Microsoft will NOT call you or demand that you call them!

Microsoft will NOT call you about viruses on your device.

View the Virus Infection Scam video above for reference.

One day a friend of mine named Frank (not his real name) was working on his computer and got a message that said Microsoft "… has detected that his device has a virus and the computer will be locked until you call"…then showed a phone number to call.

So, what should Frank or you do if this message appears?

The first thing to do is STOP.  Then THINK.

Look at the message and see if it is from the antivirus program that YOU installed -- something like Avast or McAfee or maybe Norton. This type of message could be showing another company name that sounds like a technology company.  If the message is from your antivirus program then you need to do what it says, but the program will not have you call themon the phone, nor will they call you. (They don't know your phone number.)

If the message is NOT from your antivirus program, it is ALWAYS A SCAM.

Sometimes the message will want you to click on a button or link to "run a scan" or something similar.

A big giveaway of the warning being fake is if a word is misspelled or if bad English grammar is used.

This type of message can also appear on your cell phone or tablet.

Sometimes this can be a phone call.

A phone call of this type is ALWAYS A SCAM.

Personally, I don't answer the phone unless I recognize the number of the caller. If it's important they can leave a message and I will return the call.

This is called "Scareware" or a type of "phishing".

The basic truth is that Microsoft (or any other company) does not know you or your computer or your device or even your phone number.

So what I do is this:

1. Do NOT respond with anything other than pushing and holding the power switch on my computer or device for 10 seconds to turn it off. (OR HANG UP THE PHONE IF I GET A CALL.)

2. Do NOT click on ANYTHING! Just turn off the power.

These guys are very sly and you will not get anywhere talking to them.

Frank fell for this and the scammers got over $300 charged to his credit card before he got the charges stopped. Also, he allowed the scammers to gain remote access to his computer and they planted a remote spy program on the computer. It took about two hours to undo the damage.

The best thing to do with these scammers is to just walk away immediately.

Again, just turn off the power.

If you got a message like this on your computer, after you have shut down the computer, restart the computer and run all of the scanning and cleaning programs you have installed. You DO have antivirus and spyware cleaning  programs installed, right?

I often use programs like Ccleaner, SuperAntiSpyware, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, or Advanced System Care. There are other good programs can do these cleaning tasks.

Scanning for and removing viruses and cleaning temporary internet files (in the browser) will probably get rid of this issue for you.

If you still get the message on your device after rebooting and cleaning, you may need the services of your trusted local PC Technician.