McAfee scam emails: how to spot the fake renewal invoice
Quick answer
A McAfee email saying you were charged hundreds of dollars and must call within 24 hours is a scam. Don't call the number. Check your bank or card statement, and if you want to confirm a subscription, contact McAfee using a number you look up yourself.
- Comes by
- Email, Text, Phone call
- Pretends to be
- McAfee
- Last updated
How it works
Scammers pretend to be McAfee (the real company is impersonated, not behind the scam). The FTC describes a common script on tech support scams: an email or text says you were charged for a subscription renewal, often hundreds of dollars, and that you must call a number within 24 hours to dispute it. The brand names the FTC lists include McAfee, Norton and Geek Squad.
When you call, the person asks for remote access to your computer, or sends you to a spoofed payment page to "refund" you. They then claim you were refunded too much and must send the difference back by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency. The goal is your money, your card or bank logins, and control of your device.
Red flags
- An invoice or renewal charge for a product you never bought, or already cancelled
- A demand to call a phone number within 24 hours to dispute the charge
- A caller who asks to connect to your computer remotely
- A refund that is somehow too large, followed by a request to send money back
- Payment requested by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency
Example message
Your McAfee subscription has been renewed for $[amount]. If you did not authorize this charge, call [phone number] within 24 hours to cancel and get a refund.
What to do
- 1
Don't call the number in the message
The number connects you to the scammer. Delete the message, or report it first.
- 2
Check your real accounts
Look at your bank or card statement for any McAfee charge. If you want to check a subscription, go to McAfee's website by typing the address yourself, or use a number you already know is real.
- 3
If you let someone into your computer
Disconnect from the internet, uninstall any remote access program they had you install, update your security software and run a scan. Then change passwords from a different, clean device.
- 4
If you paid
Call your bank or card issuer straight away using the number on your card and tell them it was fraud. For gift cards, contact the card company with the card number and receipt.
- 5
If you shared bank logins or ID details
Go to IdentityTheft.gov for the specific steps, and consider a credit freeze.
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
Scammers pick targets from lists of names, emails and phone numbers that come from data breaches and people-search sites. A message that lands on a real McAfee customer's phone or inbox is partly luck, and partly a list that matched you to your carrier, address or email. Read our guides on data brokers and what to do after a data breach. Serus finds the people-search sites and data brokers that list you where you live and removes your listings, and it alerts you when your email shows up in a breach, so fewer scammers can reach you.
Frequently asked
Is McAfee a scam?
No. McAfee is a real security company, and scammers copy its name. The scam is the fake invoice or call.
I got a McAfee invoice for something I never bought. What now?
Don't call the number on it. Check your bank or card statement. If there's no charge, delete the email and report it to the FTC.
What if I really have a McAfee subscription?
Contact McAfee through its website, typed in yourself, or a number you already know is real, not the one in the message.
I called and they asked to connect to my computer. What do I do?
Disconnect from the internet, remove any remote access program, run a security scan, change your passwords from a clean device and call your bank.
Sources
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
