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October 21, 2026

Pop-Up Says Your Computer Is Locked and to Call Microsoft? What to Do

It usually comes out of nowhere. You are reading the news or looking up a recipe, and suddenly a warning fills the screen. It says your computer is locked or infected, that your files or bank accounts are at risk, and that you must call "Microsoft Support" or "Apple Support" right away. Some of these warnings sound an alarm. Some tell you not to turn the computer off.

If that is on your screen right now, here is the most important thing: do not call the number.

The short answer: real warnings do not ask you to call

The FTC says it directly: "Real security pop-up warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number." Microsoft says the same about its own products: "Error and warning messages from Microsoft never include a phone number."

So a pop-up that tells you to phone someone for help is a strong sign of a scam, whatever company name or logo it shows. Do not click anything inside it. The California Attorney General's office advises closing your web browser, the program you use to visit websites, instead.

How to close it safely

  1. On a Windows computer: press the Ctrl, Shift, and Esc keys at the same time to open Task Manager. Click your web browser in the list, then click End task.
  2. On a Mac: press the Command, Option, and Esc keys at the same time to open the Force Quit window. Choose your web browser, then click Force Quit.
  3. If neither works and the screen is frozen, turn the computer off. If it will not shut down the normal way, press and hold the power button until it turns off. On a Mac, Apple says this can take up to 10 seconds. Then turn it back on.

The keyboard steps above come from the California Attorney General's guide to tech scams. When you open your browser again, if it offers to restore or reopen the pages from last time, choose not to, because that can bring the same warning page back.

What happens if you call

The FTC and the FBI describe a pattern that often goes like this:

  • The person who answers sounds professional and says they work for a well-known company.
  • They ask you to download a program that lets them control your computer from far away. Then they pretend to run a scan and claim to find viruses or a hacker.
  • They ask you to pay for the "repair", often by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app.
  • In a more serious version, which the FBI calls the "Phantom Hacker" scam, they ask you to open your bank or investment accounts "to check for unauthorized charges." Next comes a call from a fake bank fraud department, and sometimes a fake government official, telling you to move your money to a "safe" account.
  • In another version, people are told to withdraw cash or buy gold, and a courier comes to collect it. We covered that in detail in Told to Buy Gold Bars to Protect Your Money?

The FBI says the U.S. government and legitimate businesses will never ask you to buy gold or other precious metals. And the FTC says "no one from the government will ever tell you to buy and deliver gold bars, move your money, or give cash to anyone."

How common this is

In its 2025 annual report, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said people 60 and older filed more than 21,000 complaints about tech and customer support scams and reported about $1.04 billion in losses. For that age group, it was the second-largest category of reported losses, behind only investment fraud.

These scams are built to frighten people into acting fast. Being caught by one says nothing about your intelligence.

Red flags to watch for

  • A warning on your screen gives you a phone number to call.
  • A call, text, or email you did not ask for says there is a problem with your computer. The FTC says legitimate tech companies won't contact you that way to tell you about a problem with your computer.
  • Someone asks to connect to your computer remotely, or asks you to download a program so they can help.
  • You are asked to pay for a fix with a gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app.
  • You are asked to log in to your bank account while they watch.
  • You are told to keep it secret, even from your bank or your family.
  • An email or text says a subscription, such as Geek Squad or Norton, is renewing for hundreds of dollars, and that you must call within 24 hours to cancel. The FTC lists this as a common version of the same scam.

If you already called, paid, or let someone in

Act today, not next week. These steps come from the FTC, Microsoft, and the California Attorney General.

  • If they still have control of your computer: hang up and shut the computer down. The California Attorney General says that should cut off the remote session. Turning it off does not remove any program they had you install, though, so do not use that computer for banking, email, or shopping until it has been cleaned up.
  • Clean up the computer. Microsoft advises uninstalling any programs the scammers asked you to install, running a full security scan, and installing the latest updates, and says resetting the computer may be the best option in some situations. If you are not comfortable doing this, ask someone you trust, or a repair shop you find yourself, not one the caller recommended.
  • If you paid by credit or debit card: call the card company right away using the number on the back of your card, and ask them to refund your money.
  • If you paid with a gift card: call the company that issued the card, using the number on the back of it, and tell them a scammer tricked you into giving them the card number and PIN.
  • If you paid by wire transfer or cryptocurrency: contact the wire transfer company, or the cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator, right away. Tell them it was a fraudulent transaction and ask them to reverse it.
  • Change your passwords if you gave a password or let someone into your computer. Do it from a different device you trust, such as your phone, and turn on two-factor authentication where you can, as the FTC advises when a computer may have been taken over. Change the password anywhere else you used the same one.
  • Call your bank or card company if your financial information may have been seen, including if the scammer could see your screen while you were logged in to an account. Use the number on the back of your card or on your statement.
  • Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI at ic3.gov. If the scammer used Microsoft's name, you can also report it to Microsoft at microsoft.com/reportascam.
  • If you are 60 or older and would like help reporting, the Justice Department's free National Elder Fraud Hotline is at 833-372-8311, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.
  • Be ready for a second call. People who lost money are sometimes contacted again by someone offering to get it back. The FTC says not to trust anyone who says they can recover money you lost in a scam for a fee, and that government agencies will never ask for money to help you get a refund.

If an email or text about your computer or an account is making you uneasy, you can paste it into Shieldle for a second opinion before you call anyone. It is an extra check, not a guarantee. For a warning that is on your screen right now, the safest move is the one above: do not call, close the browser, and check with someone you trust.