What it looks like
"Thank you for renewing your Geek Squad Total Protection plan. Your account has been charged $449.99. This charge will appear on your statement within 24 hours. If you did not authorize this renewal, call our billing team at 1-888-XXX-XXXX."
An example. Real ones change their wording, amounts and names all the time.
How it works
These emails copy the look of real companies, such as Geek Squad, Norton, McAfee or PayPal, and show an invoice for a few hundred dollars. Often there is no link to click, only a phone number. That is on purpose. Email filters look for bad links, and a plain phone number slips through.
When you call to complain, a polite agent offers a refund. They ask you to install a program so they can connect to your computer and 'fill out the refund form'. Then they claim you typed too many zeros and got a huge refund by mistake, and the screen seems to show it. They ask you to send the difference back by gift card, wire transfer, cash or crypto. The money they 'refunded' was your own, moved from one of your accounts to another.
It fools careful people because nobody wants to pay for something they did not buy, and calling to fix it seems responsible. The charge in the email is not real. Your own bank or card statement is where a real charge would show up.
Signs it is fake
- A charge for a plan you do not have, or did not renew
- A phone number to call to cancel or get a refund, and no link to sign in
- The email came from a personal address, like a Gmail account, not from the company
- A PayPal invoice with a note telling you to call a number if you did not order it
- The person who answers wants to connect to your computer to 'process the refund'
What to do
- Do not call the number in the email.
- Check your bank or card statement for the charge. If you do have the plan, sign in to the company's website by typing the address yourself.
- Delete the email, and mark it as spam if your email has that button.
If you already clicked, called or paid
- If they connected to your computer, turn it off and have it checked before you bank online again.
- Call your bank using the number on your card and tell them what happened. Ask them to watch for unusual transfers.
- Report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Being fooled is not your fault. These messages are made by professionals to look real. Acting quickly is what matters. See what to do if you paid a scammer.
Not sure about a message?
Forward it to Uncle at +1 208 214 0093, or send a screenshot. He tells you plainly what looks wrong. He never asks for passwords or codes, and he never texts first. How it works.
Worried about a parent? With the Family plan, you get a heads up when a likely scam reaches them.
More common scams
Written by the Textuncle team. Last updated October 3, 2026.
Text Uncle