Many people get annual emails that announce upcoming antivirus auto-renewal charges. So the Norton Auto-Renewal Scam tends to works well, because it lines up with people’s expectations:
There is nothing true about this message, yet it still grabs people and compels them reach for the phone. The urge to undo that $500+ charge almost blocks out other thoughts. But if you encounter The Norton Auto-Renewal Scam, take a deep breath and realize that it is just a ruse. It is a variant of the Thanks for Your Purchase scam. It is a purchase that never happened.
The phone number in that email will not connect you to Norton, but a scammer. S/he’ll gladly pretend to be with Norton or McAfee or whatever company you mention. And they will cheerfully agree to get you your money back. But what they will actually do is pretend to process a refund for you, while covertly making off with your cash.
Don’t ever call these numbers, and don’t email the senders. Even knowing that it’s a scam, reaching out to them in any way may encourage them to share your contact info with other scammers. And that just means more scams in your inbox. It’s always best to just delete these emails. And if a scammer cold-calls you with this sort of scheme, just hang up on them without another word.
If you need further peace of mind about your Norton subscription, go to the legitimate Norton account page and sign in. You can review your account details and charges there, and believe in them as fact.
0 Comments
2 Pingbacks