How To Identify Geek Squad Scam (How It Works)

The Geek squad scam is one of the viral phishing scams making waves. Although the scam has been around for a while, scammers use different formats to trick people.

You must have heard about the Geek squad email scam from a friend, co-worker, or family member. You may have received an email from someone claiming to be from Geek squad reminding you of an auto-renewal of a transaction made on your Geek squad account.

The Geek squad email scam can take different forms. Here in this article, we will show you how the Geek squad scam works and what to do when you receive such emails.

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How The Geek Squad Scam Works

The purpose of the Geek squad scam is to trick you into sending them money or giving access to your computer.

You may receive a voicemail claiming to be a representative of Geek squad and to call them whenever you have an issue with your computer.

When you request their help they may request access to remotely log into your computer to help you identify the issue.

Then they open a link for you to purchase gift cards online. They call you to request some amount of money to purchase software and that after the program is installed your account would be refunded.

Since you trust them and with the hope of getting reinforced after your computer has been fixed you purchase the gift card and end the numbers on the gift card.

It’s only after these that you realized you’ve been a geek squad scam email victim.

The most common form of the Geek squad scam involves scammers sending You an invoice email about the renewal of a subscription or membership for which they claim your account would be charged.

They leave a customer support number, which they expect you to call. Thinking the email is real you pick up your phone to call the scammers they may ask you to pay a one-time cancellation fee or ask to remotely access your computer.

At times links are embedded in the email which would automatically install malicious software on your device or redirect you to a different website owned by these scammers.

When malicious software like a Trojan or ransomware is on your device hacker can spy on your personal information like your credit/debit card details, your mobile banking information, and your social media or email passwords.

How to Identify the Geek Squad Email Scam

Follow the tips provided below to identify the Geek squad scam email:

• The scammers attach a random phone number to the email.
• Check and confirm the authenticity of the sender’s email address.
• Take note of how you are addressed within the email. An official email would address you by your name and not as “ dear valued customer” or “dear user”.
• Check within the content of the email for grammatical or spelling errors.
• Check the links within the email. An official link won’t redirect you to a different website or install malicious software on your device.
• Check if the email you receive is from the main one you signed up for your Geek squad account with. If it’s a different email that you didn’t sign up with, then you should beware this is a scam.
• Confirm the expiration status of your Geek squad plan. Subscribers often have a 7-day period to cancel their subscriptions.
• Geek squad will not request money or a gift card for a software program or a subscription cancellation fee. Therefore if someone who claims to work with Geek squad is requesting any of these, it is probably a scam.
• You may be asked to make payment to a suspicious bank account.

What To Do If You Fell For The Geek Squad Scam?

The Geek squad scam can take various forms to trick you. If you fell for this scam we recommend you take some measures to prevent a further attack:

• Change your password if you clicked on a link and entered your password.
• Contact your bank to cancel your credit or debit card or change your mobile banking information if you have entered your details.
• Your device may have been infected if you downloaded a malicious attachment from the Geek squad email scam. You can download antivirus software to remove any malicious software from your device.
• Make sure you block the number that the scammer uses to contact you and avoid making further payments if you have made any already.

Why Did I Get an Invoice From Geek Squad?

If you got an invoice from Geek squad asking your to subscribe or renew a product without your signing up then this is a scam. The Geek squad scam email renewal and Geek Squad subscription are the two most common ways scammers steal money from people.

Can You Get Scammed From Clicking on an Email?

You can get scammed clicking a Phishing email, these links are intrusive and would redirect you to either download malicious attachments or another website run by these scammers.

What Happens if You Accidentally Open a Spam Email?

If you accidentally open a spam email, make sire you do not click on any links or download any attachment as it may be malicious. Also do not act as told by these scammers, e.g you might be told to call a customer care line run by these scammers, make a payment to a suspicious account or purchase gift cards from a nearby store. Lastly make sure you delete the spam email from your account.