Class Action Settlement News

The Symantec Anti-Virus Software Scam Lawsuit claims that customers were scammed into buying Symantec scareware products that included the PC Tools Registry Mechanic, PC Tools Performance Toolkit, and the Norton Utilities.  The lawsuit states that “scare tactics” were used to coax consumers into buying these products.  The hook came in the form of a free trail scan that mislead the user about the health of their computers… “invariably reports that harmful errors, privacy risks and other problems exist on the PC, regardless of the real condition of their computer.” states the lawsuit.  “Instead, Symantec intentionally designed its Scareware to invariably report, in an extremely ominous manner, that harmful errors, privacy risks, and other computer problems exist on the user’s PC, regardless of the real condition of the consumer’s computer. Furthermore, the scareware does not, and cannot, provide the benefits promised by Symantec. Accordingly, consumers duped into purchasing software that does not function as advertised, and in fact, has very little (if any) utility.”  Customers paid $30.00 or more for a software that was not actually needed.   A computer forensic company was hired by one customer.  The company found that Symantec’s scan always produced those flawed results.

Were not surprise to see this type of lawsuit arise and will not be surprise if more anti-virus software scam lawsuits follow.  The case is entitled James Gross v. Symantec Corporation and is in the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division.  A copy of the lawsuit can be found below.