You're browsing, and suddenly the screen fills with a warning: your computer is infected, your files are at risk, call this number right now. Sometimes there's a loud voice or a siren. It looks official, with a Microsoft or Apple logo.
It's a scam. Here's how to handle it.
How to tell it's fake
- It gives you a phone number. Microsoft and Apple never put a number in a warning and ask you to call.
- It's in your web browser. Real security warnings come from your security software, not from a website.
- It's urgent. "Call within 5 minutes or your data will be deleted" is pressure, and pressure is the scam.
How to close it
- Don't call the number and don't click anything on the page.
- Close the browser. If it won't close, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on a PC (or Cmd + Option + Esc on a Mac) and force-quit the browser.
- When you open the browser again, don't restore the old tabs.
If it keeps coming back, something on the computer is bringing it back, and that's worth having checked.
If you already called
It happens to careful people every day. If you let someone connect to your computer or gave them payment details:
- Disconnect the computer from the internet.
- Call your bank and card company and tell them.
- Change your email and banking passwords from a different device.
- Have the computer checked for anything they left behind.
Kevin can do that last part at your place or remotely. Call or text (443) 681-9916.