Report

FTC tech-support scam actionFederal enforcement actionSettled — $26M orderPublished: March 13, 2025

Restoro / Reimage: FTC-charged tech-support scam that deceived consumers into buying PC repairs

Tech-support companies operating under the Restoro and Reimage brands agreed to pay $26 million to settle FTC charges that they used fake alerts to scare consumers — particularly older consumers — into buying computer-repair services. In March 2025 the FTC reported sending more than $25.5 million in refunds via 736,375 payments. Source: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/03/ftc-sends-more-255-million-consumers-impacted-tech-support-firms-scam

Legal notice

This page is an editorial report, not a court judgment. It may include user-reported allegations, regulatory allegations, and editorial analysis. Do not interpret this page as a final legal finding.

Logged reports

736375

Review window

736,375 refunds · ≈$25.5M

Report status

Settled — $26M order

Primary audience

Computer users, especially older consumers, shown fake PC alerts

Documented facts

This report summarizes a settled FTC enforcement action. The deceptive-practice characterization comes from the FTC complaint and settlement order, not from anonymous reports. Settlements typically resolve claims without an admission of liability.

Facts on this page include dated publication metadata, report status labels, and publicly sourced references summarized under methodology.

User-reported allegations

The FTC alleged the operations deceived consumers into buying computer-repair services by misrepresenting security or performance problems on their devices.

The conduct particularly affected older consumers, according to the FTC.

The settlement prohibited the companies from misrepresenting security or performance issues and from deceptive telemarketing.

Editorial opinion and risk analysis

Pop-ups or scans claiming your computer is infected or failing and urging an immediate paid fix.

Software that reports alarming "problems" and then upsells a paid repair to resolve them.

High-pressure sales aimed at less tech-savvy or older users.

Methodology

This page is based on the official FTC press release: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/03/ftc-sends-more-255-million-consumers-impacted-tech-support-firms-scam.

The underlying settlement ($26M) was announced by the FTC in March 2024; refund distribution followed in March 2025.

All characterizations are the FTC's; the defendants settled the charges.

Key review questions

Did an unsolicited alert or scan create urgency to pay for a fix?

Can the reported "problems" be independently verified by a trusted technician?

Is the company using fear-based messaging to drive an immediate purchase?

Preservation protocol

Ignore unsolicited pop-ups or calls claiming your computer is infected; do not grant remote access.

Have suspected issues checked by an independent, trusted technician before paying.

If you paid, refunds in this matter were administered by Rust Consulting for the FTC.

Report tech-support scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Review chronology

Issue development and escalation path

March 2024 · $26M settlement

The Restoro and Reimage operations agreed to pay $26 million to settle FTC charges over deceptive PC-repair sales.

March 13–14, 2025 · Refunds

The FTC sent more than $25.5 million to defrauded consumers via 736,375 PayPal payments.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an official record?

Yes. It summarizes the FTC action at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/03/ftc-sends-more-255-million-consumers-impacted-tech-support-firms-scam.

How were consumers harmed?

According to the FTC, consumers were deceived by misrepresented security or performance issues into paying for unnecessary computer-repair services; $25.5M was later refunded.