• Fake support scams have emerged after the CrowdStrike outage disrupted systems worldwide.
• The outage was caused by a faulty CrowdStrike software update, not a cyberattack.
• CrowdStrike warned of phishing and fake websites and shared a list of impersonators.

Tech support fraud is on the rise following Friday’s CrowdStrike debacle, which disrupted computer systems worldwide and across industries.

The meltdown was caused by a flawed software update CrowdStrike released in the morning, sending companies and other parties scrambling for solutions.

Scammers appear to have seized the opportunity, impersonating the company using fake websites, phishing emails and phone calls to steal sensitive information. CrowdStrike said in a blog post Saturday that it has noticed a significant increase in scam activity.

“CrowdStrike Intelligence advises organizations to ensure they communicate with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels and adhere to the technical guidance provided by CrowdStrike support teams,” the company said.

Tech support scams usually start with phone calls or emails warning of a computer problem. The scammers then ask for remote access to your computer to steal important personal information, such as passwords and banking details.

Fake pop-up alerts claiming that your computer is infected with a virus and fake websites offering technical support are also popular with scammers.

CrowdStrike shared a list of at least 30 different domain names that it says are impersonators and not associated with the company. The list included names like “crowdstrikebluescreen.com,” “crowdstrike-helpdesk.com,” and “crowdstrikefix.com.”

“Some of the domains on this list may not currently be serving malicious content or may be intended to amplify negative sentiment,” CrowdStrike said. “However, these sites could support future social engineering operations.”