Tech Support Pop-Up Scams: How They Work

You are browsing and suddenly the screen fills with warnings: "Your computer has been infected! Call Microsoft support immediately at this number. Do not restart your computer." Alarms may even play through your speakers. It is designed to panic you — and it is entirely fake.

What the scammers want

The goal is to get you to call the number. Once on the phone, a "technician" will ask to remotely connect to your computer to "fix" the problem. If you let them in, they can install real malware, steal files and passwords, and lock you out. Then they charge you hundreds of dollars for a nonexistent repair — often demanding gift cards or a bank transfer.

Some target victims repeatedly: once you have paid, they mark you as an easy mark and call back weeks later posing as a "refund department" to run a second scam.

The truth about those pop-ups

• Microsoft, Apple, and Google do not put your phone number in a browser pop-up. They do not monitor your personal computer for viruses this way.
• A website cannot actually scan your computer for infections. The "scan" animation is fake.
• Real security warnings come from your installed antivirus software, not a web page, and they never tell you to call a phone number.

How to close it safely

The pop-up may block you from closing the tab normally. Do not call the number. Instead, close the browser entirely: on Windows press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager and end the browser process; on a Mac press Cmd+Option+Esc and force-quit the browser. When you reopen, decline to restore the previous tabs. Run a scan with your real antivirus if you want peace of mind.