Pop-ups and calls about a problem with your computer

How it starts

The FTC's guide to spotting tech-support scams describes three ways in: a fake pop-up warning that seems to come from a well-known company and urges you to call a number; a call or text from someone posing as a technician from a well-known company; and ads or search results placed by scammers, so that people looking for help call them.

The FTC is direct about the first two:

"Real security pop-up warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number."

"Legitimate tech companies won’t contact you by phone, email, or text message to tell you there’s a problem with your computer."

Federal Trade Commission

What happens on the call

In the older version, the "technician" asks for remote access to your computer, pretends to run a scan, "finds" a virus and charges you to remove it, often asking for payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency or a payment app.

In the version the FTC described in March 2024, the pop-up says someone hacked your bank, investment or retirement account. You're passed to a second person who claims to be from your bank's fraud department or a government agency, and who says the only way to protect your money is to move it to a new account that the scammer controls. The FBI's "Phantom Hacker" alert lays out the same three steps (tech support, then "your bank," then "the government"), and notes that victims were told not to tell anyone the real reason they were moving their money.

What the numbers show

In the FBI's 2025 IC3 Annual Report, people aged 60 and over filed about 21,300 complaints about tech-support and customer-support scams and reported $1.04 billion in losses to them, the second-largest crime type by losses for that age group, after investment fraud. These are only the losses people reported; the report notes that age is optional on the complaint form.

How to close a page that won't close

A pop-up like this is usually a web page, not a message from your computer, and closing the browser closes it. Microsoft notes that some tech support scams come as malware installed on the computer instead, showing fake error messages. If it fills the whole screen:

• Press and hold the Esc key for a few seconds to leave full-screen mode. Some pages can block a quick press. In Chrome or Edge, Google's developer guide says, "If the user presses and holds the Escape key, they can still exit full screen mode."
• On Windows, press Alt and F4 together to close the window. On some laptops F4 does something else unless you also use the Fn key (Microsoft's guide to its Surface keyboards, for one, says the top-row keys "double as function keys when you press the Fn key"), so if nothing happens, hold Fn as well, or press it once and try again. On a Mac, press and hold Command and Q to quit the browser.
• If nothing works, restart the computer. Microsoft says these pages can put your browser in full screen mode and even "Disable Task Manager," so if the screen won't let you restart, press and hold the power button until the computer turns off, then turn it on again. (Apple's guide, for a Mac, says to "Press and hold to force your Mac to turn off, such as when your Mac isn’t responding".) When the browser opens again and offers to restore your last pages, say no. If the warning comes back anyway, close that tab.

If you're still worried, the FTC suggests updating your security software and running a scan, and talking to someone you trust. If you need a company's help, type the address of its official website yourself and find its contact details there, not in a search result or an ad.

How to check a call or a "renewal" notice

Hang up on anyone who calls about a problem with your computer. Don't call a number from a search result or an ad, either: the FTC says tech support scammers may try to get their websites into online search results, and run their own ads, hoping you'll call. For emails about renewing antivirus or tech support plans, the FTC says to contact the company using a number you know is real, and to check your statements for charges you don't recognize. Scammers have used the names Geek Squad, McAfee and Norton in these notices. See emails about an invoice or renewal you don't recognize.

If you already called or let them in

First, disconnect. Unplug the internet cable or turn off Wi-Fi. On a phone or tablet, turn on Airplane mode, and check that Wi-Fi went off too: Apple says that if you've turned Wi-Fi on while in Airplane mode before, it may still be on.

Then, if they could have seen your money, call about it now. If you opened any bank, card or investment account while they were connected, or they saw your account details, call that company at the number on the back of your card or on your statement, from a different phone if you can. Don't move any money a caller told you to move. The FBI's advice is to contact your financial institution as soon as fraud is recognized, and its 2025 report says that when money has been moved, "time is of the essence." If money was moved, file a complaint at ic3.gov right away too, with the full transaction details: the FBI says "IC3 may be able to assist both the financial institutions and law enforcement in freezing funds."

Next, take their program off your computer. Microsoft's advice: "Uninstall any applications that scammers have asked you to install." That includes programs such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer, ScreenConnect or Quick Assist, if they had you open one. Security software often won't flag these, because they're real programs: the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency notes that "The use of RMM software generally does not trigger antivirus or antimalware defenses." (RMM means remote monitoring and management, the kind of program these are.) Some of these programs run without being installed at all: CISA describes scammers using "portable executables" that launch without installation. So if they had you download a file and open it, delete that file too. If you're not sure how, ask someone you trust or the maker of your computer.

Then the FTC's steps from "What To Do if You Were Scammed": update your security software, run a scan and delete anything it flags. Change your passwords, and turn on two-step sign-in. If you need help finding or removing something, the FTC suggests the maker of your computer, a company you know and trust, or a friend or family member who knows computers. If you paid by card, its guide says to call the number on the back of your card and ask for a refund. Our own advice: if you can, change the passwords from a different device, one they never had access to. For Windows computers, Microsoft adds: "If you have given scammers access to your device, consider resetting it." A reset can erase your photos and documents, so back up your important files first: Microsoft's guide to recovery options in Windows warns that "Some recovery options can result in data loss." If you're not sure how, ask someone you trust to help.

When you report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or ic3.gov, include the phone number you were told to call: the FBI asks for the phone numbers, websites and emails the scammers used.

Related patterns

• Calls and texts from “your bank’s fraud department”A fraud alert, a code to read back, and a push to move money.
• Emails about an order, invoice or renewal you don't recognizeA big charge you didn't make, and a number to call within 24 hours.
• Anyone asking you to pay with gift cardsBuy cards, scratch the back, read the numbers.