Microsoft Defender alert - scam?

Viruses & Threats
4

Hi Patrick,

We will help you to sort out the issue.

Please provide us the screenshot of the alert to investigate further.

You can post the screenshot here in your topic. Click on "Answer" & then click on the "Image" [mountain symbol] & follow the instructions.

Keep us posted.

3

Patrick, by extension we mean the browser add ons. Please reset your browser and check if that fix the issue and also we suggest you to check for any unwanted application installed on your computer. If any, we request you to remove the same and check if that solves this issue.

7

Hi Patrick,

We will help you to sort out the issue.

Please provide us the screenshot of the alert to investigate further.

You can post the screenshot here in your topic. Click on "Answer" & then click on the "Image" [mountain symbol] & follow the instructions.

Keep us posted.

1

We have a supposed alert on our computer telling us it has been compromised and locked out, that we should call 0207 097  4845 for help. It seems this is a scam, looking online - but how do we stop it happening again? Does my AVG protection cover this and will it eliminate the problem?
Thanks

2


Unfortunately we didn't think to get a screen shot and we turned off the laptop. I've reinstalled AVG internet security and run a security check which looks all clear.

The alert we received looked genuine and claimed to be Windows Defender with a voice alert saying not to switch off, data could be lost etc and to phone the number shown on screen- 02070974845

I checked online on my phone and saw that the number was classed as "dangerous" by the site "Who called me?" At that point we closed down the computer and later reinstalled AVG.

I hope this is of use. Will we now be protected against this malware? We have no idea where it could have come from as we've not logged on to any unusual sites. We did try to log into a Zoom call using an out of date link but can't see how that caused the problems.

Many thanks

Patrick Moore


Sent from Outlook Mobile

5

Thank you for providing the details. 
Yes, we'd like to confirm that it is a scam message and we're glad that you did not call them. This could be caused due to an adware application or an unwanted extension or search engine installed on your browser.

Check the installer apps and remove unwanted. Then check the extensions and search engines in your web browser to remove unwanted or unknown.

6

Thanks for the answer. Can you explain what you mean by "extensions" ? It's not a term I know.
​We use Chrome or Internet Explorer. Microsoft's own browser tries to open on start up but we never let it.
​​​Hope this makes sense.
Patrick