The FTC has begun to issue refunds to people who were convinced into purchasing computer repair services at Office Depot based on fake malware scans.

Between 2009 and November 2016, Office Depot and Office Max employees utilized a diagnostic program called 'PC Health Check' that would in many cases report a person's computer had malware even if it was not infected.

PC Health Check software interface

Whistleblowers told KIRO7 reporters that the employees were pressured into utilizing PC Health Check even though it was known to not be accurate to convince people to purchase repair services ranging from $180 to $300.

KIRO7 reporters tested this by taking six brand new laptops to various Office Depot locations, where they were falsely told four out of the six laptops were infected and were prompted to purchase repair services.

Office Depot settles with the FTC

In March 2019, Office Depot agreed to pay $35 million as part of a settlement with the FTC.

Of this collected money, $34 million was set aside as refunds to victims of the scam conducted by Office Depot.

"Office Depot paid $25 million while its software supplier, Support.com, Inc., paid $10 million as part of 2019 settlements with the FTC. The FTC alleged that Office Depot and Support.com configured a virus scanning program to report that it found symptoms of malware or infections—even when that was not true—whenever consumers answered yes to at least one of four “diagnostic” questions. The false scan results were then used to persuade consumers to purchase computer repair and technical services that could cost hundreds of dollars," the FTC stated.

Today, the FTC has announced that they have begun to issue refunds to 541,247 people with the average refund being $63.35.

The FTC states that all refund checks should be cashed within 60 days and that if there are any questions about the refunds, recipients should contact the FTC’s refund administrator, Epiq, at 1-855-915-0916.