Tech-Support & Refund Scams — Scam Defense Kit

General information to help you recognize a common, high-loss scam. The one rule that prevents almost all of it: never let anyone who contacted you take control of your device, and never move money or buy gift cards because a "support" person told you to.

This scam turns your own caution against you: it claims there's a problem — a virus, a hacked account, a fraudulent charge — and offers to "help." The help is the trap. Once a stranger has your trust, your screen, or remote control of your device, they can show you fake problems, watch you log in, and walk your money out the door — sometimes while you're on the phone, thanking them.

The one idea: real tech support and real banks do not cold-call or pop up to warn you, and never need to remotely control your device, your passwords, gift cards, or to "move your money to a safe account." Anyone who contacted you and asks for those things is a scammer — hang up and disconnect.

How it starts

It begins with a fright and a phone number — something designed to make you call them:

A scary pop-up or full-screen warning — "Your computer is infected! Call Microsoft/Apple now" — sometimes with a siren sound or a screen you can't seem to close.
A cold call or voicemail — "This is tech support / your internet provider; we've detected a problem with your device."
An email or text about an account or charge — "Your subscription auto-renewed for $499", "suspicious login", "your order shipped" — with a number to call to dispute it.
A "fraud department" call — claiming to be your bank, Amazon, PayPal, or a familiar brand, about a charge you didn't make.

All of these have one goal: get you on the phone with them, alarmed and trusting. The pop-up is harmless on its own — it's just a web page. The danger only starts if you call the number and do what they say.

The remote-access trap

Once you're on the line, the key move is to get into your device. This is the heart of the scam.

They ask you to install something — "support software" (a remote-access app) — or to read them a code that hands them control of your screen.
Now they can see everything — and they put on a show: opening harmless system logs and "scans" that look alarming to convince you the threat is real.
With control, they can do real harm — install actual malware, read your saved passwords, open your online banking, and watch you type your login.

Never let someone who contacted you take control of your device. No legitimate company — not Microsoft, Apple, your bank, or your ISP — will ever phone or pop up out of the blue and ask to remotely access your computer or phone. Granting that access is handing a stranger the keys to your digital life.

The "refund" twist — the costliest part

The most financially devastating version uses a fake refund to make you send your money to them:

"We owe you a refund." They say your subscription is cancelled or you were overcharged, and they'll refund you — but they need remote access to "process" it.
"Oops — we sent too much." While controlling your screen, they make it look like they deposited far too much (often by secretly moving your own money between your accounts, or faking a balance). "We sent $20,000 instead of $200 — I'll lose my job unless you send the difference back."
You send your money — by wire, gift cards, or crypto — to "return" money that was never really sent. It's gone, and it was always yours.

Two phrases that mean "scam," always: "buy gift cards to pay us back," and "move your money to a safe/protected account." There is no safe account but your own, and no real refund is ever repaid in gift cards. The moment you hear either, hang up.

What to do right now

Don't call the number in a pop-up, and if you're on a call — hang up. They rely on keeping you on the line.
Close the pop-up — close the tab, or force-quit the browser, or restart the device. It can't hurt you unless you act on it.
If you let them in: disconnect now — turn off Wi-Fi / unplug the internet to cut their access immediately.
From a different, trusted device, change your important passwords — email and banking first — and turn on two-factor. (The Lock It Down kit walks through this.)
Call your bank using the number on your card if you sent money or they saw your accounts — they can watch for or stop transfers.
Remove the software they had you install (or have a trusted tech check the device), and run a security scan.
It's not your fault, and act without shame. (See If You've Been Scammed and Report a Scam.)

Protect yourself and a parent

Real support is something you start. You look up the company and call them — they don't call you about a problem you didn't report.
Decide the rule in advance: a pop-up or caller saying "call this number now" is never obeyed. Look the company up yourself, on your own.
For an older parent especially, agree on a simple plan: "If a screen or a caller says your computer or bank has a problem, call me before doing anything." (The Safe Call and Protect an Aging Parent tools help set this up.)
Keep devices updated and don't install software a caller asks you to. Most real "infections" people fear are just these fake warnings.

Tech-support-scam checklist

A pop-up or caller said my computer/account is in danger — I did NOT call their number. I won't let anyone who contacted me remotely control my device. "Gift cards to repay" or "move money to a safe account" = scam; I hang up. If I let them in: disconnected, changed passwords from a clean device, called my bank. Real support is something I start — I look the company up myself. My parent and I agreed: "call me before acting on any scary screen or caller."

The close

The cruel cleverness of this scam is that it dresses up as rescue: the helpful voice that will fix the scary problem it invented. But the script always bends the same way — toward control of your device, and money sent in ways that can't come back. You don't have to understand computers to be safe from it. You only have to hold one line: nobody who contacts you gets into your device or your money, and a real refund is never repaid in gift cards. Close the window, hang up the phone, and — if it already happened — disconnect, call your bank, and tell someone, without a shred of shame. The trap only works while you stay on the line.

Free and public domain (CC0) — copy it, translate it, share it with someone who might need it. No accounts, no tracking; it runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you tick is saved or sent. General information to help you recognize a scam — if in doubt, hang up, don't grant access, and check with someone you trust.