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Geek Squad scam emails: you weren’t charged for a renewal

From Scams, in the HARD wiki · Updated

An email or text saying you’ve been charged hundreds of dollars to renew a Geek Squad plan, with a phone number to call within 24 hours, is a scam.

The FTC describes how it goes. You call to cancel, the caller asks to connect to your computer to process a refund, then claims they refunded too much by mistake and asks you to pay back the difference, often in gift cards. There was no charge and no refund; the money you send is real.

Geek Squad is Best Buy’s US service, and the numbers below are US ones. The same email arrives in the names of McAfee, Norton, PayPal and others everywhere.

What it looks like

An example written by HARD, not a real message. Real ones change wording often.

Email from Geek Squad Billing <geeksquad.renewal@[a free email address]>

Your Geek Squad Total Tech membership has renewed – Invoice #GS-48291

Thank you for renewing. $399.99 will be charged to your account today. If you did not authorise this renewal, call our billing team within 24 hours to cancel and receive a refund: +1 (808) 555-0136.

Check the one you got

Paste what you were sent. HARD checks it in this browser with the same rules as the Is this legit? check in its apps. Nothing you paste leaves this page.

How to tell it’s fake

“we generally don’t make unsolicited calls to customers”

Best Buy
A renewal you don’t remember, for hundreds of dollars.
The price is chosen to alarm you into calling.
The only way out is a phone number.
Real renewals are managed in your account. The FTC says not to use the number in the message.
It comes from a free email address.
Gmail, Outlook or a random address, not bestbuy.com.
The call ends with remote access.
The FTC says the caller may ask for remote access to your computer. Once in, they can open your bank and fake a refund.
Then a refund “mistake” and gift cards.
“We refunded you too much, please send the difference back” is the scam itself.

If you clicked, called or paid

Hang up and disconnect the computer.
If you let them connect, turn off Wi-Fi or unplug the network cable, then uninstall any remote-control app they had you install, such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer.
Call your bank if you paid or typed in card details.
Use the number on the back of your card, not one from the message. Ask them to block the card, dispute the charge and watch for more. The sooner you call, the better the chance of stopping it.
Don’t buy or send gift cards.
If you already read out gift card numbers, contact the card’s company straight away; it may be able to freeze the balance.
Change your passwords from another device.
Especially email and banking, if they were on screen during the call.
Report it.
Forward the email to [email protected], then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or to the FBI at ic3.gov. Outside the US: Report Fraud in the UK (reportfraud.police.uk, which replaced Action Fraud), Scamwatch in Australia, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in Canada. Forward scam texts to 7726 in the US, UK and Canada.

If it was your parents, read Look after your parents, and if a card number or password has gone, Breaches explains what each kind of leaked data lets criminals do.

The official way to check

Look at your bank or card statement.
If there’s no Geek Squad charge, there is nothing to cancel.
Sign in to your Best Buy account yourself.
Type bestbuy.com, or call 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289), the number Best Buy gives.

Someone on the phone asking for money right now? Guides has the two-step answer. More scams by name are on Is this a scam?, and new ones reach the Situation Room.

Questions

Is the Geek Squad renewal email real?

If it asks you to call a number to cancel a renewal you don’t recognise, it’s a scam. Check your bank statement and your account on bestbuy.com instead of calling.

I called the number and let them on my computer. What now?

Disconnect from the internet, remove the remote-control app, call your bank on the number on your card, and change your passwords from another device.

Where do I report a Geek Squad scam email?

Forward it to [email protected] and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Sources

Sources checked on 7 Nov 2026.

  1. Best Buy: Protect yourself, read 7 November 2026: tech support scams in Best Buy and Geek Squad’s names; no unsolicited calls; [email protected]; 1-888-BEST BUY.
  2. FTC: How to recognize a fake Geek Squad renewal scam, 25 October 2022: renewal charge, call within 24 hours, remote access, fake over-refund paid back in gift cards; don’t use the number.
  3. FTC: How to spot, avoid and report tech support scams, September 2025: fake renewal notices using the Geek Squad, McAfee and Norton names; requests for remote access; fake refunds.
  4. FBI IC3: “Phantom Hacker” scams target senior citizens (I-091223-PSA), 29 September 2023: a fake tech support contact, then a fake bank, then a fake government agency, each moving your money to a “safe” account.