Overview
- Recent reports describe screen‑blocking messages at PC startup that instruct users to call a listed number.
- Callers pose as Microsoft staff, claim an infection, and push gift‑card payments or the installation of software enabling access.
- Authorities also flag PayPal‑themed schemes, including robocalls that urge pressing “1” to stop a supposed payment before steering to transfers or data disclosure.
- Consumer outlets advise not calling displayed numbers, ending such conversations immediately, and closing the browser or restarting the computer if unsure.
- Users are urged to block and report suspicious numbers through their carrier or apps, as AI‑cloned voices make impersonations more convincing.