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No, it’s not really Apple or Microsoft popping up on your screen to tell you your computer has been infected.

It’s scammers trying to convince you to call them and divulge sensitive information, which may include passwords, bank or credit account information or Social Security numbers.

“They use the reputation of the brand [for legitimacy purposes] to make it seem more real,” said Cliff Steinhauer, director of information security and engagement at The National Cybersecurity Alliance. “Because, who doesn’t know Microsoft or Apple as a brand?”

Consumers are likely to see more of these types of scams now, in the wake of Apple’s recent release of its new iPhone. There tends to be a rise in scams when a new product or version is released because it’s easier for scammers taking advantage of news headlines to strike while the iron is hot, said Nati Tal, head of Guardio Labs, which identifies, monitors and mitigates internet security threats. “In a very small time period, they will get tons and tons of potential victims.”

The scams can affect anyone, but as has been the case with other recent tech-linked consumer crime waves, such as bitcoin ATM fraud, the elderly are especially vulnerable. Last year, nearly 18,000 victims aged 60 and over reported tech support scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, making it the most widely reported kind of elder fraud in 2023. Fraud losses from tech support scams against the elderly amounted to $590 million of losses — and that’s only reported cases.

These types of scams are getting even harder to spot because of AI, especially when the scheme uses a known company logo to make it look legit. Here’s what people should know to protect themselves from scams targeting commonly used, trusted tech brands:

Never assume any online ad is authentic

People can be duped in a number of ways. One way is malvertising, in which bad actors pay for ads on search engines like Google or Microsoft’s Bing. These rogue ads can appear as sponsored content, or in small print as an ad, during a search engine query.

So, for example, a consumer searching for “Microsoft support” might be shown a fake Microsoft ad with a number to call. By calling this number, people are playing right into scammers’ hands, according to Malwarebytes, which has identified a number of these schemes. Malwarebytes also uncovered a malicious ad campaign targeting Mac users looking for support or extended warranty from Apple.

“People have all sorts of issues with their computers and they look for help, but a lot of the time the numbers they find will be a scammer’s number, not the real one,” said Jérôme Segura, senior director of research at Malwarebytes.

Pop-ups, emails from brands you know are often suspect

Tech scams also ensnare unsuspecting consumers through phishing emails for renewal offers that seem to come from legit places, including Microsoft, McAfee, PayPal and Norton. These emails could be laced with malware if users click on a link, or they could be phishing attempts to get more information from the individual. Sometimes simply opening the attachment could infect a consumer’s computer with malware. 

The other type of tech-support scam happens when a window pops up on a user’s computer to warn of an “infection.”

There’s often audio associated with this type of scam to instill a sense of urgency for consumers to call the number listed in the pop-up. There may also be a button that says “return to safety,” but when clicked, what was a regular browser window — with the address bar and window title visible — becomes a full-screen page, with a message about not rebooting the computer because it’s infected, Segura said.

“Imagine being the user and hearing the non-stop audio playing in the background saying your computer is compromised. This is very stressful and it will lead people to make a bad decision in calling the fake phone number,” he said.

Once people call, they often are manipulated into sharing personal information such as their credit card number or giving scammers access to their computer.

How to click without getting into online trouble

For starters, consumers should avoid clicking on sponsored ads obtained during a Google or Bing query. (Hint: These often appear at the top of the search results page, but they can also appear further down, so look out for the word “sponsored” or “ad” depending on the search engine.) Consumers should also avoid clicking on random links sent in an email, even if they think they know the sender. And don’t open attachments unless you’re sure you know what’s being sent.

In the case of a pop-up warning of a computer virus, Segura said the general rule is to only click on the browser’s own icons which are typically at the very top right corner. “Never click on any other ‘X’ within the web page itself, as it is fake,” he said. 

If people do click on the X or have clicked on “return to safety,” the webpage will likely go into full-screen mode. “If that happens, you must first exit out of full screen by long pressing on the keyboard’s escape button (Esc) and only then can you finally X out,” Segura said. 

Internet browsers come with basic protections, so be sure to keep your browsers updated. You might also want to install a free, or paid-protection service that covers multiple types of threats. 

What to do if you fall for a tech scam

Next steps depend on the type of information you shared with scammers. If, for instance, you called a number for “Microsoft” or “Apple” and gave usernames and passwords, change those. If you only shared your name, address and phone number, it’s not necessary to do anything because this information is readily available to scammers through data brokers, Jim Routh, chief trust officer at identity security company Saviynt, explained in an email. 

Consumers who share their credit card number, expiration date and CVV, should call their credit card company’s fraud line to report the incident and request a new credit card be overnighted.

If credentials are shared with the fraudster for other online accounts, the password for each should be immediately changed. It’s also advisable for consumers to freeze their credit with each of the three primary credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This is a good practice to do for your whole family and especially for children under 18, even in the absence of a particular threat. It’s also advisable to place a fraud alert with one of the credit bureaus, which will relay the information to all three.

People who are concerned they installed malware who don’t have anti-virus protection should choose a reputable brand and install it, Routh said. If they lack technical sophistication, they can call the Geek Squad or a similar service to scan the workstation and find the malware to remove. Consumers who have given remote computer access to scammers should bring their device to a service professional for assistance, he added.

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Google hires Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, others in latest AI talent deal

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Google hires Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, others in latest AI talent deal

Chief executive officer of Google Sundar Pichai.

Marek Antoni Iwanczuk | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Google on Friday made the latest a splash in the AI talent wars, announcing an agreement to bring in Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of artificial intelligence coding startup Windsurf.

