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Geek Squad scams: how the fake Best Buy renewal invoice works

A Geek Squad scam is a fake invoice or renewal notice claiming that Best Buy's tech support service has charged you a few hundred dollars. The message gives you a phone number instead of a link to your account. Calling it reaches a criminal, not Best Buy, who then asks for remote access to your computer or payment in gift cards.

Last reviewed: August 8, 2026  ·  Drafted with AI assistance. Every figure on this page was checked against the source cited for it. Not yet reviewed by a human editor.

ScamPreventionGuide is an independent consumer-protection resource. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Geek Squad. Company names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the companies that scammers impersonate.

01

Is the Geek Squad email real?

Almost certainly not, if it arrived unprompted and asks you to call about a renewal. Best Buy and Geek Squad do not cold-call customers about automatic renewals, do not demand payment by wire transfer, cryptocurrency or gift card, and do not ask for remote access to your computer in order to cancel a subscription or issue a refund.

The brand is a favourite among scammers for a simple reason: it is the one they impersonate most. According to the US Federal Trade Commission, consumers filed about 52,000 reports in 2023 about scammers posing as Best Buy or its Geek Squad brand — more than for any other company.

02

The three versions you are most likely to meet

VersionHow it reaches youWhat it wants
The renewal invoice — a receipt for a subscription you never bought, for a few hundred dollars, with a number to call if you want to dispute it.Email or textTo get you on the phone. Nothing is charged; the invoice is the bait.
The refund that goes wrong — you are told you are owed a refund, then shown a screen suggesting far too much was sent to you, and asked to return the difference.Phone, after remote accessGift cards. The overpayment is faked by editing what your browser displays.
The support download — an alert says your machine is infected or your plan is expiring, and asks you to install remote-support software so an agent can fix it.Email or phoneControl of your computer, and the passwords and banking details on it.

The first two were documented by the Federal Trade Commission in October 2022 and are still running. The third is the one that does lasting damage, because it survives the phone call.

03

What do the fake messages actually say?

They are short, they name a sum, and they set a deadline. Three examples, with the phone numbers removed:

Thank you for your renewal of Geek Squad Annual Protection Plan. Your account has been debited in the amount of $349.99 for a 3-year subscription. If you did not authorize this charge or wish to cancel and request a refund, please contact our billing department immediately within 24 hours.

GEEK SQUAD NOTICE: Your auto-renewal for total tech support ($299.99) was processed successfully today from your card ending in 4092. To stop this transaction, call us right away.

Hello, this is Geek Squad customer verification calling. We are contacting you regarding a pending charge of $399.99 on your subscription profile. If you did not make this purchase, press 1 to speak with a representative and process an immediate refund.

Note the second one. It quotes a card ending in 4092 — a number the sender guessed. If it does not match your card, that is the tell.

04

How can you tell a real Geek Squad email from a fake one?

Five differences, in the order you can check them:

  • You were not expecting it. A renewal you did not sign up for, for a plan you do not recognise, is the whole premise of the scam — not a billing error.
  • Genuine support numbers are published on BestBuy.com. Scam messages carry a number you can only find in the message itself.
  • Real billing emails do not give you 24 hours to act, and do not ask you to phone a number to stop a charge.
  • Real technicians do not ask for remote access to your computer on a call you did not start.
  • No legitimate company asks to be paid, refunded or verified in retail gift cards. Not once, not ever.

If you want to be certain, do not use anything in the message. Open your own Best Buy account, or ring the number on your receipt. A real charge will be visible there; an invented one will not.

05

What should you do in the first hour?

It depends on how far it got. Find your situation:

  • You saw it, but gave nothing. Close it. Do not call the number and do not click the links. Block the sender, and you are done.
  • You gave information — a password, a login, personal details. Change the password on your Best Buy account, your online banking and your main email, in that order. Turn on two-factor authentication where you can.
  • You paid, or gave card details. Call your bank or card issuer's fraud line now. Ask them to stop the payment, dispute the charge, and cancel and reissue the card.
  • You let someone into your computer. Disconnect it from the internet first — unplug the cable or switch off Wi-Fi. Then run a full offline malware scan. If banking details were on that machine, change those passwords from a different device, not the one that was accessed.
06

Where do you report a Geek Squad scam?

Two places, and both are worth doing:

  • Best Buy — forward the message to abuse@BestBuy.com. This is the address the company publishes for phishing, smishing and vishing.
  • The Federal Trade Commission — file at reportfraud.ftc.gov. This is what feeds the reporting data above, and it is how the 52,000 figure came to exist.

Reporting will not usually get your money back on its own. It is still the step that makes the next person's warning possible.

07

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