Fake Renewal Invoices: "Your Subscription Has Been Renewed for $399.99"

This one works because it makes you angry. An email says your antivirus, computer protection plan or online subscription just renewed — for $299, $399 or more. You don’t remember signing up. The email offers a phone number to cancel and get a refund.

There is no charge. The email itself is the scam, and the phone number connects you to the scammers. Security experts call it callback phishing.

What happens when you call

A friendly “billing agent” offers to process your refund. To do that, they need to connect to your computer. They’ll then show you a screen that appears to refund too much — say $3,999 instead of $399 — and ask you to send back the difference by wire transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, they may also be moving money from your accounts or installing software to come back later.

Red flags

• The email comes from a free email account or a random address, not the company
• Often uses the name of a well-known antivirus brand or electronics store
• The amount is large enough to make you panic
• The only way to “cancel” is to call a number in the email
• No account number, no last four digits of a card, no real details

What to do

• Don’t call the number and don’t reply.
• Check your bank or card statement directly. If there’s no charge, delete the email.
• If you do have a subscription with that company, sign in to your account through their official website or app — not a link or number in the email.

If you already called and let them connect

Disconnect from the internet, call your bank right away, and change passwords from a different device. Then have the computer checked. Call us at 620-960-8711 — this is exactly the kind of cleanup we do every week.