Spotting a tech-support scam

A red window fills the middle of the screen. There’s an alarm sound. The text says your computer is infected and that you must not turn it off. A phone number flashes, next to a logo that looks a great deal like Microsoft’s or Apple’s.

None of it is real. It’s a web page built to frighten you long enough that you dial the number.

This article covers how to recognize these scams, how to react, and what to do if you’ve already picked up the phone. Getting caught has nothing to do with intelligence: these people do this all day, every day, and the script is polished to work on everyone.

The one rule that settles most of it

A real IT company will never call you to say there’s a problem with your computer.

Not Microsoft, not Apple, not Google, not your bank, not your internet provider. None of them monitors your computer and phones you about it. They have neither the means nor the right.

If the contact came from them — a call, a pop-up, an alarming email, a text — the answer is always the same: hang up, close it, delete it. You owe no politeness to a stranger who called you.

The three signs worth memorizing

1. They contacted you. You weren’t looking for anything and you hadn’t called anyone. The alert arrived on its own.

2. There’s urgency. “Don’t hang up.” “Your files will be erased in ten minutes.” “Your bank account is at risk right now.” Pressure is the main tool: a person in a hurry doesn’t stop to check. A real technician will tell you the opposite — take your time.

3. The payment is strange. Gift cards from a retail chain, an e-transfer to a stranger, cryptocurrency, a bitcoin ATM. No legitimate business takes payment in gift cards. None. If you remember only one thing from this article, make it that one.

The variations going around

The fake on-screen alert. A web page that fills the screen, sometimes with a synthetic voice. It locks up the browser to create the impression that the computer is being held hostage. It isn’t.

The fake refund. “We’re shutting down our service and we owe you $400.” They get you to open your bank account, then make you believe $4,000 was transferred by mistake and that you must return the difference. The first transfer never happened: it’s a faked display on your own screen.

The fake subscription renewal. An email confirming a $499 antivirus renewal, with a number “to cancel”. The goal is to make you place the call yourself, which makes it feel like your own initiative.

The “grandchild” call. A young voice in distress asking for money quickly and insisting you tell no one. Hang up and call that person back on the number you already have.

What to do in the moment

If it’s a window on screen: don’t click any button inside it, not even the “X” or “Close”, which sometimes do the opposite of what they say. Quit the whole program instead — Alt + F4 on Windows, Cmd + Q on a Mac — or hold down the power button to shut the computer off. The window will be gone. It damaged nothing.

If it’s a phone call: hang up without discussion. It is not rude to hang up on someone trying to rob you.

And never let a stranger take control of your screen. That’s the step these people are working toward, because from there they can do anything.

If you’ve already clicked or talked

It happens, and it isn’t a catastrophe if you act quickly. In order:

1. Disconnect. Unplug the network cable or turn off the device’s Wi-Fi.
2. Call your bank if you gave banking information, granted access to your account, or made a payment. Ask for the fraud department.
3. Change your important passwords — email first, then banking — from a different device, not the one that was involved.
4. Have the computer checked before using it normally again. Remote-control software may have been installed and needs to be removed.
5. Report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Reports help investigations even when the money can’t be recovered.
6. Tell someone. Shame is a scammer’s best ally: it’s what stops people from acting fast.

Having the conversation in advance

If you’re looking out for an older parent, the most useful conversation isn’t a list of prohibitions. It’s a simple agreement: “If anyone ever calls you about your computer, hang up and call me. Any hour, whatever they say.” One ready-made exit beats ten warnings.

At QC Tech Support, checking whether anything actually happened on a device is routine work, and a first call to talk it through costs nothing. We will never call you out of the blue about a virus — and we will never ask for a password by email or text.