{"id":97697,"date":"2019-12-12T08:35:48","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T16:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"\/blogs\/?p=97697"},"modified":"2025-06-06T02:08:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:08:46","slug":"top-tips-to-spot-tech-support-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/other-blogs\/mcafee-labs\/top-tips-to-spot-tech-support-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Tips to Spot Tech Support Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are number of ways scammers use to target your money or personal details. \u00a0These scams include support sites for services such as Office365, iCloud, Gmail, etc. They will charge you for the service and steal your credit card details.\u00a0Software activation scam sites will steal your activation code and they may resell it at a low cost.<\/p>\n

There have been many articles about these types of scams, including one we posted earlier this year about support scams – https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/consumer-threat-notices\/mcafee-customer-support-scam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this article, we would like to provide more examples of the scam sites and tips to help you spot them and avoid entering your personal information.<\/p>\n

Scam sites may include these major services\u2019 names in their domains, and include links for the official sites, to appear like legitimate (authorized) support for these companies.<\/p>\n

The screenshots below are examples of various types of scam sites.<\/p>\n

This one is an example of a software activation scam site. It targets users who are confused about how to set up their software. As shown below, the scammer asks users to enter their personal information and the activation key, pretending to help with the software setup.<\/p>\n

On the same page, it provides the details on how to find the activation key and how to set up the software.<\/p>\n

After following these steps and entering the personal information, you get an error as shown in the screen shot below.<\/p>\n

At this time, the scammer has already received the user\u2019s information, which could then be used for financial gain. As the error occurs, they expect the user to call the numbers above and they will charge the user for that call, even though they can get the same service for free from the respective software companies. This activation code can then be sold at a low cost on pirated software sites.<\/p>\n

When you encounter a site which you suspect to be a support scam, try Googling its phone number.\u00a0You may be surprised that a lot more of other support scam sites with the same phone number will appear in the results.\u00a0In this example, the same number is linked to at least 4 other support scams.<\/p>\n

For these sites, they have the same appearance as shown in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n

The below screenshot shows a typical scam site that tries to mimic the official site but is not as professional. It only provides the phone number and contact form, and nothing else.<\/p>\n

Users may encounter these sites in various ways:<\/h2>\n