Tarun Gaur, the kingpin behind an Indian Norton/McAfee impersonation ring

Wall of Shame Name and Shame
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On March 3, 2024, I opted to bait an Indian scammer posing as “suppoat” for McAfee and Norton through a virtual machine and was asked to pay for a 3-year plan for $279 through Qikbay. While they claimed the plan was for “McAfee,” the storefront was actually operated by Jinigram, LLC under the leadership of Tarun Gaur (pictured).

Gaur currently serves as the founder of multiple scam operations that claim to operate out of the United States, despite almost all of their employees operating out of call centers in India. These include:

  • TringApps, Inc., a software development company that claims to operate out of New York City.
  • Qikfox Cybersecurity Systems, Inc., which claims to operate out of San Mateo, California.

Some of the positive reviews online look fake or made by their own employees, especially the 5 star ratings coming from users with just one rating activity overall: Jinigram’s BBB listing and Qikfox’s Google listing, though several users have complained about their fraudulent practices, including:

  • Fraudulently representing themselves as McAfee
  • Charging their victims $279 twice for a three-year Qikfox service, which they claim is “tied with McAfee”
  • Falsely claiming their services “crashed,” requiring their victims to buy $130 in gift cards from CVS.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MalwareResearch/comments/xhqk2k/qikfox_scam/

Associated Mobile App - qikfox on the App Store (apple.com)

Associated Chrome Extension - Chrome Web Store - Search Results (google.com)

Associated Facebook Accounts:

Associated Instagram Account - Tringapps, Inc. (@tringapps) • Instagram photos and videos

Associated LinkedIn Accounts:

Associated Reddit Account - qikfox Browser (u/qikfox) - Reddit

Associated X Accounts:

Associated YouTube Channel - qikfox: The browser that keeps you safe! (youtube.com)

Associated Phone Numbers:

  • (805) 830-0098 (PEERLESS)
  • (559) 514-6097 (Onvoy)
  • (800) 669-9307 (Acefone line for Jinigram, plays the Scammistani National Anthem and answers as “Quickpay McAfee Suppoat”)
  • ‪(518) 533-5687 (Onvoy line for Tringapps)

Associated Email Addresses:

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8886720468 QikBay antivirus support https://qikbay.com/

8887452291 QikBay antivirus support https://qikbay.com/

8006699307 Jinigram, LLC (QikBay) https://jinigramtechnologies.com/ https://qikbay.com/

8447083856 Jinigram, LLC (QikBay) https://jinigramtechnologies.com/ https://qikbay.com/

8884150335 Jinigram, LLC (QikBay) https://jinigramtechnologies.com/ https://qikbay.com/

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8886720468 - Twilo
8887452291 - Inteliquent
8006699307 - Acefone
8447083856 - Twilo
8884150335 - Acefone

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https://jinigramtechnologies.com/

When people realize who they’ve been swindled by some of the complaints end up going toward the correct place…but they are the legit company of course :wink:

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-mateo/profile/computer-consultant/jinigram-jinify-your-digital-home-1116-465312/complaints

8006699307 Jinigram, LLC (QikBay)

8447083856 Jinigram, LLC (QikBay)

8884150335 Jinigram, LLC (QikBay) 888) 415-0335 active

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Got McAfee fake email phone 8058300098
call back 855) 573-1608 male Pearl Ritz
He tricks me to go to genuine McAfee site and run Logmein.
Payment processor Qikbay and Jinigram
https://soundcloud.com/nigella-blum/qikbay-scam

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Their MO is the same as Strike Securities aka Strike Solution ( 888-499-0545 866-770-2264 )
They both start with McAfee refund and start Logmein session from genuine McAffe site.
https://techmaster.mcafee.com/Remote

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805 Peerless

855 Twilo

888 Comet Media, parked for pick-a-scam

866 RingCentral

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Would it be alright if I include this recording for Scambait Sunday #20?

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Sure. Please do so.

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I haven’t called this lot for a couple of months but this should still be their current active number
Their website has their previous but now defunct number still on it.
They have a scammy YouTube channel like all good grifters

8883191599 Tech support StrikeSolutions (StrikeMart) dead website number

8885934322 Tech support StrikeSolutions (StrikeMart)
https://www.strikemart.com/

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‪(888) 319-1599‬ - Signal One line listed on their website, parked for pick-a-scam.

‪(888) 593-4322‬ - Acefone

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They are active back on this number at the moment
I also think they have VoIP numbers blocked
Calls need to be made from a burner cell or fake landline number

8667702264/866-770-2264 Tech support StrikeSolutions https://www.strikemart.com/

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RingCentral line.

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As the track is no longer available, I have a saved copy of DrWat’s recording for use in a future Scambait Sunday video.

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MAJOR UPDATE: It has recently been brought to my attention that Tarun hired the third-party agency RemoveReports, LLC to try and bribe us into taking down this post.

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After consulting with @NeeP, we ultimately decided to keep this post online given the overwhelming evidence against their scam operation, such as:

  • Claiming to operate out of San Mateo, California and New York City despite most, if not all, of their employees operating out of call centers across India.
  • Fraudulently representing themselves as McAfee or partners of McAfee to charge victims for a Qikfox “cybersecurity plan” that is really a monthly subscription for further calls to “reactivate their protection” through gift card payments.
  • Falsely claiming that McAfee was already installed on their victims’ computer or that their victims’ information was compromised on the dark web.
  • Reusing previously-reported toll-free numbers like the Twilo line (833) 397-2817, which was used to impersonate Apple and Microsoft back in 2022.

https://twitter.com/NeePscambaiting/status/1769140851744149883

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Screenshot_2024-03-17-11-27-11-730_com.linkedin.android
Screenshot_2024-03-17-11-27-11-730_com.linkedin.android1080×2400 192 KB

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I found the number while browsing numberguru, a poster reported an attempted scam and listed the number “(800) 669-9307”
Here is the almost-victim report:
“This definitely was a computer scam attempt. I was trying to contact McAfee TechMaster. The number I had was one digit off the correct number. A man with a strong foreign accent answered. He gave me a number to call if a disconnection were to occur 833-670-3259. It did occur. He called me immediately back from 833-397-2817. He was trying to get information about my computer and told me repeatedly that my software was not good.”

https://www.numberguru.com/phone/800/669/9307/

When I called to see if I can ‘cancel’ this account, this “Shawn Davis” said my system was compromised and that someone created a dummy McAfee account. He also claimed this was McAfee:

Callback for them, answering now: (855) 948-2393

Adding: Checking on this number from the guru: (833) 670-3259, they are doing a full on McAfee scam with logmein.

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Twilo line

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Thanks @OfclyGoodenough
very frustrating to hear “Shawn” talk in circles and to know he could potentially ensnare someone ARGH!!
Here’s Shawn asking for payment without providing a service:
Vocaroo | Online voice recorder

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