P2018-ND-124

The Organization offers a computer support service, TechMaster, through a vendor based in India. On or around June 2016, the Organization was made aware that some TechMaster customers were receiving telephone calls from one or more individuals falsely claiming to represent TechMaster. The caller(s) claimed that the customer owed additional fees, was owed a refund, had been over-refunded, or was experiencing issues with their account all with the objective of social engineering financial gain. In some instances, the caller requested remote access to the customer’s computer or device and/or asked the customer to log onto their banking site in order to process payment or to send payments to the caller directly by other means. A small number of customers were convinced to send money or allow remote machine access. The caller(s) appear to have access to the customer’s name, telephone number, email address, and, in some cases, TechMaster product subscription and service history. An investigation was initiated by the vendor and a separate investigation was initiated by the Organization to identify the caller(s) and their means of stealing the customers’ information.