ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – There's a consumer alert about buying antivirus protection for your smartphone.
If you own an Apple iPhone and start receiving emails asking you to purchase Norton Anti-Virus to protect your phone, you might want to ignore that email to keep from getting ripped off.
It comes after a complaint was filed with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office by a 67-year-old St. Augustine man who said he was misled by a computer company.
The company, which claims to represent Norton, is identified as Micro PC Services based out of the Abilene, Texas, area.
The St. Augustine man, who wished to not be identified, told News4Jax on Friday that he recently purchased two iPhones. Two weeks later, he said, he received an email on his computer from Micro PC Services, asking if he wanted to purchase extra protection for both cellphones.
“They sent me what looked like an official email from Norton," he said. "I very foolishly clicked the link that I was instructed to do if I wanted to download mobile security."
Foolish because he said he paid $149 for the service, which appeared to be legitimate, even with an official-looking Norton icon that downloaded to both phones.
An Apple representative told News4Jax that Norton Anti-Virus only works on the iPhone 8 and above. Anything less than that, such as an iPhone 6, would be incompatible with the Norton software.
In this case, the man’s phones are below the eighth generation.
“I called their 24/7 number and it just kept ringing and ringing," the man said. "No response.”
On Friday, News4Jax also tried calling, but got no response.
The man said after several days, he became more aggressive.
“So I sent them an email that started out as saying, 'You’re a bunch of crooks and I’m contacting the police and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission),'" he said.
The man said the threat eventually prompted a phone call back from a person asking why he was complaining.
“I said, 'I spoke to Apple and Norton and they said they have no affiliation with Micro PC Services and you are unable and not allowed to put this service on my phone,'" he said.
As of Friday morning, the victim’s money was returned. He had already filed a theft complaint with the Sheriff’s Office, but he said he plans to amend the complaint.
"I’ll contact the police and I’ll say it’s no longer a theft, but it still is a fraud," the man said.
Fraud because he said he was misled by false pretense.
When News4Jax contacted the Better Business Bureau in Abilene, a spokesperson said they have received an identical complaint from a person in Montreal, Canada, and are now using the Florida complaint to add to their investigation.
As of Friday, the company's website was no longer up.
A Norton representative looked up Micro PC Services, and said they have no affiliation with the company. The representative added that Norton does not solicit service via email.