Recently, people using Google to search for Amazon’s website found the advertisement reproduced below at the top of the first page of the search results.  Unfortunately, this legitimate appearing advertisement was a scam advertisement  purchased by scammers unbeknownst to Google.  Anyone clicking on the advertisement would be sent to an app running on a Facebook page which in turn took them to a phony Microsoft tech support website where you were informed that your computer was infected with malware.  A telephone number also appeared in the phony tech support website.  If you called the telephone number you would be directed to provide remote access to the phony tech support team to remedy the problem for which you would have to pay a fee of $149.99.  CBS News identified this scam and reported it to Google and the advertisement was immediately deleted, however, you can well expect similar scams to appear soon.

TIPS
Tech support scams are common and present a huge problem.  Providing remote access to anyone to your computer can lead to a myriad of problems including identity theft and the downloading of ransomware.  Neither Apple nor Microsoft ever provide notices of security problems that contain telephone numbers for you to call to fix the problem.  Whenever you get a pop-up, email, or text message that appears to tell you that you have a security problem with your computer or phone, you should never click on any links contained in the message or call the telephone number provided.  If you are concerned that you may be experiencing a real security problem you can contact tech support at Apple or Microsoft directly by phone or by email directly using the phone number and email addresses you find on their respective websites.