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Got a virus found message, how can I find out if legitimate?

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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I got this message you have a virus, contact a 1 800 number. When I called the number they just answered "Tech Support" and it was a support person who English was not their first language. They did not identify as connected with Mozilla, and they wanted my password and user name. I HUNG UP because I was afraid it was bogus. Has anybody had a similar experience? How can you tell tech Support is from Mozilla?

I got this message you have a virus, contact a 1 800 number. When I called the number they just answered "Tech Support" and it was a support person who English was not their first language. They did not identify as connected with Mozilla, and they wanted my password and user name. I HUNG UP because I was afraid it was bogus. Has anybody had a similar experience? How can you tell tech Support is from Mozilla?

Chosen solution

Hi

Mozilla does not do any telephone based tech support, nor do we ask people to call us if they have (or are led to believe they have) a problem.

What you are seeing is a piece of misdirection for scammers to walk you through how to install malware on your device. Mozilla Support is done in the open so that everyone can see what is going on (just like this answer here) and add their own comments.

You did the right thing by hanging up the phone.

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Chosen Solution

Hi

Mozilla does not do any telephone based tech support, nor do we ask people to call us if they have (or are led to believe they have) a problem.

What you are seeing is a piece of misdirection for scammers to walk you through how to install malware on your device. Mozilla Support is done in the open so that everyone can see what is going on (just like this answer here) and add their own comments.

You did the right thing by hanging up the phone.

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If you get a pop-up message asking to update Firefox or plugins or scanning for malware then such a message is likely a scam and you should NEVER respond to such an alert to avoid getting infected with malware.

  • only update Firefox via "Help -> About" or by downloading and installing Firefox from the Mozilla server and never via a pop-up or link on a web page.
  • plugins should only be updated via the plugin itself or by visiting the home page of the plugin.

See also: