Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Aims To Crush Tech Support Scam

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has fired its first legal salvo against technical support scams, the company revealed in an official blog post.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) filed a lawsuit at the federal court in the Central District of California against Omnitech Support, a division of Customer Focus Services, and other organizations and individuals on Friday.

Whereas the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently shut down Pairsys and Inbound Call Experts and Vast Tech Support on grounds of deceptive business marketing practices, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is choosing to fight Omnitech on grounds of trademark infringement apart from deceptive business practices. According to the Pairsys has netted about $2.5 million and Inbound Call Experts about $120 million from their practices.

“Omnitech utilized the Microsoft trademarks and service marks to enhance their credentials and confuse customers about their affiliation with Microsoft. Omnitech then used their enhanced credibility to convince consumers that their personal computers are infected with malware in order to sell them unnecessary security services to clean their computers,” Courtney Gregoir, Microsoft Senior Attorney, Digital Crimes Unit, wrote.

Microsoft, one of the most profitable companies this year, is also alleging that it has lost goodwill among customers because of Omnitech’s practices. This is apart from allegations that the company actually create security issues for consumers when they the company gains access to computers and steal information.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Digital Crimes Unit’s complaint also seeks still unspecified damages from Omnitech Support.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shareholders includes William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management which reported about 13.93 million shares in the technology giant by the end of the September quarter. This stake was valued at the time it was reported by the firm at about $645.72 million. The stake is a 65% increase from Orbis’ share in Microsoft in the second quarter. It also represents 5.12% of Orbis’ whole portfolio.