"Your Computer Is Infected! Call Now": What to Do About Fake Virus Warnings

Suddenly your screen turns red. A siren blares. A box declares that your computer is infected, your bank details are at risk, and you must call a toll-free number immediately. Here is what is actually true: that message is not from Microsoft, Apple, or your antivirus company. It is a scam, and the phone number leads to a criminal.

What's actually going on

Your computer almost certainly does not have a virus. What you are looking at is a web page, nothing more, designed to look like an official warning. It often fills the whole screen, plays a sound, and may even seem to stop you from clicking anywhere. That is just a trick to make you panic. Scammers want you to phone them, because the real con happens during the call.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the person who answers will usually ask you to let them control your computer from afar (this is called remote access), claim to find terrible problems, and then charge you to fix them. They tend to ask for payment in ways that are hard to undo: gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or payment apps. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported about $2.1 billion in losses to tech support scams in 2025, and its figures show people over 60 lost far more to fraud overall than any other group.

Why real warnings never look like this

Genuine security software, and Windows or macOS themselves, do not tell you to call a phone number. Microsoft and Apple do not monitor your machine and cold-call you either. A real alert comes from a program already installed on your computer, and it simply offers a button to scan or update. If a message pushes a phone number, a countdown, or threats, treat that alone as proof it is fake.

What to do right now if you see one

1. Do not call the number, and do not click anything inside the pop-up, including buttons that say Close or OK. Those can be part of the trick.

2. Try to leave the page. On a Windows PC, hold the Alt key and press F4, which closes the active window. On a Mac, hold Command and Q to quit the browser. If the screen is stuck in full-screen mode, tap the Esc key first.

3. If that fails, force the browser to quit. On Windows, press Ctrl, Alt and Delete together, choose Task Manager, select your browser, and click End task. On a Mac, press Option, Command and Esc, select the browser, and choose Force Quit. As a last resort, hold the power button until the computer shuts off, then turn it back on.

4. When you reopen the browser, it may offer to restore your previous tabs. Say no, so the bad page does not come back.

5. Run a scan with the security program you already trust. On Windows, that is Windows Security, which comes built in. If the pop-up keeps returning, open your browser's settings and look for a list of sites allowed to send notifications. Remove any you do not recognize.

What if I already called or paid?

It happens to smart, careful people, and acting quickly makes a real difference. The FTC suggests these steps:

If you let them into your computer, disconnect it from the internet (unplug the cable or turn off Wi-Fi), then change your passwords from a different, trusted device. Change any other account that shares the same password. Our article on password managers explains an easy way to keep them all different.

If you paid, contact your bank or card company right away, say you were scammed, and ask about reversing the charge. Check your statements for anything else you do not recognize. If you bought gift cards, call the company that issued them as well.

Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reports help investigators build cases, and they are nothing to be embarrassed about. Telling a family member or friend you trust also helps, because an outside view makes scams easier to spot.

Watch for the follow-up scam

Scammers sometimes call again, pretending to be the one who can get your money back for a fee, or to be a government agent. Another version is a fake bill for a subscription renewal, from a brand like Norton or Geek Squad, telling you to call to dispute it. If you cannot find that charge on your own bank or card statement, the message is fake. Never use a phone number from a message you did not ask for. Look up the company's number yourself, from a bill or the back of your card.

The short version

A warning that tells you to phone someone is not a warning. It is bait. Close it, scan with software you already trust, and if you are ever unsure, ask a person you know before you do anything. A few calm minutes cost nothing, and the scam depends on you having none.