Fake Tech-Support Pop-Ups and Calls: What to Do (and Not Do)

Two versions of the same scam show up constantly: a full-screen browser pop-up that locks up your screen with a siren sound and a warning that your computer is infected, giving you a phone number to call — or a phone call out of nowhere from someone claiming to be “Microsoft,” “Windows Support,” or your internet provider, saying they’ve detected a problem with your PC. Both are trying to do the same thing: scare you into handing over remote access to your computer, your money, or both. Neither Microsoft, Apple, nor your internet provider will ever contact you first about a problem with your device, and no legitimate security software locks your screen and demands a phone call.

How to recognize it

• A pop-up that won’t close normally, often filling the whole screen, sometimes with a loud alarm sound, telling you your computer is “infected” or “at risk” and to call a phone number immediately.
• An unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to represent a big tech company, saying they detected a virus, suspicious activity, or a billing problem on your account, and asking you to open a piece of software so they can “take a look.”
• Urgency and jargon. They want you to act before you think, and they’ll throw around technical-sounding terms to sound credible to someone who isn’t sure what’s normal.
• A request to install remote-access software (names like AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or similar remote-desktop tools) so they can “fix it for you” — this is the step that hands them your whole computer.
• A request for payment, often by gift card, wire transfer, or a “protection plan” charged to a card, once they’ve got you on the phone or already have their software installed.

What real companies actually do

Microsoft, Apple, your internet or cable provider, and legitimate antivirus companies do not cold-call you about a virus on your computer, and they do not put a phone number in a browser pop-up. If your real antivirus software has something to tell you, it shows up as a normal notification inside the program you already have installed — not a full-screen browser takeover with a phone number.

If you get the pop-up

1. Do not call the number. Do not click anything inside the pop-up, including buttons that say “Cancel” or “Close” — on some of these, even the X can trigger something. It’s just a web page dressed up to look scary.
2. Close the browser the hard way. On Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, find your browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox), and click End Task. On a Mac, press Cmd + Option + Esc, select the browser, and choose Force Quit.
3. Reopen the browser without restoring your tabs. If it asks to reopen your previous session, decline — that pop-up tab is what you’re leaving behind.
4. Nothing was actually installed just from seeing the page. A pop-up alone doesn’t infect your computer. You’re safe once the browser is closed, as long as you didn’t call, click through, or download anything from it.

If you already called the number or let someone connect

This is the part that matters most, and there’s no shame in it — these are professionally run scams designed to work on smart, careful people. Move through this in order:

1. Disconnect the device from the internet (turn off Wi-Fi, or unplug the network cable) to cut off any active remote connection right away.
2. Uninstall any remote-access software they had you install (AnyDesk, TeamViewer, etc.) through your normal Settings/Control Panel apps list.
3. Change your passwords — starting with email and banking — from a different, clean device, not the one that was connected. If you reused that password anywhere else, change it there too.
4. Check your bank and card statements for any charge you didn’t expect, and call your bank directly (the number on the back of your card, never one given to you during the call) if you see one or if you gave out card details.
5. If you gave them remote control of the machine, treat it as compromised. Don’t just run a quick scan and call it done — have the device professionally checked before you trust it again with anything sensitive.
6. Turn on two-factor authentication on your important accounts if it isn’t on already, so a stolen password alone isn’t enough to get in.

Protecting yourself going forward

• Bookmark the real support pages for your actual software and hardware, and only ever use those.
• If a pop-up appears while browsing, assume it’s the site (or an ad on the site) trying to scare you — not your operating system talking to you.
• Keep your browser and operating system updated; these scam pages often exploit old, unpatched browsers to make the lockup harder to escape.
• Agree ahead of time with less tech-savvy family members that no legitimate company will ever call them out of the blue about a virus — if that call ever comes, hang up and call a shop or family member you already trust to check it out.

If you’re ever unsure whether something you saw or clicked was real, our Scam Check tool can give you a quick read on a suspicious message, or just call us — checking is free, and it’s a lot cheaper than finding out the hard way.

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