Suspicious phone number

Question

Suspicious phone number

JoAnn Wahl 0

received a suspicious phone number on computer. computer is locked.

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi, @JoAnn Wahl

What you’re seeing is a scam pop-up, not a real Microsoft message. Microsoft does not lock your computer and ask you to call a phone number.

Do not call the number shown on the screen.

If you haven't tried anything yet please start by:

Closing browser affected by scam pop-up:

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Look for your browser (Edge, Chrome, etc.).
Click it, then choose End Task.

If that doesn’t work:

Press and hold the Power button for about 10 seconds to force shut down.
Turn the PC back on after 30 seconds.

After restarting:

Open your browser.
If it asks to restore previous tabs, choose No.
Clear your browser history and cache.

Run a full antivirus scan on your computer using Windows Security and any third-party antivirus software you have.

Run a full deep scan using a trusted security tool:

Download and run Microsoft Safety Scanner here: https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download
After running the scan, please restart your PC and monitor whether the issue continues.

I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Answer 2

This is most likely a tech support scam, not a real Microsoft lock. Microsoft error and warning messages never include phone numbers, and Microsoft does not make unsolicited calls to tell people there is a problem with a device.

Do this:

Do not call the number and do not click anything in the message.
Close the browser or app showing the alert.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Find the browser process and select End task.
If the browser will not close, restart the computer. If needed, press and hold the power button for at least 10 seconds until the device turns off, then turn it back on.
When reopening the browser, do not restore the previous page if prompted.
If the message appeared in Microsoft Edge, suspicious sites can be reported from Settings and More > Help and Feedback > Report unsafe site.
Report the scam at https://www.microsoft.com/reportascam.

If the device was actually signed in to a Microsoft account and that account is locked, unlock it by signing in at https://account.microsoft.com to request a security code.