WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new report claims that Office Depot employees trick customers in to repair their uninfected computers in order to meet sales goals.
CBS-affiliated KIRO-TV in Seattle says that it took in brand-new laptops to Office Depot stores in Washington and Oregon for free PC health checks. The employees of the stationery supply giant told that the computers were infected with malware and recommended repairs costing nearly $200.
However, a second test conducted by security firm IOActive revealed that the same computers were clean.
A whistle-blower said to KIRO-TV that the Office Depot management knew of this practice and the sales-culture there was really aggressive.
The employee says that the workers selling the services are just following corporate mandates. 'It's not an option to run the program,' he said. 'You have to run it on all machines that come in the building.'
In a statement to KIRO-TV, Office Depot said, 'We intend to fully review the assertions and take appropriate action.'
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX