spring techno solutions
Complaint 349925 Details

  • Date Occurred: 06/02/2016
  • Reported Damages: $447.00
  • Username: "Harry Osborne"
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Location: Tucson, AZ

The complaint is against an online dating profile

The complaint is a listing fraud posted on public forums or sites against an anonymous entity

The complaint is mobile text spam or smishing related against an anonymous entity

The company or person contact no longer exists

International boundaries

I received a call ~2PM from person identifying as Harry Osborne, claiming that his company (STS) was investigating a group of hackers, and that the data indicated attempts to access my Macbook Air computer. He gave an incorrect serial number, but had me call up a log file indeed showing access attempts on the dates he gave. He spent ~4-5 hours making changes to my firewall and Firevault, while i watched, using a collaboration / access program i approved (TeamViewer). He then charged my credit card $447.00, leaving the software installed on the system. I called IT at my work later and they advised me to delete all software installed, and change all passwords to everything my computer connects to. (That's at least 75 passwords to change.)
The next day (6/03) he called again, and asked about the system. He was concerned to learn that i had moved the new programs out of the Applications folder and Dock, (well, duh) and stayed on the line while i put them back. I spoke to my IT department and they will not clean up my system for me, because it is a personally-owned computer.
I have lost three work days over this (so far); my router, computer, my work computer and my wife's computer are all compromised, i must pay an expert to clean them all up for me (except the work computer....you'd think the tech at work would be willing to help me out....but i guess then he'd be expected to give free advice to 4,000 other employees); and every minute i am online (like right now) i fear that some Trojan horse is going to wake up and start messing with me.
I did get the credit card canceled, but the company said the $447.00 charge had already gone through; that does make it sound like they are going to be satisfied with having bilked me for the $447, and they are not going to charge more, or come back to damage my system further. One can hope. Or maybe, after seeing this complaint, they will try to cause trouble, either through the credit card or through the network. I don't know. I don't know what to do. I've updated my protection programs in the hopes that any backdoors or viruses that may have been implanted on my system are in the latest virus definitions...my first MacScan, with old definitions, came up with nothing. I found this complaint page while searching for any updates regarding STS, and i thought i should record my experience.
The most troubling aspect to me, worse than the $447.00, worse than the ongoing fear of whatever could still be lurking on my system, even as i type this, was that this "Harry Osborne" character seemed, in addition to being very polite and well-mannered, to be a genuinely kind and personable fellow, someone i would have liked to meet, have dinner with, become friends with. The sense of betrayal is palpable. It was so easy to ignore the little red flags going off, because i just didn't want to think ill of this person. I continually gave him the benefit of the doubt....and now i am really hurting for it. I want to say that i hope there is a special place in hell for people like this, and yet, i still want to think the best of him. Even with all of the evidence piled up here. it is such a surreal feeling. If i thought he was really in Tucson, i'd be half-tempted to go down there in person, just to find out what kind of person he really is, and how he can justify doing this kind of thing for a living. But i guess the profit margin on $447 for four hours work must be fairly lucrative.
The thing is, i don't see what he actually did...the firewall is still off, like before, as is the file vault. I am in the slow process of shutting down my router and all my other accounts to keep him and anybody else from hacking the rest of my life. Once bitten, twice shy. I'd always been fairly careful before, but i totally fell for this guy's story, his live demeanor, and his professional-sounding presentation. Don't fall for it people.
And what's even worse, i'm on medical leave with cancer, so i'm not getting paid, and my disability checks aren't coming in yet, so this guy is stealing from somebody who doesn't have much to begin with. i can't afford to go out and hire some hotshot to solve this thing; and i can't afford to donate $500 to any clever social engineering hacker who gets my number.
....yeah, where did they get my number? Somewhere in my machine? Then why would they have needed me to accept installation of their collaboration software to get in? Well, they are in now, and i'd appreciate any help kicking them back out.

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Business Profile Summary

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Company Statistics

  • Complaint Against spring techno solutions
  • Complaints Filed: 18
  • Reported Damages: $3,935.97
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