{"id":441,"date":"2026-03-12T08:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saje.nz\/sphere\/?st-import=b1d50ab5b9156facc749c1a1724f319c"},"modified":"2026-05-08T08:41:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T08:41:58","slug":"have-you-received-a-virus-alert-scareware-popup-on-your-device","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/have-you-received-a-virus-alert-scareware-popup-on-your-device\/","title":{"rendered":"Have you received a Virus Alert &#8211; Scareware Popup &#8211; on your device?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Known as Scareware, often caused by dodgy online ads, many from Face book, these \u201cVirus Alert\u201d popups are effective because they prey on fear and confusion. However, they\u2019re often fake!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How to tell a Fake Alert from a Real One<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many fake virus alerts share the same tell\u2011tale signs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"\\&quot;wp-block-list\\&quot; wp-block-list\">\n<li>They appear inside your web browser, not as a normal Windows notification.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They often claim your computer is infected, your files are at risk, or your banking details have been stolen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They use dramatic language, like \u201cYOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED!\u201d or \u201cACT NOW!\u201d. \u00a0Real security alerts are calm and factual.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They can include countdown timers, loud alarms, or flashing screens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They ask you to click a button or link, call a fake \u201csupport line\u201d, or pay for bogus software.\u00a0 Microsoft and other legitimate companies never do this.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They often contain spelling mistakes or slightly \u201coff\u201d logos and colours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A simple test you can do is open Windows Security on your device: go to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start Menu \u2192 Windows Security. If there\u2019s no warning there, the pop\u2011up is possibly fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What to do if you have a Scareware Popup?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The safest response is often the simplest:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"\\&quot;wp-block-list\\&quot; wp-block-list\">\n<li>Close your browser completely. If it won\u2019t close, use Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager and end the browser.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not click anything inside the pop\u2011up, not even the \u201cX\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not call any phone number shown \u2014 these go straight to scammers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Run a real antivirus scan afterwards for peace of mind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the pop\u2011ups keep returning, you may have inadvertently allowed a website to send notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being aware and recognising the signs, can help prevent you being tricked by a scammer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you would like help and\/or advice on any aspect of staying safe online, please don\u2019t hesitate to <a href=\\\"https:\/\/saje.nz\/sphere\/index.php\/contact-us\/\\\" data-type=\\\"page\\\" data-id=\\\"62\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noreferrer noopener\\\">Get in Touch with Us<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Known as Scareware, often caused by dodgy online ads, many from Face book, these \u201cVirus Alert\u201d popups are effective because they prey on fear and confusion. However, they\u2019re often fake! How to tell a Fake Alert from a Real One Many fake virus alerts share the same tell\u2011tale signs: A simple test you can do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6,26,27],"tags":[10,5,24],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyber-scams","category-cybersecurity-awareness","category-scam-aware","category-scam-awareness","tag-cyberscams","tag-cybersecurityawareness","tag-scamaware"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions\/465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securesphere.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}