Office Depot fined $25M for malware scam

[Eldorado]

"The FTC announced it has fined Office Depot $25M for scamming customers into buying malware removal services they never needed.

The company that cooperated with the scam, Support.com, was also fined $10M, for a total of $35M.

The two companies collaborated to charge Office Depot customers up to $300 for malware removal services."

Full monty at Extreme-Tech: https://www.extremetech.com/computing/288613-office-depot-fined-25m-for-defrauding-customers-with-fake-malware-removal-service

[SHaYap]

All online storage and streaming services on peer to peer sharing networks were malware of some sort at one time or another once upon a time ....

~

[quiXilver]

Seems to be a bit of a closed circle that doesn't do much to curb the problem.

 

Companies conspire to defraud people of their money and are discovered.

Companies are fined by the Gov't who 'take their cut' in the form of punitive fines to the company.

Where does that fine money go?  Anyone go to prison? 

 

Company board meeting.  We made X in our scam.  Gov't caught us, (as we expected) and fined us Y.

x - y = quarterly earnings report. 

 

Potential fines are factored into prospective scams and weighed against potential profits.

If they don't get caught, they keep all of it.  If caught, they have to share some...

such incentive to not scam...