Aisha was mid-workday when her screen froze and a pop-up screamed that her computer was infected. It even listed a phone number for “Windows Technical Support.” Panicked, she called. The voice on the other end sounded calm, professional, and reassuring—right up until her credit card was charged hundreds of dollars and her computer was remotely hijacked.
Later that week, her credit card company alerted her to multiple unauthorized charges. Aisha was the victim of a tech support scam. Criminals use these scams to convince victims that something is wrong with their computer, phone, or online account—and that they need immediate help from “technical support.” They impersonate legitimate companies like Microsoft, Apple, or banks to trick users into giving money, sensitive information, or remote access.
To protect against these scams, the SANS Institute recommends:
- Stay calm and think. Legit companies do not display pop-up warnings with phone numbers or call out of the blue.
- Never call numbers from pop-ups . Close the pop-up; find contact info from a different, reliable source.
- Do not grant remote access to someone you don’t know
- Monitor and secure your accounts. If you suspect you engaged with a scammer, immediately change your passwords and monitor your financial accounts.
