Recently here at PJ Networks, a lot of customers have come to see us because of the same issue: they were browsing the web as usual when they saw a popup claiming they had a virus or there was an issue with their computer. The popup informed them that Microsoft or their computer’s manufacturer (HP, Dell, Toshiba, etc.) would help them, but they needed to call a 1-800 phone number for support. They would call the number, get told about some issue, and the ‘Microsoft’ rep would offer to remote into their PC to fix the problem. Within thirty minutes, their entire system was compromised, or locked/encrypted, and ‘Microsoft’ asked for an outrageous price to fix the problem. Even when our customers paid that amount, the system was not fixed. Unfortunately, this is a scam. For anyone who has been tricked, your data may be compromised, and your computer is most likely going to need to be cleaned up a good bit to get it back into working order.
Another popular scam is the infamous "Fake FBI Warning", informing the user that the FBI has detected that there is child pornography on their computer, and that it has been locked, but offers to "unlock it" for the reasonable fee of $200. Imagine that - being able to buy your way out of a prison sentence for only $200 - what a great deal! You have to wonder how many teenagers have gotten into serious trouble when their parents have seen this fake warning pop up on their computer screen.
Regrettably, these types of scams are becoming more and more common, and harder for people to avoid. Most of the scam web pages are made to look scary and cause someone to be fearful for their computer’s health and for the safety of their data. However, they are nothing more than a scam. The scammer is just looking for your money. Neither Microsoft, HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, nor Asus monitor computers in a way that would allow these kinds of alerts to appear. Additionally, they will never directly call or contact someone, unless an individual specifically sends them a message requesting that the company call them.
The good news is that there are a few ways to escape these pop up web pages once they’ve been opened. If the usual way you close your web browser (the red ‘X’ at the top right corner) doesn’t work, then we recommend holding down the ‘ctrl’ and ‘alt’ keys at the same time, then hitting ‘delete’ or ‘del’ on your keyboard. This should bring up a menu of options. Choosing “Task Manager” and then selecting your web browser, for example Google Chrome, in the “Applications” tab will cause the greyed-out “end task” button to become available. Ending the Google Chrome application will close out of the webpage, and when you re-open chrome, you can resume browsing as usual!
As always, if you have any questions, or suspect you might have fallen victim to one of these scams, we are here to help!
Let’s stay safe out there - both on the web and on the road this winter season!
- The PJ Networks Family.
PS - This means NEVER call a toll free number that pops up on your computer screen like this - please.
