If you have recently received an email stating: “Your annual plan for PC Security Has Been Successfully Renewed & Updated”, it is highly likely that you were hit by a scammer.
Do you have a Norton PC Security account? Do you even know what Norton PC Security is? Did you attempt to get any sort of security subscription renewed?
If the answer to those questions are “no”, “no”, and “no” – this is 100% scam bait.
Recently, people across the country have been receiving similar emails. Some come from Norton PC Security, others from Windows Defender.
The email itself might look like something just below:
Dear User,
** Your Annual Plan For PC Security Has Been Successfully Renewed & Updated.
The Debited Amount Will Be Shown Within Next 24 TO 48 HRS On Your Account Statement. **
___PRODUCT INFORMATION___
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Invoice NO. : NSP2021LPW
Product Name : NORTON PC SECURITY
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Order Date : 15th April 2021
Expiration Date : 1 Year from the Date of Purchase
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Price : $222.23 USD
PAYMENT METHOD : AUTO RENEWAL
………………………………………………………………………………………………
* If you wish to claim a REFUND then please feel free to Contact our Billing Department as soon as Possible*
You can Reach us on +1 – (888) – (516) – (9774)
Regards,
Billing Department
How Does The “Security Subscription Renewed” Email Scam Work?
It’s pretty simple, which is why so many people fall victim to this email scam. Believe us, you aren’t alone if you got tricked.
The scam plays on a common occurrence that we all deal with rather regularly – we forget to turn off a subscription and wind up being charged automatically for something that we aren’t even using.
“Oh no!” the scammer expects you to exclaim after seeing that your security subscription renewed and was charged to your credit card or bank account, “I better give them a call and remedy this issue.”
Once you call, the fraudster will put on their best customer service voice and tell you that it’s no big deal and that they can easily remove the charge from your account, they just need the credit card information to process the refund.
If you give them that information, the fake charge claimed by the email becomes real charges from the scammer who now has your information – and likely for a lot more than a couple hundred dollars.
How You Avoid a Subscription Renewal Email Scam
There are a few simple ways to stay safe when it comes to this sort of scam:
- If you’ve never heard of the business, just delete it. If you are worried that there was a charge to your credit card, your best bet is to check your credit card or bank statement. If your security subscription renewed, or if something is there that shouldn’t be, call your bank.
- Double Check the Email Address. Most scammers try to trick you by using an email address that looks similar to a real business, but there will usually be something not quite correct. Perhaps they spell it john.doe@Microseft.com or maybe they add an extension like john.doe@Microsoft-Security.com. If it is coming from the legitimate company, the @ address will be the same as their primary website.
- Is the email professionally designed? Most scammers don’t go through the process of working with graphics and logos. They will send you a simple, text email. If it looks cheap, it is likely a scam.
- Is it personalized? For the most part, scammers are just sending bait to a list of email addresses, but they don’t know the name of the person who owns the address. If the email is generic, like when you get junk mail to “current resident”, it’s a good sign that it is junk email.
- How’s the spelling and grammar? Large corporations don’t send out emails without rigorous editing and approval. If there are spelling mistakes, grammar issues, or the language is just generally “off”, that is a good sign that it is not legit.
- Trust yourself, or ask a good friend. The best scam detectors are you and your circle of friends and family. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t right. Most of these security subscription renewal email scams, or anything similar, can be called out fairly quickly by human instinct.
Always Check Twice
The biggest takeaway here is that you should always check twice. Be it an email telling you that your security subscription renewed or a message about a long lost relative in a country that you’ve never visited, be aware. Scammers are constantly finding new ways to convince us that we need to give them our credit card or banking information. Before you ever do that… check twice.
