Companies that purport to offer support for Gmail, Hotmail and other online services are a dime-a-dozen. Still, even I was shocked at how brazen one was today, when I called just to see what would happen after an email I received.
I guess I’d had enough. We’d gotten five messages through our Marketing Land tip form telling us about support services for Gmail problems:
From one of the messages:
We are provides Gmail account problem if you have any problem related gmail account so call us our toll free number – 1-855-286-1922 and solve your issue.
The link leads to the site below (which can also be reached using a variety of different domains) that makes ample use of the Google and Gmail logos:
Of course, we aren’t having any Gmail problems. But I was curious what would happen if I called the number listed, to see what I’d be told. You can listen to some of the recording below:
The highlights are as follows. I was told:
Someone was getting access to Gmail off my computer
The company knew this because it gets notifications of attempts from Google servers
I was asked to share my computer screen with this company I’d never heard of (I declined)
I was told, “We are the technical support assistance for Google”
When pressed, the company admitted they weren’t actually part of Google. But the rep gave every impression that it was somehow deeply connected with Google as well as with Microsoft and other companies where people might need email or other support.
After spending a few minutes playing dumb, I’d explained that the message we received went to many different people all at the same time, some of whom don’t even use Gmail, so it obviously couldn’t be linked to any one account. The rep said he would check on this and call me back.
I suspect that call won’t be coming. And really, there’s nothing reasonable to explain this. It’s an attempt to convince someone they have a Gmail problem when they almost certainly don’t — though using any company making this type of pitch might very well give them one.
As I said, these types of pitches are sadly very common. I was just amazed at how brazen it was. It makes me worry what might be happening to people who really fall for it. And as aside, as I’ve written this, two more of those pitches have come in.
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