The US Federal Trade Commission has recently announced a multinational crackdown on the so-called tech support scams, in which consumers receive calls from supposed tech support staff from bigwig software or computer security companies, and are fooled into believing that some harmful software has been detected in their computers.

The fake tech-support callers - from legitimate-sounding companies like Virtual PC Solutions, Zeal IT Solutions, and several similar names - then offer the consumers an on-the-spot fix for their made-up computer problems and charge them for the needless services.

According to reports about recent cases of consumer frauds, the fake telemarketers - who call up computer owners and claim that their computers are infected with computer viruses - largely depend on the perception that most people believe that Microsoft, Dell or any other bigwig computer is aware of the issues with their personal computers.

The multinational crackdown announced by FTC will involve enforcement action against fake tech support callers; with the other agencies supporting FTC in the crackdown being the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, Australian Communications and Media Authority, and UK's Serious Organized Crime Agency.

Meanwhile, about the fake tech-support telemarketing scams, FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said: "These scams fleeced English-speaking consumers worldwide likely to the tune of tens of millions of dollars and resulted in innumerable Do Not Call violations in the United States."