Who Are You Calling? Looking out for Customer Support Scams

Written by: Michelle (she/her)

3 min read | Published: October 22, 2026

According to the Federal Trade Commission, imposter scams, like customer service scams, have been the most reported type of fraud for the past five years in a row, with business impersonators stealing over $1 billion in 2025 alone. For some people, contacting customer support can feel daunting, frustrating or tedious. Needing to contact a company's support team usually means something has already gone wrong or needs resolution, causing customers to be stressed or anxious to fix things quickly. Unfortunately, scammers often use this as an opportunity to take advantage of customers while they have their guard down.

Customer support scams happen when scammers trick you into contacting a fraudulent phone number or website that appears to belong to a legitimate company, like PayPal or Microsoft. Once you contact them, the scammers pose as customer support agents. They may try to convince you to send money or share sensitive information, such as your Social Security number, banking details or passwords.

In some cases, scammers may even request remote access to your computer, allowing them to use a variety of scam tactics. For example, the scammer may pretend to scan your computer and say they have discovered a dangerous virus. They may then pressure you to pay them to fix the nonexistent problem, usually via irreversible payment methods like gift cards, wires or payment apps. They may even transfer you to someone who claims to work for the government or a financial institution’s fraud department — all part of an elaborate ruse to gain your trust and get your money. Finally, the scammer may trick you into accessing your bank account while they have remote access, allowing them to see your login credentials. They may even install harmful malware or spyware on your device that allows them to steal passwords or regain access to your computer again after the call ends.

How to Spot Customer Support Scams

Scammers have several methods they use to impersonate real companies and lure you into calling fake customer support numbers. Some common methods can include:

Sponsored web search results: Scammers often pay to advertise fake websites at the top of Google, Bing and other search engine results. These are labeled as "sponsored" results, but they can mimic the identities of well-known companies and may display fraudulent customer service phone numbers. As a result, be thorough when searching for a company's contact information to avoid accidentally contacting a scam number instead of the real business.
Emails or texts: A fraudster may also send fraudulent texts or emails pretending to be a legitimate company. The message might falsely claim there's been a charge on a card or an automatic renewal for an unfamiliar subscription, or that there is an issue with a payment, shipping address, phone or computer. They may ask for personal information or request an urgent response through calling a phone number or clicking a link.
Fake pop-up ads or warnings: Fraud actors may also plant fake ads or warnings as pop-up notifications on web browsers. These notifications can appear to be from a reputable company, and they may claim there's a threat to the device or that it’s been compromised, providing a phone number to call for help. However, these warnings are designed to scare victims into calling. Alerts from legitimate security software companies typically do not provide a phone number with instructions to call.
Social media or message board forums: Scammers may also track social media hashtags or online forums to reply to complaints for different brands. When they find a frustrated customer, they impersonate that company and pretend to offer help, responding with fake contact information.

How to Avoid Customer Support Scams

Knowing the signs of a customer support scam is the first step to protecting yourself from one. If you receive an unexpected text, email or phone call from a business, you could risk being exposed to fraud if you give out any personal information, click on any links and attachments or call any phone numbers listed in the message. Instead, reach out to the company directly using contact information from their official website, app, account statement or other trusted source. Before clicking on anything online, verify all website URLs and email addresses to confirm they are correct and report any that appear to be suspicious.

Remain especially cautious of any unexpected time-sensitive or urgent requests, or any time you're asked to give out personal data or payment information. Real companies will never demand payment via gift cards, cryptocurrency or payment apps. If someone tells you that you must pay immediately to fix a problem that you weren’t aware of previously, stop and take a few extra minutes to verify who you’re communicating with first.

Slowing down and staying vigilant are some of the most important actions you can take to protect yourself from falling victim to a customer support scam.