As part of the deal, Google will also hire other senior Windsurf research and development employees. Google is not investing in Windsurf, but the search giant will take a nonexclusive license to certain Windsurf technology, according to a person familiar with the matter. Windsurf remains free to license its technology to others.

“We’re excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf’s team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding,” a Google spokesperson wrote in an email. “We’re excited to continue bringing the benefits of Gemini to software developers everywhere.”

The deal between Google and Windsurf comes after the AI coding startup had been in talks with OpenAI for a $3 billion acquisition deal, CNBC reported in April. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move ratchets up the talent war in AI particularly among prominent companies. Meta has made lucrative job offers to several employees at OpenAI in recent weeks. Most notably, the Facebook parent added Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead its AI strategy as part of a $14.3 billion investment into his startup. 

Douglas Chen, another Windsurf co-founder, will be among those joining Google in the deal, Jeff Wang, the startup’s new interim CEO and its head of business for the past two years, wrote in a post on X.

“Most of Windsurf’s world-class team will continue to build the Windsurf product with the goal of maximizing its impact in the enterprise,” Wang wrote.

Windsurf has become more popular this year as an option for so-called vibe coding, which is the process of using new age AI tools to write code. Developers and non-developers have embraced the concept, leading to more revenue for Windsurf and competitors, such as Cursor, which OpenAI also looked at buying. All the interest has led investors to assign higher valuations to the startups.

This isn’t the first time Google has hired select people out of a startup. It did the same with Character.AI last summer. Amazon and Microsoft have also absorbed AI talent in this fashion, with the Adept and Inflection deals, respectively.

Microsoft is pushing an agent mode in its Visual Studio Code editor for vibe coding. In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said AI is composing as much of 30% of his company’s code.

The Verge reported the Google-Windsurf deal earlier on Friday.

WATCH: Google pushes “AI Mode” on homepage

Google pushes "AI Mode" on homepage

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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang sells more than $36 million in stock, catches Warren Buffett in net worth

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Nvidia's Jensen Huang sells more than  million in stock, catches Warren Buffett in net worth

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, holds a motherboard as he speaks during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, on June 11, 2025.

Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unloaded roughly $36.4 million worth of stock in the leading artificial intelligence chipmaker, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The sale, which totals 225,000 shares, comes as part of Huang’s previously adopted plan in March to unload up to 6 million shares of Nvidia through the end of the year. He sold his first batch of stock from the agreement in June, equaling about $15 million.

Last year, the tech executive sold about $700 million worth of shares as part of a prearranged plan. Nvidia stock climbed about 1% Friday.

Huang’s net worth has skyrocketed as investors bet on Nvidia’s AI dominance and graphics processing units powering large language models.

The 62-year-old’s wealth has grown by more than a quarter, or about $29 billion, since the start of 2025 alone, based on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. His net worth last stood at $143 billion in the index, putting him neck-and-neck with Berkshire Hathaway‘s Warren Buffett at $144 billion.

Shortly after the market opened Friday, Fortune‘s analysis of net worth had Huang ahead of Buffett, with the Nvidia CEO at $143.7 billion and the Oracle of Omaha at $142.1 billion.

Read more CNBC tech news

The company has also achieved its own notable milestones this year, as it prospers off the AI boom.

On Wednesday, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker became the first company to top a $4 trillion market capitalization, beating out both Microsoft and Apple. The chipmaker closed above that milestone Thursday as CNBC reported that the technology titan met with President Donald Trump.

Brooke Seawell, venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, sold about $24 million worth of Nvidia shares, according to an SEC filing. Seawell has been on the company’s board since 1997, according to the company.

Huang still holds more than 858 million shares of Nvidia, both directly and indirectly, in different partnerships and trusts.

WATCH: Nvidia hits $4 trillion in market cap milestone despite curbs on chip exports

Nvidia hits $4 trillion in market cap milestone despite curbs on chip exports

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Tesla to officially launch in India with planned showroom opening

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Tesla to officially launch in India with planned showroom opening

Elon Musk meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Blair House in Washington DC, USA on February 13, 2025.

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

Tesla will open a showroom in Mumbai, India next week, marking the U.S. electric carmakers first official foray into the country.

The one and a half hour launch event for the Tesla “Experience Center” will take place on July 15 at the Maker Maxity Mall in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, according to an event invitation seen by CNBC.

Along with the showroom display, which will feature the company’s cars, Tesla is also likely to officially launch direct sales to Indian customers.

The automaker has had its eye on India for a while and now appears to have stepped up efforts to launch locally.

In April, Tesla boss Elon Musk spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss collaboration in areas including technology and innovation. That same month, the EV-maker’s finance chief said the company has been “very careful” in trying to figure out when to enter the market.

Tesla has no manufacturing operations in India, even though the country’s government is likely keen for the company to establish a factory. Instead the cars sold in India will need to be imported from Tesla’s other manufacturing locations in places like Shanghai, China, and Berlin, Germany.

As Tesla begins sales in India, it will come up against challenges from long-time Chinese rival BYD, as well as local player Tata Motors.

One potential challenge for Tesla comes by way of India’s import duties on electric vehicles, which stand at around 70%. India has tried to entice investment in the country by offering companies a reduced duty of 15% if they commit to invest $500 million and set up manufacturing locally.

HD Kumaraswamy, India’s minister for heavy industries, told reporters in June that Tesla is “not interested” in manufacturing in the country, according to a Reuters report.

Tesla is looking to recruit roles in Mumbai, job listings posted on LinkedIn . These include advisors working in showrooms, security, vehicle operators to collect data for its Autopilot feature and service technicians.

There are also roles being advertised in the Indian capital of New Delhi, including for store managers. It’s unclear if Tesla is planning to launch a showroom in the city.

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