Remote-control scammers are dreadful. They get inside your head, your computer, and then finally your bank accounts. If you everr find yourself in a jackpot with these jokers, I need to tell you about one of their worst tactics: Locking your computer against you. Sometimes I get calls for help from my customers that start off with, “A Scammer Locked My Computer!”
If you’ve been tricked into allowing a bad guy into your PC, your screen may look like the above graphic. That means that they have put a special app on your computer, blocking your access to everything! This is so the crook can ransom your computer back to you. I know this situation feels awful, but if this is where you’re at, don’t lose hope. Don’t cooperate with the scammer. I’ll explain more and describe your escape plan!
First, Some History
Many years ago, this password-locking tactic was extra-easy for a scammer to use. There was a small hidden Windows component (called Syskey) that they could activate with a quick DOS command. And once enabled, only the scammer knew the password to make the computer usable again.
As news of this exploit spread, though, Microsoft assessed the situation. They passed judgment on Windows’ Syskey tool and did the right thing: They crafted a Windows Update to remove Syskey from all PCs. Nowadays, Syskey is no longer available.
But this led scammers to scrounge for another tool. Locking a computer against its owner was too effective to give up. And they discovered a piece of freeware called Lock My PC. Scammers began using this app to continue their extortions.
This App Has Locked My Computer, What Do I Do?
If you are confronted with the above graphic, then you may want to prioritize your finances over your computer, at first. Consider some or all of these:
- Get off the phone with the scammer
- Turn off or reboot your computer
- Turn off your internet until your computer has been serviced and made safe
- Contact your bank(s), if you were tricked into paying any money.
- Talk to the police, if any large sums of money were stolen from you.
Once you feel that your finances are safe, or at least have a tourniquet on them, we can resolve the Lock issue on your system.
First and foremost: Restart your computer. Some scammers do not install this Lock My PC properly, and a reboot may help you evade the lock! If the PC will not restart easily, press and hold the main power button for 15-20 seconds. That will surely shut it off.
If the Lock My PC screen reappears, though, we have to try some tricks to dodge past this software. Fortunately, the app developers are good people, and they dislike how their software is being abused. They created some back-doors in their app for you to use to defeat this lock!
Visit this site for their recovery steps. Follow the instructions, submit the number as shown, and it may let you into your PC. If not, go to the bottom of that page and click the link for trying another method. If that second page doesn’t help, repeat with the link at the bottom and consider the third bypass tactic.
Rarely, none of these methods work. At that point, the PC would have to booted into the recovery environment, for an attempt at running System Restore. System Restore is safe to try, and will never harm your files.
After you can access the computer again, immediately uninstall Lock My PC from the Apps or Programs list, so you won’t have to ever deal with it again!
I hope this will get you out of a jam, but if you have any troubles with this, or just want help with the process, give me a call and we’ll get through this together.
Thought I’d never be so gullible to fall. Ha. Thank you, thank you!!! This solution easily worked to unlock my computer. I learned a lot today. Guess it’s worth the wasted, panicked hours. My scam was from Comcast. All he took was my pride. Scumbag.
Whew, glad to hear you got your computer back. Now you should make sure their remote software is turned off — you don’t want them to come back and do it again. If you unsure about your system, you’ll want to have a professional give it a quick check. Let me know if you need any further advice!
Thanks, this is helping my customers in 2025!
Glad to hear it! Haven’t seen this done in a few, but it makes a certain sense that they’d return to this. I appreciate the heads-up!