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Forum Discussion
Possible Firewall Fraud, N300 Extender
On 12/1/17 I had an unexpected interruption of access to my extender. I kept getting a message that the password was incorrect, but my PW has always been the same as my router. I went online and entered a chat session with John on the"mywifiext.net" site. As soon as I told him my issue, he transferred me to a Tech named Avnish Kumar. He stated he needed remote access to my computer in order to resolve my problem, so I gave him that access. For the next 1-1/2 hours, he went through numerous activities on my computer (as I watched). After he supposedly got my problem resolved, he began insisting on my installing a Firewall, by purchasing a software called EcoSoft. The cost was $170 for a 2-yr subscription. This was a reduced rate. He created an invoice for the purchase, sent it to me via email, and I paid for it through PayPal; but he wanted the payment made to him - not NetGear. I have written to NetGear twice, but have gotten no response. I'm fearful I have been scammed. Anyone heard or experienced this or familiar with this Firewall?
4 Replies
I am not a Netgear representative, I provide no guarantee and take no liability for my comments. This is my opinion on IT security related topics.
The mywifiext site is a private site that exists only on Netgear extenders. All Netgear support is through netgear.com. I am familiar with the address being mywifiext.com, not .net, though it may handle both. If you initiated a remote connection with someone while on a "mywifiext" or similar site, I am afraid it sounds like to me that you have likely been a victim of site spoofing. I only know about Netgear making hardware products, not software. If you gave him access to your local computer, there is likely something installed now like a virus, rootkit, remote exploit, etc. It may be something hidden enough or deep enough that only a disk wipe will remove it, or worst case, there is something loaded in firmware that you cannot remove now.
I did not enter the site, but I cannot find any references to EcoSoft firewall (or EqoSoft) other than a page with that address itself. This is a big red flag that it is not a valid product and is a scam site. Also, when someone asks you to pay for anything that is not through a valid storefront. If you had made payment to this person, PayPal would likely not refund your money because you willfully made the transaction, even if there was a promise for goods or services that were not rendered. The receiver could claim that they just asked you for money or some such.
What apil1 is saying it right if you are not sure if its a trusted company then you should directly contact that company through there own website. If you need support for netgear products contact us through our support site.
http://www.netgear.com/support/contact.aspx
DarrenM
I was hit by this scam yesterday.
I’m disappointed that Netgear isn’t doing anything to help protect their customers.
I was routed to myeifiext.net all too easily. I got there by following Netgear’s instatructions.
Not paying close attention I ended up in this scam.
To make matters worse, alll the screens look very legitimate.
Netgear needs to route extender setups only through their website.
I just had the same scenario. Tried to access mywifi.net & got a legitimate looking site. Online assistant could not help me, but would put me on the line with a tech who could fix my problem by accessing my computer. Luckily I've learned to be suspicious when it comes to letting someone access my computer, so declined her offer & logged off. Then came here to check out the situation. Glad I did. Hope Netgear does something to stop that from happening.
