'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Up Scam

The 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Up Scam is a new variant of an old scam that tries to trick users into believing that they have been locked out of their computer due to their activation key expiring, as well as because of several active Trojan infections. Thankfully, all security messages found in the 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Ups are fake, and their goal is to make you panic, and convince you to follow the instructions on your screen. The 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Up Scam may be hosted on many websites, but so far we have only confirmed its presence on Socioeconomically.site, a page related to several other online technical support scams.

Users may encounter the 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Up Scam while browsing shady websites that have been paid to promote these pop-ups. Once you across the 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Ups, you may see a screen that resembles the Windows 10 crash window – you can rest assured that this is not a legitimate Windows message, and it was intentionally crafted to look this way.

The 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Up Scam tries to convince victims to unlock their computer by calling 1-888-405-3166, the number shown on their screen. The page claims that this phone belongs to Microsoft, but a quick Web search reveals that Microsoft is not affiliated with this number – instead, it is being reported for being involved in various online scams.

If you ever come across Web browser pop-ups that claim to report a serious PC health or performance issue that can be resolved by calling a specific phone number, then you should know that this is most likely a technical support scam – calling the number may increase your phone bill drastically, and you may also be asked to purchase overpriced software and services that are useless. If you see the 'System Activation KEY Has Expired' Pop-Up Scam messages, you should ignore them, and move on.