Geek Squad Email Scam (2026): Fake Renewal Invoice Explained

An email lands in your inbox: “Your Geek Squad membership has been automatically renewed for $449.99.” There’s an invoice, an official-looking logo, and a phone number to call if you want to cancel. Your stomach drops — you don’t remember signing up for that. Stop before you call. This is the single most impersonated brand in America for scams, and the whole thing is fake. Here’s how it works and what to do.

Why the Geek Squad scam is everywhere

Geek Squad is Best Buy’s real tech-support service, which is exactly why scammers love it. Millions of Americans recognize the name, so a “renewal” notice feels believable. The FTC has reported tens of thousands of complaints about Best Buy and Geek Squad impersonation — more than Amazon and PayPal combined — making it the most impersonated brand in the country. The scam has been running for years and keeps getting refreshed.

How the scam works, step by step

It almost always starts with an unsolicited email containing a fake invoice or auto-renewal notice, usually for a few hundred dollars — large enough to alarm you, small enough to seem plausible. The email urges you to call a number “to cancel” or “dispute” the charge. When you call, a fake “agent” answers and tries one of these:

• Asks for your bank or card details to “process a refund” or “cancel” the charge.
• Tells you to install software so they can “help” — really giving them remote access to your computer.
• “Accidentally” refunds you too much and asks you to send the difference back in gift cards — a classic refund scam.

The goal is always the same: your money, your financial details, or control of your device.

How to spot a fake Geek Squad email

• You never bought a Geek Squad subscription — or can’t remember one. Real charges show up at bestbuy.com under your account.
• A big scary number and pressure to call right now.
• Odd sender address, generic greeting (“Dear Customer”), spelling and grammar mistakes.
• The only way to “fix” it is to call a phone number in the email. Real companies don’t work that way.

Check the email and number before you trust them

Not sure if a message is real? Use our free tools first. Paste the email’s header to see if it actually came from Best Buy or a spoofed sender:

And before calling any number in the email, check it — scam “support” lines often have tell-tale patterns:

What to do if you get one

• Don’t call the number in the email — that’s the whole trap.
• Don’t reply or click any links or attachments.
• Check the real source: log in at bestbuy.com yourself and look under Memberships. If there’s no charge on your actual bank statement, the invoice is fake.
• Report it by forwarding to Best Buy and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, then delete it.

If you already called or paid

Act fast. Call your bank or card issuer to dispute charges and replace the card. If you installed any software they directed you to, disconnect from the internet, remove it, and run a security scan — or have a trusted technician do it. Change passwords for any account you accessed during the call, and watch your statements closely.