Is This a Scam? Send It to Us
Got an email, text, pop-up or phone message that doesn't feel right? Send it to us. A technician looks at it and tells you, in plain words, whether it's a scam and what to do next. No charge, no account, no sales pitch, and you don't have to live in Tampa Bay.
We get a version of this call every week. “I got an email from Microsoft saying my account is locked. Is it real?” “A pop-up says my computer is infected and to call this number.” “The toll company texted me about an unpaid bill.” By the time someone calls, they've usually spent an hour worrying about it. Looking at a message and telling you what it is takes us two minutes. So we made it free, for anyone, whether or not you ever hire us for anything.
The Short Version
Don't click anything, don't call the number in the message, and don't reply. Send the message to us one of the three ways below. A technician looks at it and tells you, in plain words, whether it's a scam, what gave it away, and what to do next. If you've already clicked, called or paid, call us instead; that changes the answer and the clock matters.
Three Ways to Send It
Forward the email
Forward it to support@baygeeks.com with “Scam?” in the subject. Forwarding keeps the sender details we need; a screenshot of an email loses them, so forward when you can. We reply within two business hours, Monday to Friday.
Text a screenshot
Text a screenshot of the text message, the pop-up or the voicemail transcript to (855) 914-2308. Our assistant answers texts around the clock and tells you what it sees in the picture; a technician follows up on anything it isn’t sure about. Message and data rates may apply; reply STOP to opt out.
Paste it below
Use the form on this page. Paste the message or describe the call, tell us where it came from, and we reply by email. The chat bubble on this page works for this too.
What You'll Hear Back
- A plain verdict. Scam, legitimate, or “we can't tell without X,” and if it's the last one, how to check it yourself without touching the link.
- The tells. The sender's real address, where the link actually goes, the phone number that doesn't belong to the company, the pressure to act now. Once you've seen them, you'll spot the next one yourself.
- What to do next. Usually nothing: delete it. Sometimes one step, like changing a password from a different device. If something's already happened, the first-hour guides below are the first steps, and we'll say which one applies.
What We Never Ask You to Do
We never ask you to click the link “to check it,” to call the number in the message, to send us a password, a card number or a sign-in code, or to pay anything. If anyone asks you for those things in the name of Bay Geeks, that's a scam too, and we'd like to hear about it.
The Ones We See Most
| It looks like | It usually is | The tell |
|---|---|---|
| “Your Microsoft, Apple or Amazon account is locked” | Phishing for your password | The sender's address isn't the company's domain, and the link goes somewhere else |
| A pop-up that says your computer is infected, with a number to call | A tech-support scam | Real security software never shows a phone number. See the pop-up guide |
| A text about an unpaid toll, a package or a bank alert, with a link | Smishing (phishing by text) | You have no account with them, or the link's domain is odd |
| A call from “your grandson,” “the bank” or “the sheriff” wanting gift cards, a wire or crypto | A voice scam, sometimes with a cloned voice | Urgency plus a payment that can't be traced. See voice-clone calls |
| A vendor's invoice with new bank details, or “the boss” asking for gift cards | Business email compromise | The change arrived by email and nobody confirmed it by phone. See fake invoice emails |
| “We've recorded you” or “your password is …” with a demand for bitcoin | Sextortion spam, from an old password leak | The password is one you used years ago. See the password breach guide |
Paste It Here
For a message you haven't acted on yet. If you've already given someone access to your computer or paid them, call 727-579-4335 now instead.
Already Clicked, Called or Paid?
Don't wait on an email reply. Call us, or start with the first-hour guide that matches what happened. Both are free; the call is faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really free?
Yes. No charge, no account, and nobody calls you afterwards to sell something. Most people who get these messages will never need to pay us for anything, and that's fine. The check takes us a couple of minutes and it saves someone an afternoon of worry, or worse.
What happens to the message I send?
It goes into our support system like any other ticket, and we don't share it or sell it. We sometimes describe a scam that's going around, without anyone's details, in our client advisories or newsletter so the next person recognizes it.
I'm not in Tampa Bay. Can I still send one?
Yes. Email, text and the form work from anywhere. The on-site service area doesn't apply to this.
What if it was a phone call?
Hang up first. Then send us the number that called, what they said, and what they asked for. Voice-cloning scams that imitate a family member are common now; the guide on this site covers the tells and what to agree on with your family ahead of time.
Can you always tell for certain?
Usually. A sender address that isn't the company's domain, a link that goes somewhere else, a phone number inside a security warning: those settle it. When a notice looks real and it's from a company you do have an account with, we tell you how to check it safely: sign in through the app or the address you normally use, never through the link in the message.
I already clicked. Now what?
Clicking a link is usually survivable; typing a password into the page it opened is the problem. Tell us which one happened. If you entered a password, change it now from a different device and turn on two-factor sign-in. If you gave someone remote access to your computer or paid them, call us at 727-579-4335 instead of waiting for an email reply.
Related guides
The five tells, the scams hitting Tampa Bay right now, and what to do if you already clicked.
How the grandparent and kidnapping calls work now, and the family password that beats them.
Getting the fake Microsoft alert off your screen without calling the number.
Cut the connection, call the bank from another device, and what to check before that computer goes back online.
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