United States of America: Released terms of the settlement reached in FTC public lawsuit against NTS regarding deceptive business practices

On 7 November 2023, the American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the terms of the settlement it had reached with NTS IT Care (NTS) and stated that it is issuing full refunds for harmed customers resulting from the NTS technical support scheme. The FTC filed a public lawsuit in 2020 against NTS, which operated a technical support scheme where pop-up alerts would inform internet users that a virus infected their computer. The consumers were then instructed to call a phone number where they were deceived into buying technical support services based on false computer diagnostics and false claims to be affiliated with Microsoft, Apple, or other technology companies. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California ordered NTS to pay USD 4.9 million, which the FTC will use to refund over USD 255’000 to 272 consumers.