deal). Then I installed Malwarebytes and ran that; found nothing.

Granted I wasn't on the phone with her and the Norton guy, so I didn't hear this directly, but are these AV companies resorting to illegal scareware tactics now to keep customers? First I've heard of it.

Hi JamesV,

Sorry for the trouble. Could you let me know if she has a case number for the conversation? I suspect that it might be someone perpetrating as Norton Support. The general support for Norton is free with Norton Subscription. Let me know I could help you with that.

Thanks!

Dinesh
Norton Support

 

[smitbret]

I've been using Norton on my personal machines (and most of my customers) for the last several years and have had exactly zero issues. The bad reputation they have is leftover from way back. I've also dealt with Norton/Symantec support more then once and aside from a few language-related problems they've been helpful and professional.

I can pretty much guarantee you she got scammed somehow and wasn't on the phone with Symantec at all.

Echo. Norton's well-earned reputation is a carryover from the mid 2000's when their AV became a bloated resource hog. Been using it myself since 2012 and it has been solid and smooth since then.

 

[WT]

I think a thread title correction is in order here.

 

[BxgJ]

Echo. Norton's well-earned reputation is a carryover from the mid 2000's when their AV became a bloated resource hog. Been using it myself since 2012 and it has been solid and smooth since then.

This. I've got it, more for the kids than me, and have had zero issues.

 

[cubby1223]

Like I said, I wasn't there, but she said the URL she followed that got her connected to a Norton tech was found inside the box she bought at Office Depot.

I have my reservations about what she said, and immediately asked her if she entered CC info (because she said she had to fill out a form with her new key); to which she replied "no, but I contacted my bank and CC companies after". Which makes me think, like you VirtualLarry, that she was click-baited.

Then she typed the URL in wrong.

This is not a Norton problem.

You know how most people input a url into their browser? They type the website name into the input box on whichever site is set as their home page and click on the first link that search engine returns.

 

[haedon]

I have norton as my AV in my computer until now. Their service is fine. She should go to norton support if she is having problem.

 

[PliotronX]

I would fathom that Symantec would be interested in protecting its trademark so any info you might have on these crooks impersonating them could help future issues with these Veendows type calls.

 

[Binky]

If this thread is going to stay alive, the title should really be edited.

My suggestion: "Norton impostors are getting shady"