Cold-calling companies offering ‘computer repairs’ shut down after preying on vulnerable pensioners
Two companies wound-up in the public interest after scamming pensioners
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DT Care Ltd and Amolin Solution Limited both targeted pensioners by claiming their computers had urgent security issues which needed repairing
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They would then gain remote access to their victim’s computer and take unauthorised payments
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Both companies were wound-up after investigations by the Insolvency Service
Two companies which defrauded vulnerable pensioners by falsely claiming their computer had a security issue have been shut down.
DT Care Ltd and Amolin Solution Limited were wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on Friday 30 August.
Both companies conned their elderly victims by phoning out of the blue to tell them their computer needed urgent repairs.
The victims, aged in their 70s and 80s, believed they were taking genuine calls from well-known IT companies and allowed them remote access to their computer.
They were then convinced into paying hundreds of pounds for services that were not provided.
David Usher, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
DT Care and Amolin Solution were both used as a vehicle to defraud pensioners by tricking them into believing their computer was hacked or needed vital security repairs. Their tactics were thoroughly dishonest and designed to be aggressive and intimidating.
We take our responsibilities in protecting the public from financial harm very seriously which is why we applied for provisional liquidators to be appointed earlier this summer, to prevent the two companies from further objectionable trading until our winding-up petitions were heard.
The two winding-up orders secured should send a strong signal to the business community that we will use all the powers at our disposal to shut you down if you prey on some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Insolvency Service investigators spoke to a number of pensioners who were scammed by DT Care and Amolin Solution. All the victims repeated the same cold-calling tactics used by both companies to gain remote access to the computer.
In many cases, the callers said they were from Microsoft Windows and claimed their computer needed urgent repairs. Others told the Insolvency Service that the callers had said their computer was hacked, their identity had been stolen or that they could fix their locked machine.
The callers told the victims they could remove the security issue or resolve their problem if they granted them remote access to their computer.
From there, they charged in excess of £400 for the “service” they provided and often attempted to take further payments from the victim weeks or even months later.
Investigators also found evidence that the companies would send unwanted parcels to the customers to suggest they had provided some form of service. In one example, DT Care sent two paperback novels, a mousepad and a wind chime, none of which were ordered by the victim.
Despite posing as IT support companies, DT Care and Amolin Solution both described themselves as e-commerce companies selling clothes, books and “junk jewellery” when they applied to open bank accounts.
The Insolvency Service spoke to directors of both companies who are aged 91 and 88 respectively. Investigators concluded that neither actually ran DT Care or Amolin Solution, with the companies thought to have been instead controlled from India.
Both registered directors were unable to produce accounting records for DT Care and Amolin Solution, meaning the Insolvency Service could not establish precisely who controlled the companies and what they claimed to legitimately trade as.
The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of DT Care and Amolin Solution, having previously been appointed as provisional liquidator in early July to stop the companies from further trading and to protect the public.
Since then, the Official Receiver has worked to protect and preserve assets in the possession or under the control of companies pending the outcome of the winding-up petitions.
All enquiries concerning the affairs of the DT Care and Amolin Solution should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk.
Further information
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DT Care Ltd (company number 13464225)
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Amolin Solution Limited (company number 14530068)
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The Insolvency Service can investigate complaints about corporate abuse by live companies. This may include serious misconduct, fraud, scams or dishonest practice in the way the company operates. Further information on our live investigations can be found here