Error #268D3: not a real Windows error — it's a scam page

If your screen shows 'Error #268D3' alongside a warning that your computer is blocked or infected and a number to call for Microsoft support, you are looking at a fake. #268D3 is not a Windows, Microsoft, or Defender error code — it was invented by tech-support scammers because a code makes the warning feel official and gives frightened people something to read out on the phone.

Get rid of it

  1. Do not call the number and do not click the page's dialog buttons.
  2. Press Esc to leave full-screen, then Ctrl+Shift+Esc → select the browser → End task. (Mac: Cmd+Option+Esc → Force Quit.)
  3. Reopen the browser; refuse the 'restore pages' prompt so the scam page doesn't reload.
  4. If it keeps coming back at browser start, clear the browser's data for the offending site and check the browser's start-up setting ('open a new tab' instead of 'continue where you left off') and remove any extension you don't recognise.
  5. Run a Full scan in Windows Security. Expect it to find nothing — the 'error' was a web page, not an infection.

Why a made-up code works on people

Real error codes are searchable, which cuts both ways: scammers print a plausible code precisely because victims type it into a search engine mid-panic. A genuine Windows stop code (like the ones on a real blue screen) never arrives with a support phone number attached, and a genuine Microsoft page never asks you to read a code to a 'technician' who then requests remote access and payment.

Already called and paid? The code being fake means the 'repair' was too. Dispute the charge with your bank, remove any remote-access software they installed, and change important passwords from a different device — full checklist on the tech support scam page.

Common questions

Is Error #268D3 in any Microsoft product? No. It appears in no Microsoft documentation, error database, or genuine Windows dialog. It only exists on scam pages (sometimes with variants like #268D3x or other invented #-codes).

The page knew my IP address / Windows version. Was I hacked? No. Every website can see your IP address and browser-reported system version — that's normal web plumbing, and scam pages print it back to seem informed. It is not evidence of access to your computer.

Related

Tech support scam pop-ups · Fake Windows Defender warning · Fake Error #268D3 · Fake ZEUS virus pop-up · Fake blue screen scam · Fake renewal email scam · Clicked a phishing link? · Fake Apple security warning · "Your computer has been locked" scam · Social Security scam calls · Fake Amazon account alerts · Someone has remote access to my computer