Description

October 11, 2025 – CYBER FRAUD ALERT

On 10/11/2025 at approximately 3:15pm MDT I browsed Google asking for help from HP to get my HP Smart Tank 5000 printer working. The message I was getting from the printer was that it was "offline" and the "Drivers were unavailable." Almost immediately, a "chat box" opened offering to help me, so I typed in exactly what I just typed above. The Chat Agent offered to get a "Tech" call me to help me.

Alex Jones called me from 1-833-781-5422 at 3:20pm MDT & I explained to him the printer issues outlined above. He easily identified my printer as mine & said he could not fix the driver problem because my email address had been used on the Dark Web. Unfamiliar with such things, I asked him what should be done. He told me "his grandmother recently had a similar situation with the Dark Web & he helped her get her computer more secure by purchasing a security system for her computer.

I told him I had McAfee on our computers as protection, and he quickly discounted McAfee's capabilities as being weak & ineffective — especially on the Dark Web. He told me he could help me like he did his grandma & did I want his help in exploring my options for purchasing better security for our laptops. He said doing so would guarantee future protection from Trojans / Ransomware situations and that it would also scrub from the Dark Web all our email address activity already happening. He said our email addresses had already been used on the Dark Web & that if a cybercriminal used our emails or other information to commit a crime, we could be held responsible.

I told Alex I was very frightened at this point & he asked again if I wanted his help in securing our computers. He said I could probably do it myself, but that it would be harder for me to do it & he could help me right now. I was feeling very frightened & vulnerable, so I agreed to accept Alex's help.

It was at this point that Alex requested remote access to my laptop & once he was remotely connected, he showed me a website that reported that my email had been used on the Dark Web 6 times. Alex asked if I wanted to check another email, so I typed in my husband's email & the website reported that his email address had been used 12 times. I was really scared & of course, wanted the situation rectified as quickly as possible.

Alex then displayed websites on my screen showing me the capacities & costs of Norton 360 & Malwarebytes. He patiently reviewed all the options, opportunities & reasons for opening for one or the other. The Norton 360 offered the best protection, it appeared to me, & the price list he showed me noted specific discounts for Senior Citizens, with protection FOR LIFE and on unlimited devices for $1,699.99 before taxes. And he quoted the price for the Norton 360 with Dark Web Encryption / Credit Bureau protection as $2,999.99 before tax. As I said, I was very scared by the words he said & showed me on my screen — Dark Web & Crypto Criminals — and I agreed to purchase the Norton Gold Protection consisting of Norton 360 Secure Protection, Dark Web Secure Encryptions & Unlimited Software Support & Warranty for $5,130.

Alex offered to put me in touch with a Tech from Web Design Depot who could install the Norton 360 Secure Protection. Alex also assured me repeatedly that this purchase would not only secure our laptops in the future, it would also "scrub" all mention of our email addresses from the Dark Web. Alex also assured me again that tech support at Web Design Depot was available 24/7, 365 and that I would be taken care of by the techs. Alex told me to expect a call from a tech, Mike, at Web Design Depot shortly.

The call & remote access initiated by Alex was terminated & a few minutes later, Mike called me. Below are all Phone Numbers & the email address provided by Mike for Web Design Depot:

Level 1 Support 1-833-588-0089 1-866-980-0017 [email protected]

Level 2 Support 1-480-360-2028 1-937-741-8080

Mike representing Web Design Depot called me at 5:47pm MDT from 1-866-980-0017 & I gave him remote access to my laptop in order to begin the process of installing Norton 360 Secure Protection on both my laptop using remote access on my laptop & my husbands’ laptop to install similar protection installation. Once the installation was complete, Mike talked to me about payment. Mike asked me for a debit card to make payment & I told him I was not comfortable using my debit card & could I use a credit card instead. Mike then stated that under the current situation with my laptop, sending credit card information would probably be unsafe and he suggested that I pay by check. I followed his instructions & made payment with a personal check scanned to Web Design Depot on my HP Printer. I was still, at this point, feeling very frightened about the Dark Web & Crypto Criminals both Alex & Mike had told me had probably already accessed using our emails.

Mike repeatedly assured me that Web Design Depot techs were available 24/7, 365/year & I believed him. Prior to turning me over to Mike at Web Design Depot, Alex Jones had assured me of the very same thing.

Once Mike who I believed was representing Web Design Depot had successfully installed the Norton 360 Protection on both laptops & payment was made, both the phone & remote laptop access was terminated.

At 6:55pm MDT Alex Jones called me again from 1-866-980-0017 stating that he had talked to Mike (Web Design Depot) & that Norton 360 had successfully been installed on both our computers & that he, Alex, was finishing up the driver situation on my HP printer. He again assured me that everything would now be fine with our laptop security. He said all the Dark Web notifications pertaining to our email addresses had been successfully scrubbed. He again assured me total support from Web Design Depot at any time, day or night, for any issue I had. We ended our phone call at this time.

It was at the point when I talked to my husband about what I had purchased that we began to realize that what had just happened to me was most likely a scam. I admitted to my husband that I had felt very frightened while talking to Alex Jones & I felt he used my fear to perpetrate this scam.

At 9:06pm MDT, we called the number Alex Jones had provided — 1-833-588-0089 (he gave me his Ext. as #428.) When the call was answered, the recording identified the company as "Lumina Tech Ventures," a company neither Alex nor Mike had mentioned up to this point. The recording went on to say the company was currently closed, and that we could leave a message. We left a message describing what we believed had happened & asked for a callback from a supervisor as soon as possible.

At 9:18pm MDT, we placed a call to 1-866-980-0017 — one of the Level 1 Support numbers provided by Mike as being a 24/7, 365 access number for Web Design Depot. This call was answered in exactly the same manner & wording as the call just placed to Alex Jones — Lumina Tech Ventures, currently closed & leave a message, which we did.

At this point, our worst fears came to life. I had been intimidated & made to feel fear first by Alex Jones, whom I believed to be an HP Printer Support Tech and then by Mike, who had been portrayed to me to be a Norton 360 Secure Protection provider.

We immediately stopped payment on my check & uninstalled all programs related to Norton on both our laptops. We researched Web Design Depot & were directed to you — Web Designer Depot — which resulted in me sending you this message as I am confident you would want to know you are being used in this way. In addition to reaching out to your company, we are contacting other institutions similarly affected by this incident.

In addition, we are contacting law enforcement & other regulatory agencies. We will also be seeking legal counsel.