Fake Geek Squad invoices push you to call a number within about a day. The call can end with a stranger on your computer and real money gone from your bank.
An email or text says Geek Squad charged you for a renewal or an order, and you must call a number to cancel. It is a known scam pattern, not a bill from the store. The message often comes with a PDF and a deadline of about 24 hours. The FTC lists fake Geek Squad renewal notices among tech support scams.
Geek Squad is the tech support service of the retailer Best Buy. Scammers borrow the name because people know it. The message shows a charge large enough to alarm you. Calling the number is the trap.
There is usually no malware in the message itself. The danger is the person who answers. They sound polite and professional. They ask to look at your computer, pretend to find a problem or a wrong charge, and steer you to your online bank.
The FTC says some callers claim you were refunded too much and must pay the difference back. The FBI has described a version where the caller makes a refund appear by moving your own money between your own accounts. Then they ask you to return the supposed extra. The money that leaves in the end is real.
Anyone with an email address or phone number can get one of these messages. Older relatives are an obvious target, since fake renewal notices play on fear of losing money. The remote access step usually targets Windows PCs and Macs.
If you only read the message, you can relax. Delete it and do nothing. Replying only confirms that your address is live.
Not every message with the Geek Squad name is fake. A real customer can get a real receipt. What marks the scam is the pattern: an unexpected charge, a deadline, a number to call and a request for access or payment. Evidence so far comes from reports by affected users, and details are still limited.
The alert box above lists the steps. The key idea is to never answer the question "did I buy this?" through the message. Check your own bank app and your own store account instead. If you do need the store, get its number from its official website, not from a search ad. The FTC says scammers can buy search results so their number shows up.
Anyone who contacted you first should not get control of your computer. A caller knowing your name or part of an order is not proof they are real.
Never call the number in a surprise charge message. Check your own bank app and store account, and delete the message if you did nothing else.
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