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Fake tech support calls: spotting the Microsoft scam
"Your computer is infected" – a supposed technician just wants to help quickly. By the end he has your PC and your bank account. Here is how to see through the call instantly.
- Hang up. No discussion, no follow-up questions – the conversation is the attack.
- Install no software and grant no remote access.
- Pay nothing by card, transfer or gift card codes.
- Block the number and mention the scam to your family.
Vishing – fraud by phone call – has worked for years because it reverses the order. Instead of you looking for help, help comes to you. Someone who sounds friendly, technical and eager to assist gets past your guard faster than any fake email could. But the scam follows a fixed script, and once you know it you spot it in the first sentence.
The script
- The opening: a supposed technician from Microsoft, your internet provider or a “security department” reports a virus or suspicious traffic.
- The proof: you are told to open the Windows Event Viewer. It is always full of yellow and red entries – entirely normal, but they look alarming.
- The access: you are asked to install remote support software so he can “fix the problem”.
- The damage: he installs malware, opens your online banking, or demands payment for the “repair”.
- The follow-up: months later a “refund team” calls – and runs a second scam.
The warning signs
Always a scam when …
- the call comes unprompted and reports a technical problem,
- you are asked to grant remote access to your computer,
- software you do not know is supposed to be installed,
- payment is demanded in gift card codes, crypto or an instant transfer,
- the caller applies pressure or will not let you hang up,
- he asks for passwords, one-time codes or banking logins.
The browser version
The same scam runs without a call: while browsing, a full-screen warning appears with a siren sound – “your system is infected, call this number immediately”. That is an ordinary web page, not a system alert. Your computer is not infected.
What to do: mute the sound, close the browser through Task Manager (not through the “close” button inside the page), and do not restore the session on restart. Never call the number shown.
The one rule
You call support – support does not call you. No legitimate company contacts you unprompted about viruses on your personal computer. That single rule makes the entire scam useless, no matter how convincing the conversation sounds.If you granted access
Then it is an incident, not a suspicion. Work in this order:
- Disconnect the machine from the internet and shut it down.
- From a different, clean device, change your most important passwords: email first, then banking, then the rest.
- Call your bank and review recent activity – if there are charges: Online banking fraud .
- Lock your cards if card details were visible on screen.
- Rebuild the computer or have it checked professionally. After remote access, a virus scan alone is not enough.
- Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IC3.gov, and keep your payment records.
If money has already been sent, every minute counts: Sent money to a scammer .
The scam at a glance
Someone claiming to be from Microsoft or your internet provider reports a virus and offers to "help" through remote access. What they actually do is take over the computer.
How to recognize it
- An unsolicited call about a technical problem
- Harmless system messages presented as proof of an infection
- Remote access, a software install, or payment in gift card codes
What to do right away
- Hang up, with no discussion and no follow-up questions
- Always call support yourself, on the official number
What never to do
- Grant remote access to your own computer
- Give out passwords, codes or banking logins over the phone
Prevention in the family
This scam hits older people especially often, because it works on politeness and respect for authority. Two sentences help more than any technology:
- “I will call you back” – and then look up the official number yourself.
- “I do not decide anything on the phone” – as a standing family rule for everyone.
If the voice on the phone sounds like a relative, also read Deepfake calls .
More scams are in the scams overview .
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft ever call people out of the blue?
No. Neither Microsoft nor Apple, Google or your internet provider calls unprompted about a virus they supposedly found. Every call like that is a scam attempt, without exception.
I gave someone remote access to my PC – what now?
Disconnect the machine from the internet and shut it down. Then, from a different clean device, change your important passwords and call your bank. The affected computer should be rebuilt or checked professionally before you use it again.
Why does the caller sound so convincing?
Because he shows you real system messages that are harmless – the Windows Event Viewer with its normal warning entries. Those messages exist on every working PC. They prove nothing, but they are used as if they were evidence.