Microsoft, Apple, and Google Will Never Call You. Ever.
The call comes in and the caller says they’re from Microsoft. Or Apple. Or Google. They tell you your Windows license is about to expire, or your iCloud account has been compromised, or there’s been a suspicious login to your Gmail.
They sound professional. They may even know your name.
Here is the simplest, clearest thing we can tell you: Microsoft, Apple, and Google do not proactively call their users. Not about device problems. Not about account issues. Not about expiring licenses. They never have, and they have no system to do it. Any call you receive claiming to be from one of these companies is not from them.
Why These Companies Don’t Call You
Microsoft alone has over a billion Windows users worldwide. Apple has hundreds of millions of device owners. Google has billions of account holders. None of these companies maintain a call centre infrastructure that monitors individual devices and reaches out to users when something goes wrong.
When Microsoft needs to tell you something, they do it through Windows Update notifications or messages within the operating system itself. When Apple has a concern about your account, they email the address on file. When Google detects something unusual, they send a security notification to your Gmail.
None of them telephone you. There is no department at any of these companies whose job is to call individual customers about device problems. The concept doesn’t exist.
What the Calls Sound Like
Despite the impossibility of these calls being legitimate, they follow convincing scripts. Here are the most common versions:
The “Windows license expired” call. A caller says your Windows licence has expired or is about to, and your computer will be shut down unless you pay to renew. There is no such thing as a Windows licence that requires phone renewal.
The “iCloud account compromised” call. A caller says someone has been accessing your Apple account from a different country and you need to act immediately to protect your data. Apple does not call about this. If there is a genuine Apple ID issue, you will get an email or a notification on your device.
The “suspicious Gmail login” call. A caller says Google has detected unusual login activity and needs to verify your identity. Google does not call about login activity.
In every case, the call ends the same way: the caller asks you to either pay for something, give them remote access to your device (meaning they can see and control your screen), or provide personal information.
The Variants That Catch People Off Guard
Some versions of this scam are slightly more sophisticated. Instead of calling outright, the scammer gets you to call them — through the browser popup alarm described in another article, or by placing ads in search engines so that when you search “Microsoft support Canada” or “Apple support phone,” their fake number appears near the top.
You call what you think is an official support number, and the person who answers runs the same scam as if they’d called you. The call direction is different, but the outcome is the same.
If you’re ever looking for support from any of these companies, go directly to their official websites — microsoft.com/en-ca, apple.com/ca, or support.google.com — and use the contact information listed there.
The Verification You Don’t Need
Here’s the thing about this particular scam: you don’t need to verify whether the call is real before ending it. You already know. No call from Microsoft, Apple, or Google about your device or account is legitimate. There are no exceptions.
You don’t need to ask for a badge number. You don’t need to ask them to prove who they are. You don’t need to be polite about it. You can simply hang up.
One thing to do: If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft, Apple, or Google about your device or account — hang up immediately, without engaging. You don’t need any more information to make that decision. Pass this rule along to anyone in your life who might find it useful.
Report tech support scam calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or at antifraudcentre.ca.