Tech Support Scams: Fake Pop-Ups, Renewal Invoices and the Two Rules That Stop Them
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How we wrote this: A summary of the Federal Trade Commission's "How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams" page and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center's 2025 annual report (linked below), checked October 29, 2026. Company names below are the ones the FTC says scammers borrow; they are not the scammers.
A red warning fills your screen, a voice says your computer is infected, and there's a number to call "right now." That is a tech support scam. The FTC says these scammers try to scare you into believing there's a problem with your computer so they can get your money, remote access to your machine, or your identity.
They work. In the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, tech support fraud drew 47,794 complaints and reported losses of $2,134,675,818, the third-largest loss category after investment fraud and business email compromise.
The two rules that stop almost all of them
The FTC boils its advice down to two things:
- Legitimate tech companies won't contact you by phone, email or text to tell you there's a problem with your computer.
- Real security pop-ups never ask you to call a phone number.
If a warning or a caller breaks either rule, stop there.
How the scam usually starts
The FTC describes several openings:
- A fake pop-up that looks like it's from a well-known company and urges you to call for help.
- A call or text from someone posing as a technician from a well-known company.
- Search results and ads. Scammers try to get their sites to show up when you search for tech support, or run their own display ads, hoping you call them instead of the real company.
Once you're on the phone, they ask for remote access, pretend to scan the computer, "find" malware and offer to remove it for a fee. They push payment by gift card, wire transfer, bank transfer, cryptocurrency or a payment app, because, as the FTC puts it, it's like cash: once it's gone, it's hard to get back.
The fake renewal invoice
A newer variation arrives by email or text: you were just charged hundreds of dollars to renew a tech support subscription. The FTC says scammers use the names of well-known companies such as Geek Squad, McAfee and Norton, and tell you to call within 24 hours to dispute the charge.
If you call, they ask for remote access, steer you to a spoofed site to enter bank or card details "for the refund," then claim they refunded too much and need the difference back by gift card, wire, crypto or payment app.
What the FTC says to do instead:
- Contact the company directly using a phone number you know is real, never the one in the message.
- Check your card or bank statement. If there's an unauthorized charge, ask your bank or card company to reverse it. If there's no charge at all, the message was a scam. Delete it.
The "your money isn't safe" twist
Sometimes the fake technician says your accounts were hacked or your name is tied to a serious crime, then transfers you to someone who claims to work for the government. That person gives a badge or case number and says to move your money to "protect it," put it in a "federal safety locker," or buy gold or withdraw cash for someone to pick up.
The FTC is clear: no one who works for the government will tell you to move your money to protect it, there's no such thing as a federal safety locker, and government workers never demand payment in cash or gold. (More on these in government impersonation scams.)
If you think there really is a problem
- Update your security software and run a scan.
- Get help from someone you know and trust, the software company's own support channel, or the in-person support desk of a store that sells computers.
- Not sure? Talk it over with a friend, family member or neighbor first. The FTC notes that just saying it out loud often makes the scam obvious.
If you already called or paid
- Gave remote access: the FTC's "What To Do if You Were Scammed" page (linked below) says to update your security software, run a scan and delete anything it flags, then change your passwords and turn on two-factor authentication.
- Gave a username and password: change that password right away, and anywhere else you reused it. A password manager and multi-factor sign-in help; see passwords and MFA.
- Paid: contact the payment company right away. For gift cards, see gift card scams.
- Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also file with the FBI at ic3.gov.
A rule for a small office
Put it in writing: nobody installs remote-access software or pays an invoice because of a pop-up, call or text. Real support starts with a call you place to a number you looked up yourself. If you're still on an old PC, also see Windows 10 end of support, since out-of-date systems are an easy story for scammers to tell.