This scam is easy to avoid if you don’t get greedy and use your head. They always read “Pay what you want” or them may have a ridiculous low price. The chances of someone repairing anything that might be wrong with a computer and letting the customer decide what to pay is slim to none. Having been in this business for 20 years I see these guys pop up every now and then. They claim to have decades of experience and they “Just want to help.”
In the past here is how the scam works; if they are able to fix your computer,and if you pay them what they really want, everything seems fine. Just like the recent busts in California, Oregon and Arizona the police found that they always left the client a little gift. It is easy for a computer tech to leave a back door open in your system. They get in, leave a virus, and who are you going to call but the nice guy who works for peanuts. This time the client is informed that there is a serious virus on their computer that can erase all the files. This problem is not so cheap to fix!
Now there are some good computer technicians out there that do this part time. They are sometimes able to offer a lower rate than a professional who needs to pay for insurance and 24/7 availability. Myself I pay quite a chunk to belong to the Better Business Bureau. How else are you going to know if you can trust me. Online reviews are worthless. If I have ten friends I can have ten 5 star reviews by the end of the day. Having a variety of pricing is good for our industry, and good for the clients. Then you have these scammers that come along and ruin it for everyone. Ask yourself one question; who would advertise to work for nothing?