855-309-5435

My computer was blocked and that number popped to call Microsoft but it wasn't Microsoft and they wanted credit card information to fix my computer.

Are you saying your computer wasn't able to access the internet or you weren't able to boot up? Please be a bit more specific. Depending on which it is you may have to boot in safe mode to reinstall the OS or you'll need to take your pc to a reputable repair shop and have them fix it.

ETA: Especially if you want to save any of the files you have on your pc.

I got a message on my computer saying my IP address was blocked and to call 18553095435. It was suppose to bethe number to Suddenlink Cable. Once I called they wanted to get in my computer by remote access and it was only going to charge me a one time fee. I hung up. The message also said i couldn't close out of that message or reboot my computer but I was able to do both. Running anti virus and malware in computer right now

See the post below, from Nicole, who was assertive enough to do the right thing.  She was lucky that the fraudulent site only pid their IT guys to construct the pop-up, and not to have the pop-up tunnel into the system.

The question I have, for both Nancie and Nicole is what type of site they were on, that allowed fraud pop-ups like this?

Or, why they didn't set their browsers to reject pop-ups.

I have seen posts like these from time to time. Although there is a part of me that wonders what type of site tit was,  I hope they refrain from actually posting the link itself.

Maybe I should have phrased my question so that no one would even think of posting something like: "it was youarescrod.com".

I am one that tends overly cautious with things like this.  Especially if you consider some of the posts that sound one thing and turn out to be another. Thankfully 800notes shows an advisory if somebody clicks a link.

>> Thankfully 800notes shows an advisory if somebody clicks a link.  <<

But, but ... you are assuming people actually read and comprehend the advisory, and are not merely habitual mouse clickers who think they can get instant gratification by clicking ... or, maybe, they like blue.

On the other hand, links to my little site are not blue, are not clickable, and require some knowledge how to copy & paste or highlight & click, or use an alternate method of obtaining some educational tidbits.  Perhaps this prevents the most gormless from being educated.

Or, maybe that fact has offered exercise for index fingers, and contributed to wear & tear of mouse buttons (grin)

I offer this example:
http://phonehelp.2truth.com/facts.html

Having worked with the general public for 15 years,  I know that people do not always pay attention to such things. Nonetheless I view the advisory as warning that tells people they are accepting responsibility for what the ramifications that can arise by following the link.

Ow,,,ow...Too many clicks.  I can feel the carpal tunnel starting..

I've had these things pop up on my Google browser. Started about 3 months ago. It usually happens when I am trying to locate old Sims 2 files to download for my game and the site is no longer there. Basically they are using old dead URLs and redirecting. I have my browsers (I use 2 different ones) to block pop ups. The most common one I've seen is a fake blue screen of death and a popup that says something has gone wrong with your pc blah blah blah call this number and when you try to close the popup so you can close the webpage it pops right back up. There is, however, a little check box that only shows AFTER you've tried to close the popup that you can tick and will prevent it from popping up again and you can close the webpage. The check box is at the bottom where it can't be seen until you scroll down on the popup.

This is NOT Microsoft doing this.

These scammers have also found a way to do this via Google ads. Found that out because it was happening to some of the regulars on my regular forum. Basically Google hadn't vetted the ads properly. The forum owner has taken care of the situation by notifying Google and providing them with as much info as possible from those it was happening to.

Whatever you do, if you get one of those popups, DO NOT CALL. It is NOT a Microsoft support number. It's an old scam with some new tricks. Clear your browser of all cookies, history, temp files etc. Run your anti-malware (Malwarebytes is best and free for personal use) and anti-virus, then do yourself a big favor and run cleanup and defrag. You should run clean up and defrag at least once a week, especially if you surf the net a lot. The only anti-virus program I sold in my pc shop and highly recommend is SystemSuite by VCOM/Avanquest.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/

http://www.avanquest.com/International/softwa ... irus-anti-virus

You can purchase SystemSuite at Office Depot but make sure it's the most recent version so you don't have to call Avanquest to get updated. You won't be charged for the update when you let them know when and where you purchased it. They are aware there are still older versions on the shelves.

I've been using SystemSuite for about 15 years now and I'll never ever put Norton, McAfee or any of those more "popular" software on my pc again. None of them measure up to SystemSuite. I most certainly will never use Norton again after what happened when I first got SystemSuite. SS detected THREE trojans on my pc where Norton never even woke up until AFTER SS had detected them.

As always, do your research on Malwarebytes and SystemSuite before downloading or purchasing.

Nicole, if you see this, please read my reply to Kong.

If you you using Chrome or almost any browser but Edge in Windows 10, you can install an ad blocker (I use Ad Block Plus) that will block the vast majority of these browser hijacks that are served up by ad servers on popular websites. Since I installed the ad blocker I have not had any of these scareware pop-ups. More often than not, the website has no knowledge that these hijacks are being served up as they have no control over the ad servers other than to stop using them to provide ad revenues.  If they are told about them, they can complain to the ad server company but it can take some digging to figure out who inserted the ads onto the server. Often, the numbers lead to overseas companies making going after then as hard as the telephone scammers from the same countries.

No, thank you. I have no need of an ad blocker. I report the occurrences so the scammers can be tracked/traced and the scam killed with fire from space.

Google has already taken care of those ads we knew about. Since this is the first time it's happened on that forum, we all now know what to do to stop it. Google pulled those ads as soon as it was reported so we were ad-less for a few hours. Was kind of nice. lol

ETA: I do not use Google for that particular forum. I use a different browser for that and I wasn't getting any of those popups on that browser.  Believe it or not, it is IE. None of these scams have come up using IE, just on Google Chrome. Go figure. lol

Also I'm still using 8.1 until the end of the month. The things that were happening on the forum were happening to people on 10, 7, 8 and 8.1 so the OS didn't make any difference.

I've had better luck with the ad blocker than turning off pop-ups in the browser. Keeps this forum nice and clean to read. I only mentioned Edge under Win 10 because it does not (yet) support add-ons the way IE did and other current browsers do.

I don't get any popups on 800notes. It only happens when I try to go to a site that is no longer active. And everyone one of them have been sites for Sims 2 user created content, that no longer exist.

I have 10 on my desktops but I do not use Edge. I don't like it.

I use Firefox with that ad blocker and have no problems.  I especially like the fact that I don't have to put up with the ads.  Now if they only had one for Firefox on my Kindle and my phone I would be happy.

Thank you for this information.

I have used ESET for three years, and I have never seen the blue screen.

I always kept Malwarebytes installed, but I haven't used it much within the last couple of years.  I'm going to do that more often.

One totally unrelated thing.  I have a "first" to report.  I responded to a question about a charity, and actually got a "thank you".

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-843-303-9812#p1059697177151123102

Running a malwarebytes scan now.  The main difference I see in their dashboard is a heuristic analysis.  So I asked a question of the Interweb, and it told me that ESET does both active and passive heuristic testing.

Still going to keep and use malwarebytes.