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The Federal Trade Commission is sending email notices to people who are eligible for partial refunds from a tech support scheme. The operators agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that they deceived hundreds of thousands of people.

Eligible consumers bought tech support products and services between April 2012 and November 2014 from Advanced Tech Support, which also used the name Inbound Call Experts. Consumers will have until October 27, 2017 to submit a request for a refund.

According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants used high-pressure sales pitches to market tech support products and services by falsely claiming that people’s computers were infected with viruses and malware.

The defendants in the case paid $10 million as part of a settlement with the FTC. The settlement also prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting that they have identified performance or security issues on people’s computers and from making any other misrepresentations while selling a product or service.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.