Spam & scam phone calls: what to do

1. What these calls look like

Scam and spam calls come in a handful of predictable flavors. Once you recognize the pattern, they stop being scary:

• Robocalls. A recorded voice about your car’s warranty, “lowering your credit-card rate,” a package you didn’t order, or “press 1 to speak with an agent.”
• Spoofed local numbers. The caller ID shows a 518 number, or even a name you know. Scammers fake this on purpose so you’ll pick up. A familiar number on the screen proves nothing.
• “Your computer has a virus.” Someone claiming to be Microsoft, Apple, or Geek Squad says your device is infected or hacked and they need to “fix” it. (More on this one in Section 3 — it’s the big one.)
• Fake bank, IRS, Social Security, or utility. Usually urgent and scary: a “suspicious charge,” a “warrant for your arrest,” a threat to shut off your power unless you pay right now.
• The gift-card, wire, or crypto ask. Any caller who wants payment in gift cards, a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app is running a scam. No real business or agency collects money that way. This is the single clearest tell.

2. The core rules

You don’t have to be a tech person to stay safe. These few habits cover almost everything:

• If it feels off, hang up. You’re never rude for ending a call you didn’t start. Real people and real companies are fine with you calling them back.
• Don’t speak first. When you answer an unknown number, stay quiet for a second and let the other end talk. If you hear a recorded or robotic voice — or a short pause and then a click — nine times out of ten it’s spam, so hang up. (Just saying “hello” tells a robocaller a real person is here, which only gets your number called more.)
• Don’t press buttons — not even “press 2 to be removed.” On a robocall, any keypress tells them a live person answered, and you’ll get more calls.
• Never give remote access to your computer to someone who called you out of the blue.
• Never buy gift cards, wire money, or send codes because a caller told you to. That request, by itself, means it’s a scam.
• Never read back a one-time code (the security code texted to you). Real companies will never ask you to say it out loud.
• Don’t trust caller ID. The number and name on your screen can be faked. Treat it as a guess, not proof.
• Verify by calling the real number yourself. Hang up, then dial the number on the back of your card, your paper bill, or the company’s official website — never a number the caller gives you. If it was really your bank, you’ll reach them; if it was a scam, you’ll find out nothing was wrong.
• Slow down. Urgency is the scammer’s main tool. “Act now or else” is a red flag, not a real emergency. It’s always okay to take a minute and check.

3. The fake “tech support” call

This is the one I want you to remember, because it targets exactly the people who’d call an IT shop. Someone phones (or a scary full-screen warning pops up telling you to call a number) claiming to be Microsoft, Apple, Windows, Geek Squad, or your antivirus company. They say your computer is infected, hacked, or sending out spam, and they need to connect to it to fix it.

Here’s the truth:

• Microsoft and Apple do not call you about viruses on your personal computer. They have no idea your computer exists, let alone that something is wrong with it. An unsolicited call like this is a scam, full stop.
• A pop-up with a phone number is not a virus warning — it’s the scam itself. Your real antivirus never tells you to call somebody. If a page locks up your screen, close the browser (or restart the computer); don’t call the number.
• Do not let them connect. Once you install their remote-access tool (names like AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or “support” software), they can see your files, your banking, and your passwords, and they’ll often lock you out or “find” problems to charge you for.
• If you’re already on such a call, hang up. If you already gave them access, turn off the computer or unplug it from the internet, and see Section 4.

The safe alternative is simple: deal with a real, local person you can look in the eye. If you ever want a second opinion on whether your computer actually has a problem, that’s exactly the kind of thing you can ask us — no remote-access-from-a-stranger required.

4. If you think you already got hit

It happens to sharp, careful people — there’s no shame in it. What matters is moving quickly. If you gave a scammer remote access, money, or a password:

• Disconnect the computer from the internet (turn off Wi-Fi or unplug the network cable) so they can’t keep using it. If they installed remote-access software, it needs to be removed and the machine checked over.
• Call your bank or card company using the number on your card, and tell them what happened. If you paid by gift card, contact the card’s issuer right away — sometimes funds can still be stopped.
• Change your passwords from a different, trusted device — starting with your email and your bank. If you reuse a password anywhere, change it everywhere.
• Turn on two-step verification for your email and bank if you haven’t already. It’s the single best lock against someone who has your password.
• Report it (see Section 6), and if money was taken, tell your local police as well.

If you want a hand cleaning up a computer a scammer touched, or just want someone to confirm nothing was left behind, that’s a normal thing to call us about.

Reach us directly: call 518-322-0332 · text · email.

5. How to cut down the calls

You can’t block every call, but you can turn the flood into a trickle:

• Register your number at donotcall.gov. It’s the free, official National Do Not Call Registry run by the Federal Trade Commission. It won’t stop outright scammers (they already ignore the law), but it cuts down calls from legitimate telemarketers, and it’s a two-minute job.
• On an iPhone, turn on “Screen Unknown Callers.” It sends calls from numbers that aren’t in your contacts straight to voicemail — real people leave a message, and most robocallers just give up. Open Settings → Apps → Phone → Screen Unknown Callers and choose Silence. (On an older iPhone the path is Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers — just flip it on.)
• On Verizon, turn on the free Call Filter. Verizon’s Call Filter app is free on standard plans and automatically flags or blocks calls that look like spam. On most Android phones it’s already installed — open Call Filter and switch on the free spam protection. On an iPhone, install Call Filter from the App Store, then turn it on under Settings → Apps → Phone → Call Blocking & Identification.
• On other Android phones, turn on “Caller ID & spam.” Open the Phone app, tap the menu (three dots or lines) → Settings → Caller ID & spam, and switch on spam protection so suspected scam calls get labeled before you even pick up.
• On any carrier, check for a free call-filter feature. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and most others each offer their own free spam-blocking tool. Search your carrier’s name plus “call filter” — or just ask them — and they’ll point you to theirs.
• Block the persistent ones by hand. After a bad call, use your phone’s “block this caller” option. It won’t stop spoofed numbers, but it clears out the repeat offenders.

If any of that feels fiddly, don’t sweat it — this is exactly the kind of setup I do for people all the time. I’m happy to walk you through it on the phone, do it for you remotely, or come by in person, and it costs nothing to ask. Just call or text 518-322-0332.

6. How to report them

Reporting takes a minute and genuinely helps — it feeds the data the government and carriers use to go after these operations:

• Report fraud and scam calls to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. This is the Federal Trade Commission’s official site for reporting scams and unwanted calls.
• Unwanted calls to a number on the Do Not Call list can also be reported through donotcall.gov.
• If you lost money, report it to the FTC as above and also tell your local police department; for larger losses, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center is another avenue.

7. Not sure? Just ask us

Here’s the honest bottom line: the safest move when a call, text, or pop-up doesn’t feel right is to stop and check with someone who isn’t the one pressuring you. That can be your bank at its real number, a family member — or us.

Powers Computing is a real, local IT company here in the Capital Region, and a real person answers. If you’re wondering whether a message is legit, or you think you already got caught by one, call or text and we’ll tell you straight. There’s no charge to ask.