Key Takeaways
- Spot the Fake Renewal: Scammers use Geek Squad renewal emails claiming you owe $300 to $600 to get you on the phone for a bogus refund. Skip the number in the email, check your card statement for the charge, and verify your subscription at BestBuy.com.
- Stop the Scam: Report the Geek Squad scam email at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and delete it. If you gave the caller access, hang up, disconnect, uninstall AnyDesk or the app they added, run a full malware scan, call your bank, and change passwords from another device.
- Recover Money and Access: After a Geek Squad email scam, ask your bank to reverse a Zelle payment or the gift card issuer for a refund, though recovery is uncertain. If unfamiliar programs return after a scan, back up your files and reset Windows or get in-person help.
You open your inbox and see a Geek Squad renewal for nearly $500. It says you have 24 hours to cancel, and there’s a phone number right there. An email claiming you owe $300 to $600 and urging you to call to cancel is almost certainly a Geek Squad email scam, and receiving it can’t charge your card.
The Federal Trade Commission names Geek Squad as one of the brands scammers use in fake renewal notices. Open your bank or card app yourself and look for the amount the email says you paid. If there’s no matching charge, the renewal notice is fake. Leave the phone number alone and skip the reply.
Already called? Go to the section on what to do after calling the scammers. In a case reported on October 29, 2026, a Northbrook, Illinois, resident sent $92,240 after calling about a supposed subscription and letting the caller install an app on her phone.
Is That Geek Squad Renewal Email Real
A renewal notice can look convincing even when you’ve shopped at Best Buy before. Start with what the message wants you to do, then check the charge through an account you opened yourself.
The Phone Number Is the Giveaway
The scam needs you to make that call. Once you’re on the line, someone can ask for your card details or talk you through installing an app. Best Buy advises you to hang up if someone contacts you unexpectedly about a support issue and asks for payment or personal details. The FTC says legitimate tech companies don’t email you out of the blue about a computer problem and tell you to call.
What if the email has no link or attachment? Malwarebytes found fake invoices that relied on a phone number alone. That gave spam filters less to catch and left the scammer to do the rest over the phone.
For more red flags, see our phishing email examples and how to spot them.
Check Your Statement and Best Buy Account Yourself
Open your card or bank app and look for the amount shown in the email. Best Buy uses several labels for real charges, so you might see something more specific than Geek Squad on your statement. If you find a charge you don’t recognize, use the phone number Best Buy lists for that label.
| Statement label | What it can cover | Best Buy contact number |
|---|---|---|
| GEEKSQUAD PLAN | Monthly phone or gaming protection | 1-800-433-5778 |
| GEEKSQUAD RENEW | Tech support, security software, or annual protection renewals | 1-800-433-5778 |
| GEEKSQUADDIGSAL | Digital purchases such as tech support, software, or protection plans | 1-800-433-5778 |
| BESTBUY GSP MTH | Monthly installments for protection bought in Puerto Rico stores | 1-800-433-5778 |
| GEEKSQUADONLINE | Monthly support renewals for plans bought by phone or through another site | 1-800-919-8630 |
| BEST BUY FOR BU | Purchases on a Best Buy for Business account | 1-888-237-8289 |
| GEEKSQUAD | Remote or on-site tech support for business customers | 1-866-613-9854 |
| BESTBUY RENEWAL | Digital renewals for support, software, or protection | 1-888-237-8289 |
Type BestBuy.com into your browser, sign in, and look at your subscriptions. You can also call Best Buy at 1-888-237-8289 to check or manage a membership. Plus and Total renew annually unless you cancel, so check what you’re enrolled in before you act on any price in an email.
| Membership or invoice | Price |
|---|---|
| My Best Buy | Free |
| My Best Buy Plus | $29.99 a year before tax |
| My Best Buy Total | $199.99 a year before tax |
| Examples of fake invoice amounts | $349, $399, $489.99, $499, and $598.96 |
How the Fake Invoice Turns Into a Theft
The email gives you a reason to call, and the person who answers gives you a reason to let them into your device. Once you know how that conversation goes, it’s easier to see where to end it.
A Big Charge and a Short Deadline
A fake invoice might claim you owe $300 to $600 and give you 24 or 48 hours to dispute it. You might see a generic greeting, odd wording, or several unrelated business names on the same bill. The amount catches your eye, and the deadline pushes you to act before checking your account.
