I fell for a fake antivirus pop-up and it cost me $75 to fix my computer

4 comments

4 Comments

My cousin's kid got one of those pop-ups last month and panicked. He actually called the fake "Microsoft support" number on the screen. They talked him into giving remote access to his laptop. It took his dad two full days to undo the damage, change every password, and cancel the credit card he'd read out loud. The emotional trick they use is what's so scary, making you feel like you have to act right that second.

kai_webb912mo ago

Remember my grandma got a call saying I was in jail and needed bail money. She almost fell for it before calling my mom in a panic. That urgent feeling they create is just evil.

jessica7071mo ago

Ugh, that's awful! The same thing happened to my neighbor's son last year. He got that popup during a school project and completely panicked, called the number and gave them remote access before his mom even knew. It took me and her like four hours just to uninstall everything they put on there. @kai_webb91 is totally right, that fake urgency is the worst part, it's like they know exactly how to make someone stop and think for a second.

mary_nelson712mo ago

Ugh, those are the worst... I got hit with one last year. My guy said to just force quit the browser with Task Manager, then run a scan with Malwarebytes. It's free and usually catches that junk.