The U.S. Federal Trade Commission accused a New York tech support vendor of scamming computer users into paying hundreds of dollars for services they did not need.

The complaint was against Pairsys, based in Albany, New York and included the allegation that the company also charged customers for software that was available for free.

Pairsys would cold-call computer users and claim to be from Microsoft or Facebook and convince the victim to allow the company worker to gain remote control of the PC as to "diagnose" the computers problems.

The company charged owners $149 to $249 to fix nonexistent problems.

Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said: Pairsys and its operators “targeted seniors and other vulnerable populations, preying on their lack of computer knowledge to sell ‘security’ software and programs that had no value at all. We look forward to getting consumers’ money back in their pockets.”

A preliminary injunction was issued on Friday which among other things, requires that their website and telephone numbers be shut down and their assets frozen.

The FTC, in its complaint, asks that the court permanently shut down the company and require that the defendants return their profits.