The sender address can look genuine because scammers can create invoices through real payment platforms. PayPal warns that someone can send you a payment request for something you never ordered and put a fake support number in the invoice message. A Geek Squad invoice reported in May 2026 came through Razorpay, asked for $489.99, and gave the recipient 48 hours to act.
The Cancellation Call Becomes a Remote Session
Once you call, the person on the line might tell you they need to connect to your computer or phone to cancel the plan or refund your money. They may ask you to install AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, or Quick Assist. These apps can give the caller a way to see your screen or control your device.
The caller may then send you to a fake bank page and ask you to enter your login or card details for the refund. By the time you’re looking at that page, the conversation has gone well beyond canceling a subscription. End the call and disconnect the device if you’ve already allowed access.
The Overpayment Trick
The caller can change what you see on your screen to make it look as though too much money went into your account. Then they ask you to send back the supposed difference by gift card, wire, Zelle, or another bank transfer. That payment sends your money out for real.
In the reported Northbrook case, the caller made a refund look too large and persuaded the resident to send money over several calls. Her bank flagged the scam when the caller asked for more. The FTC also warns that a scammer may hand you over to someone posing as a government agent who claims your identity is tied to a crime.
Got the Email but Didn’t Respond
If you only opened the message, you can report it and move on once you’ve checked your statement. Here’s where to send it before clearing it from your inbox.
Report It and Delete It
In Gmail on a computer, open the message and choose More, the three dots next to Reply, then Report phishing. In Outlook, use Report. You can also forward the email to abuse@bestbuy.com and file a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If it arrived as a PayPal invoice, open PayPal yourself and report the invoice from inside your account. Leave the invoice unpaid and skip any PDF it asks you to download. Reading the email by itself can’t charge your card or give the caller remote access.
Steps to Take After Calling the Scammers
What you do next depends on what the caller got from you. If you let them connect, end the session first and use another device to contact your bank right away if they saw your banking details or you sent money.
Hang Up and Stop Answering
End the call and block the numbers the scammers used. If they call back, hang up again. You don’t need to argue with the caller or bargain over the supposed refund.
A follow-up caller may claim to work for the FBI or offer to recover your money. The FTC says its staff and refund administrators never ask for remote access, and an FTC refund never requires you to pay a fee. Keep the callback number for your report.
Disconnect and Remove the Remote Access App
Turn off Wi-Fi or unplug the network cable to cut the connection. If you’re unsure whether the session ended, shut down the device. AnyDesk advises turning it off to end an active session with a scammer.
On Windows, go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps, open the three-dot menu next to the app, and choose Uninstall. If that fails, try Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. Sort by install date and look for anything the caller added, such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, ScreenConnect, LogMeIn, or Zoho Assist.
Run a Full Malware Scan
Update your security software. In Windows Security, go to Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Full scan. Afterward, run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan and follow the security tool’s instructions to remove anything it flags.
Check your browser for extensions you don’t recognize and review the computer’s administrator accounts for any new ones. If you still see unfamiliar changes after the scan, use the recovery options below or get in-person help.
Call Your Bank or Card Issuer Right Away
Use the number on your card or open the bank’s app yourself. Explain how you paid and what the scammer saw or asked you to do. The place to report the payment depends on how you sent it.
| How you paid | Who to contact and what to ask for |
|---|---|
| Credit card | Call the card issuer, report the scam charge, and ask for a refund |
| Debit card | Call your bank or credit union and ask for a refund |
| Bank transfer or Zelle | Contact your bank or credit union and ask it to reverse the payment |
| Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal | Report the payment in the app and ask for a reversal |
| Wire transfer | Call the wire transfer company, explain that you were tricked, and ask for a refund |
| Gift card | Call the issuer using the number on the card, explain that the scammer got the card number and PIN, and ask for a refund |
If the caller saw your card details, ask for a new card number and turn on transaction alerts. Tell the bank if the caller accessed your online banking so it can lock the account if needed. For a gift card payment, keep the card and receipt.
Change Your Passwords From a Different Device
Use another phone or a computer the scammer never accessed. Change your email password first, then your banking passwords, followed by accounts such as Best Buy, Amazon, or PayPal. If you used the same password elsewhere, change it there too.
Include any password you typed while the caller could see your screen or that was saved in the browser they accessed. Turn on two-factor authentication and sign out of other sessions. If you’ve already lost access to an account, start its account recovery process.
