The Federal Trade Commission has warned for years that legitimate technology companies do not call or email you out of the blue to say your computer is infected, and they do not ask for payment by gift card. The same pattern appears as an Apple warning, a browser lock, or a flashing antivirus page. The company name changes. The pressure does not.
RingMyTech explains this as part of Technology Wellness for older adults and families across the United States. If you want the wider map of patterns, use the Scam Awareness Center. If you already clicked or allowed someone onto the computer, use what to do after a suspicious link or the remote-access checks.
How to tell the warning is fake
A real security program lives in the computer's own settings or in an app you installed on purpose. It does not appear as a web page that will not let you leave, play an alarm, or print a phone number inside the browser. Caller ID on a follow-up call can be faked. The number on the pop-up is not Microsoft.
Watch for the combination of surprise, urgency, and a demand. The page says the computer will be destroyed, your files are encrypted, or you will be charged unless you call immediately. A real problem can wait while you close the page.
Close the page without calling
Do not call the number on the screen. Do not click the button that says scan, fix, or call now. Use the browser's own close button. If the page blocks that button, close the browser from the taskbar or dock, or shut the laptop lid and reopen it. Turning off Wi-Fi first is reasonable if the page keeps returning.
After the browser is closed, do not download a cleaner that the page recommended. If the computer is still behaving oddly, call a helper you chose. RingMyTech will not ask you to read a gift-card code or to stay on the line with the person from the pop-up.
If you already called the number
Hang up. If they can see your screen, disconnect from the internet. Do not follow further instructions from that caller, including a second payment to "undo" the first. Contact your bank or card company if money moved. Then read what to do after sending money and report what happened at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Anyone who calls later and offers to recover the money for an upfront fee is another scam. The FTC tells people to ignore those offers.
A short rule for the household
Say it once, in ordinary words: we do not call phone numbers that appear inside a warning. We look up the company ourselves, or we call RingMyTech at (888) 981-TECH. Put that sentence next to the computer. The printable version is on the Technology Wellness checklist.
Unsure whether something is legitimate?
Read the message as it is. You do not have to decide alone, and you do not have to click first.
Sources
RingMyTech explains these topics in plain language. The agencies below publish the primary guidance.