What Is the Geek Squad Email Scam? How to Avoid It 2023

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Have you gotten an email from Geek Squad verifying a transaction that you have not yet placed in your account? It’s possible that this is a con. The next step is as follows.

If you have gotten an email from someone claiming to be from Geek Squad telling you of a transaction made on your account, but you do not recall ordering anything, this is most likely a part of the Geek Squad email scam. The scammers send emails to victims pretending to be from Geek Squad. It’s possible that you’ve already heard of the Geek Squad email scam from friends or coworkers, but let’s take a closer look at what it really entails.

We are going to walk you through the process of how this con operates, how you can protect yourself from falling for it, and what you should do if you do end up falling for it.

What Is the Email Scam Regarding the Geek Squad?

The Geek Squad scam is an email scam in which cybercriminals send a bogus email pretending it is an official transaction confirmation from Geek Squad, a subsidiary of Best Buy, a well-known multinational consumer electronics company. The email is sent under the pretense that it is an official transaction confirmation from Geek Squad. The recipients of the email are uninformed of the information contained in the email, which pertains to a membership renewal or order.

Scammers will use fictitious invoice numbers, renewal dates, and other order details to make it appear as though the email came from a legitimate company. They give the email an official appearance by including official logos and promotional banners, which increases the likelihood that their target would believe them. Scammers also provide their phone numbers and instruct victims to call them if they have any questions or concerns regarding the order they have placed.

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When alerted of a huge transaction, the victims of con artists go into a panic and immediately call the con artists to either cancel the transaction or find out more information about it. Con artists wait for their victims in places like this. After there, the con might take many different shapes, but the objective of the cybercriminals is always the same: to defraud their victims of as much money as they possibly can.

How Does the Fake Geek Squad Email Scheme Function?

Scammers will claim that a transaction has occurred from the victim’s account as soon as they are contacted by the victim using the scammers’ phone number. Con artists will tell their victims that the only way out of the situation is to reverse the transaction so that they can continue their con. The recipients, as a normal and expected response to that proposition, provide their assent.

To begin, they question respondents about their personal information; however, officials should never ask for sensitive information over the phone, such as credit card details, social security numbers, or other similar information.

Traditional con artists will tell their victims that they are unable to terminate subscriptions from their end and that they will need access to the recipient’s computer in order to do so. It’s possible that the cybercriminal will blame an odd fault with the computer for such a transaction. Because they are concerned that the issue may recur, they ask that you grant them remote access to your computer so that they can address it.

As soon as their victims give the scammers permission to access their accounts, the scammers have complete control over how far they will go to defraud their victims. They might conduct very large transactions at the bank, install harmful software in order to defraud the victims once more, demand payment for remote support that they have already delivered, or charge cancellation costs.

How to Recognize a Fake Email From the Geek Squad

In order to differentiate an email that has been spoofed from an email that is genuine and original, perform these checks and tips:

Check the text of the email for any problems in spelling or grammar.

Examine the e-mail address of the con artist to see whether or not it has the misspelled firm name or whether or not it appears to be quite general and hence not official.

Check to determine if the con artist used your name in any of their communications with you. If you are merely addressed as “Dear Sir/Madam,” or if your name is not mentioned anywhere, the transaction in question is likely fraudulent.

Never click on any links that are contained in emails. Use a website that checks the links to ensure that you are not redirected to an address that is not official if you are unsure about where you are being taken.

Is the sum being transferred in the same currency as the funds in your bank account? If the email looks suspiciously different from others, it’s probably coming from a con artist.

In most cases, subscribers have a period of seven days in which they can cancel their memberships. Be aware of any emails that tell you to get in touch with them within the next one to two days; the scammer behind the email wants you to feel pressured into making a mistake out of panic.

Is the email address that you used to sign up for Geek Squad the same email address that was used to send you the welcome email?

Does the email ask you to reply on an arbitrary email account, or does it ask you to reply on the same email address as official support?

Verify if there has been no activity on your bank account to determine whether or not this is an attempt to steal your money.

How to Stay Safe from the Fake Geek Squad Emails

If you have received an email purporting to be from Geek Squad and are suspicious that it may be a scam, you have already done the majority of the work necessary to prevent falling victim to it.

Do not under any circumstances submit any personal information via email or any other form of communication, and under no circumstances should you reply to the same email or contact the number that is supplied.

In order to prevent falling for scammers, you need to practice some fundamental safety precautions, the most important of which is that you should not click on links or download attachments. Keep this to yourself as well: although it is important to spread information about the scam, you shouldn’t forward the email to anybody else in case they fall for the con. In point of fact, deleting the email entirely is your best strategy in this situation.

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If you use a computer that is shared with another person, you should block the sender to protect that other person from falling for the scam by accident.

To summarise everything, then, the most effective strategy to avoid getting scammed by the Geek Squad email is to disregard it and subsequently ban the sender.

What You Should Do If You Believe You Have Been the Target of a Geek Squad Email Scam

Make an effort to calm down.

In the event that you fall prey to the Geek Squad email scam, the following steps are ones you should take:

If you have just communicated verbally with the con artists, you should disregard anything they advise you to do.

Blocking the number that you just called will prevent potential con artists from reaching you again.

If you have supplied any of your personal information, including credit card information, you should immediately call your bank and have your funds frozen.

If you have downloaded any files or software from the email, you should make sure that your machine is free of viruses.

Even though it’s not recommended, a lot of people still use the same login information for all of their accounts. If you signed up for an account using a link that scammers supplied to you using your email address, you should immediately change your login details.

If your webcam is currently on, you should temporarily disable it so that con artists cannot record you without your knowledge.

Conclusion

You should now be aware of the traps that con artists set, and you won’t fall for them anymore. It is equally as crucial to promoting awareness among your family and friends as it is for you to do everything in your power to protect yourself.

The warning signs that were discussed before can also be used to identify other types of phishing emails in addition to those that seem to be from Geek Squad. Therefore, be on the lookout for them and steer clear of them at all costs.