Fake support calls and virus warning pop-ups

Fake support calls and virus warning pop-ups

Two versions of the same scam. In one, a page takes over your screen with sirens or a beeping alarm, a Windows or Apple logo, and a warning that your computer is infected and you must ring a support number now. In the other, the phone rings and a polite person says they are from Microsoft, Telstra, the NBN, or your bank, and that they have detected a problem with your computer.

Both are after the same thing: remote access to your machine, and then your banking. Neither is real. Microsoft, Apple, your internet provider and your bank do not monitor your computer and will never ring you unprompted about a virus.

Try this first: the pop-up

The pop-up is a web page, not a virus. It has not damaged anything. It just refuses to close normally, and the noise is there to panic you.

  1. Do not ring the number and do not click anything inside the window, including the X, the Cancel button or the close prompt. Those are part of the page.
  2. On Windows, press Ctrl, Alt and Delete together and choose Task Manager. Find your browser in the list, for example Chrome, Edge or Firefox, click it once and click End task. That closes the page.
  3. On a Mac, hold Command, Option and Escape together, select the browser in the list and click Force Quit.
  4. Reopen your browser and decline to restore the previous tabs if it offers. Restoring will bring the page straight back.
  5. If it happened on your phone, close the browser tab, then close the browser from the app switcher. Nothing needs to be installed or removed.

If the sound will not stop, turn the volume down while you work through the steps. It is only a page playing audio.

Try this first: the phone call

  1. Hang up. You owe them nothing, and there is no version of this call worth continuing. Being firm is fine.
  2. Do not let anyone connect to your computer. If you are asked to install AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer or anything similar, or to type a code into a website, stop. That is the moment control changes hands.
  3. Do not read out any code from a text message, even if the caller says it is to verify your identity. Those codes are what protect your accounts.
  4. If the caller claims to be us, hang up and ring 03 9028 4358 yourself. We will never mind. We only connect to your computer when you have asked us to, usually in a ticket you raised, and we will always say who we are and why.

If you already let them in

This happens to sensible people, and it is fixable. Move quickly and in this order.

  1. Disconnect the computer from the internet. Unplug the network cable, or turn off wi-fi from the icon near the clock. That ends their session immediately. Leave the computer on.
  2. Call us on 03 9028 4358 from a phone, not from the affected computer.
  3. If you gave any banking details, or they opened your internet banking, ring your bank straight away and tell them a remote access scam has occurred. Do not wait for us first.
  4. If you paid by card or gift card, tell your bank or the card issuer now. Gift card payments are rarely recoverable, but the report still matters.
  5. Change your passwords from a different device, starting with email and banking.

We will then check the machine properly: what remote access software was installed, what was run while they were connected, whether anything was left behind to let them back in, and whether any saved passwords in the browser need changing. Do not try to uninstall things yourself first, because what is there tells us what happened.

Why this keeps working

These scams do not attack the computer, they attack the moment. A loud warning, an official-sounding voice, and a suggestion that something bad is happening right now is enough to move most people from thinking to reacting. The technical part is you granting access, which is why no amount of software fully prevents it.

The useful habit is a simple one. Nobody legitimate rings you out of the blue about your computer, and no real warning message ever includes a phone number to call. Real warnings from Windows or your antivirus appear near the clock, are quiet, and never ask you to phone anyone.

Still stuck?

Log a ticket at portal.yougrowit.com.au or email support@yougrowit.com.au. If it is stopping you working right now, call 03 9028 4358.

Support hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm Melbourne time, excluding Victorian public holidays.

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