Geek Squad invoice scam emails: how to spot the fake renewal or refund
Quick answer
An email or text saying your Geek Squad membership renewed for hundreds of dollars, with a number to call, is a scam. Don't call it. Check your card or bank statement, and contact Best Buy through its own site or app. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Comes by
- Email, Text, Phone call
- Pretends to be
- Geek Squad (Best Buy)
- Last updated
How it works
The message says your Geek Squad subscription or membership has auto-renewed, or that an invoice is attached, for a few hundred dollars. It gives a phone number and tells you to call within a day to dispute the charge. The FTC says more people reported impersonation of Geek Squad in 2023 than any other impersonated company.
Many of these emails contain no malicious link. The call is the trap:
- The caller asks to "verify" the charge and may ask for remote access to your computer.
- They send you to a copied website that looks real and ask for bank or card details to process a refund.
- They then claim a typing mistake refunded you too much and insist you pay the difference back by gift card, wire or bank transfer, crypto or a payment app.
The goal is your money, your bank login and control of your computer. Geek Squad and Best Buy are the ones being impersonated: scammers copy their name and logo.
Red flags
- A renewal or invoice for a service you never bought or don't remember
- A phone number to call, and a deadline of a day or so to dispute the charge
- A sender address that doesn't belong to Best Buy or Geek Squad
- A caller who asks to connect to your computer
- A refund that turns into "you were overpaid, send the difference back"
- Payment by gift card, wire, crypto or a payment app
Example message
Your Geek Squad protection plan has been renewed for [amount]. Invoice number [number]. If you did not authorize this charge, call our billing team at [phone number] within 24 hours to cancel and receive a full refund.
What to do
- 1
Don't call the number or open attachments
Delete the message or report it as phishing in your email app. Don't reply.
- 2
Check your own account
Look at your card or bank statement. If there's no charge for a tech support subscription, the message was fake. For anything else, contact Best Buy through its website, app or the contact details on BestBuy.com.
- 3
If you let them into your computer, disconnect it
Turn off Wi-Fi, uninstall any remote access program they had you install, and run a scan with security software you already trust. Change passwords from a different device.
- 4
If you paid or shared bank details, call your bank
Use the number on the back of your card. Tell them it's fraud, ask them to stop or reverse the payment and to watch the account. Gift card issuers can sometimes help if you call quickly.
- 5
Report it
Report it to the FTC. Best Buy asks that suspected scams about Best Buy or Geek Squad also go to it; its Protect Yourself page has the details.
Report it
Check if your details are exposed with Serus
Scammers find your number and address on data brokers and people-search sites. Serus removes them.
Why you got it
These emails go out in bulk, but the ones that land with your name, your real email and your phone number on them are easier to believe. Scammers buy contact details from data brokers and people-search sites, and reuse the ones leaked in breaches. Serus finds where your phone number, address and email are listed and removes them, and alerts you when your details show up in a breach, so fewer scammers can reach you.
More Geek Squad scams
Frequently asked
Is the Geek Squad email a scam?
If it's a surprise renewal or invoice with a number to call, yes. Check your card or bank statement: if no matching charge is there, the message was fake.
I called the number. What now?
Don't give them anything more. If you shared card or bank details or let them into your computer, follow the steps above and call your bank straight away.
Does Best Buy know about this?
Best Buy publishes guidance on scams that use its name and asks people to report them. Geek Squad is being impersonated, not running the scam.
Why is there no link in the email?
That's deliberate. A phone number is harder for email filters to flag, and the pressure happens on the call.
Sources
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
