A tech support scam is fraud that impersonates legitimate help desks, security teams, or operating-system warnings to trick a victim into making contact. The goal is usually to pressure the person into paying for fake services, granting remote access, or installing software that the attacker controls. The scam works by creating urgency and authority: pop-up alerts, fake browser messages, spoofed phone numbers, and scripted callers all try to make the victim believe their device is infected or compromised.
In cyber security, this matters because it can bypass technical defenses by targeting the user directly. A scam may start from a poisoned search result, a malicious ad, or a misleading support page. Once the victim calls or clicks, the attacker can harvest credentials, install remote administration tools, steal payment details, or deploy malware. Defenses focus on user training, verified vendor contact paths, browser protections against deceptive pages, and endpoint controls that block unauthorized remote access.