Fake 'IT Support' chat after an inbox flood
First your inbox is flooded with hundreds of subscription emails. Then a chat, often in Microsoft Teams, arrives from 'IT Support' offering to fix it if you let them control your computer. Real IT will not cold-message you that way.
How it works
Attackers sign you up for a wave of emails so your inbox suddenly fills with subscription or notification messages. While you are dealing with that mess, a chat appears from someone named like IT Support. They offer to clean it up if you grant remote access to your PC. Researchers have tracked hundreds of these cases. Once they have control, they can try to steal logins, files, or access to work systems. The simple test is to call your real IT team or a known support number, not the person who messaged you first.
Red flags
- A sudden flood of subscription or notification emails you did not sign up for.
- An unexpected Teams or chat message from 'IT Support' offers to fix it.
- They ask to control your computer.
- You did not open a ticket, and your usual IT contact did not call you first.
What to do
- Do not grant remote access or follow the chat's instructions.
- Call your real IT team or employer help desk on a number you already have.
- Treat the email flood as a warning sign and review account security if you clicked anything.
- Report the incident to your organization and at ic3.gov or reportfraud.ftc.gov if a personal account was involved.
Where to report it
- reportfraud.ftc.gov — the FTC's report form.
- ic3.gov — the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.