Freeze Your Credit If You Shared Personal Details
If you gave the caller your Social Security number or date of birth, consider freezing your credit. It’s free, and you’ll need to contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion separately. The freezes stay in place until you lift them.
You can also place a free one-year fraud alert by contacting any one of the three bureaus. That bureau tells the other two. If someone has already used your Social Security number, report the identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov and follow the recovery plan there.
Report the Scam
File a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at complaint.ic3.gov. You can also report it to local police. A police report or an FTC identity theft report can support a request for an extended fraud alert.
Send the fake Geek Squad message to abuse@bestbuy.com. If the caller claimed to be from Microsoft, report that at microsoft.com/reportascam. Keep your call logs, the phone numbers they used, payment receipts, and any gift cards involved.
If They Got Into Your Phone Instead
The reported Northbrook case started with a remote access app on a phone. If you let a caller see your screen or install an app, end the connection and check what they added.
Removing a Remote App From Android or iPhone
On Android, stop screen sharing and go to Settings > Apps to uninstall the remote access app. Check Settings > Security for device administrator apps and Settings > Accessibility for services you don’t recognize. If the caller enabled a service for the app, turn it off.
On iPhone, stop screen sharing and delete the app the caller had you install. Check Settings > General > VPN & Device Management for a profile the caller added. Call your bank if the caller saw you open a banking app or enter payment details.
If an Android phone still acts strangely, follow our steps to remove a virus and malware from your Android phone.
When the Computer Still Feels Compromised
Pop-ups or unfamiliar programs that keep returning after a scan deserve another look. If you’re also getting password reset emails you didn’t request, review those accounts from a different device. For the computer itself, you can reset Windows or have someone inspect it in person.
Reset Windows or Get In-Person Help
Back up your personal files before you reset Windows. Go to Settings > System > Recovery, find Reset this PC, and choose Remove everything if you want to start over. That option removes your personal files and apps, so check your backup before continuing.
If you’d prefer someone to look at the computer, the FTC suggests visiting a computer store in person. You can go to a Best Buy store you choose yourself and explain what the caller installed and what you’ve seen since.
How to Avoid the Next Fake Invoice
The next email might use a different company name or come through a payment app you already use. A habit of checking charges yourself and a quick conversation with family can help you catch the same trick again.
Treat Every Phone Number in an Invoice as Bait
When a bill surprises you, type the company’s website into your browser or open its app yourself. If it claims your card was charged, check with your card issuer using the number printed on your card. Keep the invoice open only if you need to refer to it while reporting it.
If someone asks to control your screen to cancel a subscription, end the call. For a Best Buy membership, you can manage it through your own BestBuy.com account or call 1-888-237-8289 yourself.
The same trick shows up in texts, as our guide to the unpaid toll text scam explains.
Warn Older Family Members About the Refund Trick
People 60 and older reported $7.7 billion in internet crime losses to the FBI in 2025. When you talk about the Geek Squad scam with an older family member, explain how a caller can make a refund look bigger on-screen and then ask for real money back.
Give them one rule to remember. If a caller says a refund was too large and asks for money back, hang up and call the bank. You can also help them turn on transaction alerts and ask whether their bank offers a trusted contact.
FAQs
No, ignoring a fake Geek Squad email won’t charge your card. Open your bank or card app and look for the amount the email claims you paid. If you find an unfamiliar charge, call your card issuer using the number on your card.
Reading the email itself is low risk, and you can check the supposed charge without opening the PDF. Leave the attachment alone if you don’t need it, and avoid enabling macros in any document the sender includes. The scam usually depends on getting you to call the number or pay the invoice.
You’re likely fine if you hung up before sharing personal details, installing an app, or giving the caller access. Block the number and watch for follow-up calls or texts that ask you to finish a cancellation or claim a refund.
Sign in at BestBuy.com and look at your subscriptions, or call Best Buy at 1-888-237-8289. You can also check your card statement for labels such as GEEKSQUAD RENEW or BESTBUY RENEWAL and use the amount and date to identify the charge.
You might be able to recover the payment, so report it as soon as you realize what happened. Ask your bank or credit union to reverse a Zelle transfer, or call the gift card issuer and ask for a refund. Keep the receipt, the gift card if you have it, and any confirmation of the payment.
Scammers can use a real payment platform to send an invoice for something you never bought. That lets the email come from the platform’s genuine address while the payment request and phone number come from whoever created the invoice. Open your account yourself to review and report the request.
