Message & Call Scams

Tech Support & Pop-Up Scam Checker

A full-screen virus warning with a blaring alarm and a toll-free number. A call from "Microsoft" about signals coming from your computer. Both run on the same fact: real security warnings never include a phone number, and real tech companies never call you first. Describe what appeared on your screen or who called — the AI will tell you exactly what you're dealing with and what to do next.

scamanot.com — tech support checker

Works with pop-ups, browser warnings, unsolicited calls, and "refund" emails about tech services.

🔒 Content you paste is never stored, logged, or shared. It is processed server-side and discarded immediately after your result is returned. If a warning is on your screen right now: do not call the number shown. Close the browser (force-quit if needed) — real warnings never include phone numbers. This tool informs your decision — it does not guarantee outcomes.

Content never stored
AI runs server-side only
No account required
Cloudflare protected

How the Scam Runs

The tech support scam, stage by stage.

These operations run call centers with scripts, quotas, and escalation paths. Here's the machinery the AI checks your encounter against.

The Phone Number Tell

Genuine Windows, macOS, and antivirus warnings never display a phone number. A warning that wants you to call is an advertisement for the scam — that one fact resolves most cases.

Manufactured Panic

Alarms, flashing screens, countdown timers, locked browsers, robotic voices announcing "your computer is infected." Real security software doesn't scream; it quietly quarantines.

The Remote Access Ask

AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, LogMeIn. The moment a stranger controls your screen, they control your files, your saved passwords, and your online banking.

The Fake Scan

Once connected, they open harmless system windows — Event Viewer, netstat — and narrate ordinary entries as "infections" and "foreign hackers." Theater, performed daily.

The Refund Reversal

"We're closing and owe you $400" — then a fake overpayment appears and you're begged to return the difference via gift cards or wire. One of the costliest variants for older adults.

Bank "Protection"

The endgame: moving your money somewhere "safe" while they still have screen access. No technician, ever, needs to see your bank account to remove a virus.

Examples

Three encounters, checked.

From a noisy browser pop-up to a patient multi-day operation — same scam, rising stakes.

2
Low
The Screaming Pop-Up

A webpage suddenly fills the screen: "WINDOWS DEFENDER ALERT: Your PC is infected with 5 viruses! Do not shut down. Call Microsoft Support: 1-888-XXX-XXXX" — with a blaring siren.

It's a webpage, not Windows — a browser ad dressed as a system alert. Nothing is infected. Close the browser (Ctrl+Alt+Del or force-quit if it resists) and it's gone. Real Defender alerts appear in your notification area, silently, with no phone number.

5
Caution
The Unsolicited Callback

"This is Michael from Microsoft Windows Support. We're receiving error signals from your computer indicating a network breach. I can help you secure it — are you in front of your machine?"

Calm, patient, professional. The impossible premise: Microsoft doesn't monitor personal computers and has no idea whose machine emits "signals." No tech company makes unsolicited support calls. The politeness is the product.

8
High Risk
The Refund Trap

An email says your $399 "PC Shield" subscription auto-renewed; the refund line is friendly and apologetic. During the "refund," your online banking is open via remote access — and suddenly $4,000 appears instead of $400. The panicking agent begs you to return the difference before he's fired.

The overage is fake — money moved between your own accounts while you watched a fake screen. The scam weaponizes your honesty. Multi-day patience, live account manipulation, and emotional scripting make this the version that empties savings accounts.

Common Questions

About tech support scams.

No — never. Neither company monitors personal computers, neither can detect "error signals" from your machine, and neither makes unsolicited support calls. The same goes for legitimate antivirus vendors. Every unsolicited call claiming a company detected problems on your computer is a scam, without exception. Real support only happens when you initiate contact through official channels.
Almost certainly not. Scare pop-ups are webpages using full-screen mode, autoplaying audio, and dialog loops to feel like system takeovers — but they have no access to your files and install nothing by displaying themselves. Force-close the browser (Ctrl+Alt+Del on Windows, Force Quit on Mac), decline to restore tabs on reopen, and run a scan with your real antivirus for peace of mind. The "infection" was an advertisement.
Treat the machine as compromised until cleaned. Disconnect it from the internet, uninstall the remote access program (AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or similar), run a full antivirus scan, and — from a different, trusted device — change your passwords, starting with email and any financial accounts, enabling two-factor authentication as you go. If they viewed or touched your banking, call your bank's fraud line and monitor statements closely. If they had access for an extended period, a professional cleanup or OS reinstall is the safest route.
FBI IC3 data consistently shows tech support fraud among the top loss categories for victims over 60. The scripts deliberately exploit lower confidence with technology — a confident voice explaining scary technical "evidence" fills a genuine knowledge gap, and the fake-refund variant adds a moral hook by making the victim feel they owe money back. Sharing how the scam works with older family members, before it arrives, is one of the most effective preventions available. The rule to share: real warnings never include phone numbers.
No. Per our Security Policy Framework §3.1, nothing you submit is stored in our database. Your description is processed server-side, analyzed, and discarded immediately after your result is returned. We never retain, sell, or train on your submissions.
It depends entirely on the payment method. Credit card: dispute the charge — you have strong chargeback rights. Bank transfer or debit: call your bank's fraud department immediately. Gift cards: call the card issuer's fraud line right away to try freezing remaining balances. Wire: request a recall through your bank within hours if possible. In every case, report at reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov — reports drive takedowns of these call centers, and documentation helps any recovery claim.

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