'System Support Alert' Tech Support Scam

The so-called 'System Support Alert' pop-ups is an online attack that is designed to put your browser on full-screen and display pop-up messages non-stop. It locks your browser essentially and makes it impossible to use due to the fake error messages that it displays constantly. These messages, are, naturally, entirely fraudulent, designed to convince people to call a “technical support hotline.” The hotline itself is the real scheme, as the ‘specialists’ that answer the phone can offer ‘solutions’ for your ‘problems’ in return for a one-time fee or ‘subscription’ to their bogus support service.

The 'System Support Alert' alerts are a quite classical form of online fraud and an obvious tactic at that. Users who experience similar pop-ups are encouraged to never call the number in the pop-ups. True, it is not unheard for Microsoft’s products to display error and warning messages – but the said messages never include a phone number. Microsoft, or any other tech giants for that matter, are not in the habit of delivering unsolicited emails or making phone calls to request personal or financial information in return for fixing a user’s computer. Microsoft employees also are not in the business of obtaining remote access to the user’s to ‘fix it.’ Users should pay close attention to anyone that requires them to do so – this is not a tech specialist out the help them. Most likely, it is a fraudster that is using the oldest trick in the book to try and get their hands on the user’s information.