Is Kurt Williams, ("Bit license, 2509") from CA a bonafide Bitdefender technician?

M.S.Cook

I called for support and was contacted by the above individual. I fear a scam as money was exchanged.

garioch7

@M.S.Cook ,

Welcome to the Bitdefender Forums. I have been a participant in these Forums for almost ten years. I have never heard of a "Bitdefender Technician" who requested money. Users have to contact Bitdefender Support (BD). Sometimes users are asked to allow remote access, in addition to providing diagnostic logs, to resolve a problem that the user reported to BD Support.

Below is a link to the genuine BD Consumer Support Center.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/

How did you contact "support?" What was the address or email used? You must understand that sometimes web searches will provide results from companies or individuals impersonating BD Support who are not affiliated with BD in any way.

I suspect your fears of a scam are founded.

I am pinging @Alexandru_BD , the Forum Administrator, for his advice to you. I am certain that he will want the details I requested already because BD aggressively goes after imposters.

Thank you. Try to have a good day. You were wise to post here. 👍

Regards,

Phil

M.S.Cook

Thank you, Phil !

I tried to contact Bitdefender on its website but was having trouble connecting. Then the "technician" answered, searched my computer and found no firewall and others who allegedly had access. He then supposedly installed the firewall and had me pay to have a five-year plan, monthly review my computer, and repair any problems. Here is a screenshot of his details:

garioch7

@M.S.Cook ,

Thanks for your reply and for the screenshot. Are you sure that you were on the BD Support website that I linked to in my previous post?

@Alexandru_BD will be very grateful for your screenshot or email confirmation. Bitdefender has its own firewall, so the tech would not have to install one.

IMPORTANT: I would avoid using your computer for any financial transactions until your computer is examined for malware and declared clean.

May I respectfully suggest that you go to Bleeping Computer to have it examined by a malware identification and removal specialist? The best in the business over there is "Oh My!." He was one of my trainers. Just title your request as something like: "Please Check My Computer For Malware, Oh My!"

Please follow these instructions before posting:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/34773/preparation-guide-for-use-before-using-malware-removal-tools-and-requesting-help/

I don't want to take your case over there because it might be interpreted as me soliciting even though we are all volunteers. Moreover, Oh My! is the best, in my opinion. Others may differ.

It is important that I avoid any appearance of using BD Forums for any other purpose than to assist the BD community. Oh My! (Gary) is totally neutral and not a member of the BD Forums.

You probably should link to this topic here in your initial post, so Gary is aware of the reason for your request for his volunteer expertise. There is NO charge. Help is provided free.

I hope that you did not lose too much money. This is, in my opinion, definitely a SCAM, as you suspected.

Good luck, and please keep us posted. Have a good day, if you can.

Regards,

Phil

Gjoksi

Hello.

Don't want to sound bad, but that's definitely a SCAM.

As far as i know, Bitdefender offers only 1 year, 2 years or 3 years subscription plans, i've never met a 5 years subscription plan for any Bitdefender product/service.

Also, these are the official phone numbers for Bitdefender in the USA:

(+1) 954 414 9655 and (+1) 954 928 2780

Finally, Bitdefender also used to offer Premium Services such as Install & Setup, Computer Tune-Up and VIP Support, but now they are not offered anymore.

Regards.

garioch7

@M.S.Cook ,

I should have added that you should not connect this computer to the Internet more than is absolutely essential until the computer has been examined for malware. Some malware "phones home," stealing passwords and other data, plus downloading additional malware.

I reiterate my advice that you should go to Bleeping Computer to have your computer checked for malware.

Have a great day.

Regards,

Phil

garioch7

@M.S.Cook ,

I apologize for the confusion. I did not realize you were running a Mac computer. Bleeping Computer does not have malware removal services for the Apple ecosystem.

I have replied to your topic at Bleeping Computer.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/794349/please-check-my-computer-for-malware-oh-my/#entry5613849

You should do a full system scan with Bitdefender to identify and remove possible malware.

Please keep us posted. Once again, my apologies for incorrectly assuming you had a Windows computer.

Have a great day.

Regards,

Phil