Hackers are relentless these days. They are even using pop-ups to scam Microsoft users. Learn about these important ways to identify the scam and spread the word to your friends, coworkers, and family.

Things that go bump in the day?

While that saying generally says, bump in the night, we thought this would at least draw your attention. The truth is, an attack can come through day or night and simply sit dormant on your computer until you’re hard at work. Hackers aren’t biased and they have some patience if it means they can wiggle their way into your internal network.

What to look for with this scam.

Many users have reported a mysterious pop-up that just appears on their computer screen. It’s labeled from Microsoft and claims that the computer is frozen and the user needs to call a specific number on the screen to fix the issue. Here’s what happens:

• The number on the pop-up dumps you into what sounds like a call center.
• The person on the phone claims they work for Microsoft and can help you resolve this issue.
• The support representative will ask to take control of your machine to run diagnostics and find the issues.
• They will request a nominal fee to repair your systems.
• Your computer will never work the same again and your network will be left open for theft.

Halloween fears and phobias, ha! Data loss is truly frightening.

Con artists are not just posing as Microsoft agents, they stand in as Apple technical support, too. This scam kicked off originally in 2014, but is reappearing in a big way this year. Microsoft alone has heard from over 175,000 customers who have reported these types of support scams. The con artists ask for payment in order to fix your computer and ultimately take everything they can.

Protect yourself with these easy steps.

The first step, don’t ever call a phone number on a pop-up. These phone numbers are generally not trackable and lead you to some mystery person you’ll never truly identify. Secondly, never give anyone access to your computer unless they have verified your account with them using an account number or previous invoice number and amount. Third step, if you get some crazy questions, don’t be afraid to hang up. Some hackers will ask strange unrelated questions like, “Do you do banking on this computer?” Stay safe and avoid hackers dressed up as technical support agents.