Geek Squad / Best Buy scams
Last updated September 19, 2026
The short answer
The Geek Squad scam is an emailed invoice for a subscription renewal of $300 to $500 that you never bought, with a phone number to cancel it. There is no link and no attachment, which is how it gets past spam filters. Calling the number is the scam — Best Buy does not email unexpected renewal invoices.
The Geek Squad renewal invoice is one of the most-sent scam emails in the United States, and it is unusual in a way worth understanding: it contains no link and no attachment. That is deliberate. There is nothing for a filter to flag and nothing to click, so the email lands in ordinary inboxes and the only action available is the phone number. Everything that follows happens on the call, which is where the refund scam — the most financially damaging consumer scam pattern there is — begins.
How Geek Squad / Best Buy scams work
- 1
The invoice arrives
A professional-looking invoice says your Geek Squad Total Protection plan has auto-renewed for $349.99, $449.99 or similar, and the charge will post within 24 hours. It includes an order number, a support number, and no links at all.
- 2
You call to cancel
The person who answers is calm and helpful. They confirm the charge, apologise, and say they can process a refund — they just need to connect to your computer to complete it.
- 3
Remote access
You install AnyDesk, UltraViewer or similar. Once connected, they can see your screen, type on your machine, and control what you are looking at.
- 4
The manufactured overpayment
They ask you to log into your bank to confirm the refund. What you see next is under their control — a page edited in front of you, or a transfer between your own accounts made to look like an inbound deposit. It shows $4,000 instead of $400. They are distraught: they will lose their job unless you return the difference.
- 5
The return, in gift cards
You are sent to buy gift cards, or to wire the difference, staying on the phone throughout and coached on what to tell staff if asked. Nothing was ever refunded; the money leaving is yours.
Warning signs
- An invoice arrives for a Geek Squad plan you never bought
- The email has no links — only a phone number
- The amount is large enough to alarm you but small enough to be plausible
- You are asked to install remote-access software to get a refund
- You are asked to log into your bank while someone is watching your screen
- A refund appears to have been overpaid
- You are asked to return money in gift cards or by wire
- You are told to stay on the line and what to say to a cashier
Examples
The $449.99 renewal
An invoice says a Geek Squad plan renewed for $449.99. The recipient never had one, calls to cancel, and is asked to install UltraViewer so the refund can be "processed". During the session the agent moves $4,000 between the victim's own savings and checking, then shows it as a refund gone wrong. She buys $3,600 in gift cards over two hours and reads out the numbers.
Nothing to click
A recipient forwards the invoice to their IT team expecting a phishing link. There is none — no URL, no attachment, nothing to analyse. The entire attack surface is a phone number in plain text, which is why these land in inboxes that block everything else.
What to do
- Do not call the number. Delete the email. If you are worried, check for a real subscription at bestbuy.com or call Best Buy on 1-888-237-8289.
- Never install remote-access software at a caller's request.
- If you already gave access: disconnect from the internet, remove the remote software, run a full scan, and change passwords from a different device.
- Call your bank from a different phone and have them review the session's transfers — money "refunded" to you was usually moved between your own accounts.
- If gift cards were bought, call the issuer immediately with the numbers and receipts. Unspent balances are sometimes frozen.
- Forward the email to abuse@BestBuy.com.
Report it to Geek Squad / Best Buy
Forward the fake invoice to abuse@BestBuy.com and delete it. Never call the number printed on it.
Getting your money back
Call your bank immediately and from a different phone — the "overpayment" is almost always a transfer between your own accounts, which the bank can see and explain, and which changes the whole picture for anyone still unsure whether the refund was real. Gift card losses go to the issuer's fraud line with the numbers and receipts; a small share is recovered when the balance is unspent, and only if you are fast. Treat the computer as compromised: remove the remote tool, scan it, change every password from a different device, and consider a clean reinstall. Expect a follow-up call, sometimes from a "recovery service", which is the same operation returning to the same list.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the email have no links?
Because a link is what spam filters and security tools inspect. With no URL and no attachment there is nothing to scan, so the message reaches inboxes that would block a conventional phishing email. The phone number is the whole attack, deliberately.
I called the number but hung up before doing anything. Am I in trouble?
No, but expect to be called back — you are now a confirmed live number on a working list. Do not answer numbers you do not recognise for a while, and never install anything for a caller.
They showed me a refund of too much money. Was that real?
No. Either the page was edited in front of you during a remote session, or they moved money between your own accounts to make an inbound deposit appear. No money was added. Your bank can confirm this in minutes, and it is worth calling them before anything else.
Does Best Buy ever email renewal invoices?
Only for a subscription you actually hold, visible when you sign in at bestbuy.com. An invoice for a plan you have never bought, especially one whose only call to action is a phone number, is this scam.
Other companies scammers impersonate
Scams reuse their scripts across brands. If you were contacted about Geek Squad / Best Buy, these are the guides worth reading next.