Issue
- You have been affected by a support scam
- What is a support scam?
- How do I prevent support scams?
- What if I continue to be affected by support scam pop-ups?
- Does ESET protect me from support scams?
- Additional ESET resources
Solution
What is a support scam?
Support scams are warnings (appearing in the form of a pop-up screen or a cold call) that indicate the user’s device is infected with malware or adware. The warning notifies the user to call the number displayed on the pop-up screen and not to restart the computer.
How do I prevent support scams?
If your device is affected by this type of pop-up screen warning, look for spelling mistakes, unprofessional images, or general errors within the pop-up warning.
Additionally, if the pop-up warning claims to be from a reputable company and has a phone number listed, search for the phone number on a different device and see if that number routes back to that company’s web page. If not, close the pop-up and restart your computer.
What if I continue to be affected by support scam pop-ups?
If you continue to be affected by support scam warnings, we recommend you start a chat session with an ESET Technician to help remove the warnings and to help educate you on how to avoid these situations in the future.
If you would like to remove them yourself, follow these steps:
Disconnect from the internet to prevent further interference from the pop-ups.
Delete any temporary files using "Disk clean up".
Scan your computer and export scan logs in ESET Windows home products.
Reboot your computer.
Change any passwords that may have been compromised.
Check for updates with your software, internet browser, or operating system.
Does ESET protect me from support scams?
ESET software monitors your device for threats and can actively identify and block attempts to introduce a threat to your computer through malware or other malicious code.
However, ESET cannot prevent you from viewing content with potentially misleading information. Support scams are a good example of “Social Engineering,” the practice of misleading a person into providing sensitive information or money to bad actors.
The best way to protect yourself from Social Engineering is to understand the signs and avoid interacting with web properties that might be used to position such scams. For more information on Social Engineering, visit the ESET Social Engineering (in cybersecurity) web page.
