How to Spot a Tech Support Scam Call Before It Costs You

How to Spot a Tech Support Scam Call Before It Costs You

Your phone rings. The caller says they are from Microsoft, or Apple, or your internet provider. They tell you a virus was found on your computer, or that your account has a problem, and they can fix it right now if you just let them connect to your device. This is one of the fastest growing scams hitting Arizona right now, and it has a specific pattern once you know what to look for.

Arizona lost more than 600 million dollars to scams in 2025, according to the FBI. Tech support fraud is one of the costliest categories, right alongside investment fraud and romance fraud. These are not rare, isolated incidents. They are happening to people in our own neighborhoods every single day.

How the Call Usually Starts

The scam can begin a few different ways. Sometimes it is an unsolicited phone call telling you your computer is sending out error messages. Sometimes it is a pop-up window on your screen warning that a virus was found, with a phone number to call for help. Sometimes it looks like a real company name and logo, because scammers are good at copying what a legitimate company looks like.

However it starts, the goal is the same. They want you to feel like something is wrong right now, and they want you to act before you have time to think it through.

What They Will Ask You to Do

Once they have you on the phone, they will offer to fix the problem for a fee, and they will ask you to do one of two things. They may ask for remote access to your computer, which means they can see and control everything on your screen. Or they may ask you to pay them through a gift card, a wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.

No real tech company, bank, or government agency will ever ask you to pay with a gift card. That request alone is one of the clearest signs you are talking to a scammer.

The One Thing That Gives Them Away Every Time

Scammers create urgency on purpose. They want you nervous and rushed, because a calm person who takes time to think usually catches on. If a caller is pressuring you to act immediately, asking for remote access to your device, or asking you to pay in gift cards or crypto, you are not talking to tech support. You are talking to someone trying to take your money.

What to Do Right Now

If you get a call like this, hang up. You do not need to be polite about it or explain yourself. If a pop-up appears on your screen warning about a virus, do not call the number on it. Shut your computer down, wait a few minutes, and restart it. In most cases the pop-up will be gone.

If you want to check whether there really is a problem with your account or your computer, contact the company yourself using a number you already know, not one given to you by the caller or the pop-up.

If you already gave someone remote access to your device or sent them money, contact your bank right away and report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Acting quickly gives you the best chance of limiting the damage.

I built Scam-Proof Senior because I know what it feels like to be on the wrong end of one of these calls. Sharon and I lost a significant amount of money to a scammer who knew exactly how to create that sense of urgency and panic. I do not want that to happen to a single one of our neighbors.

If someone in your family got a call like this recently, share this post with them. One conversation could save them from a very bad day.

Pete Miller

Founder, Scam-Proof Senior

Sun City, Arizona