What to Do About a Fake Subscription Renewal Scam Email

An email lands in your inbox. It says your antivirus subscription was just renewed — and it charged you $499.99. There's a phone number to call if you didn't authorize the charge. Your stomach drops, and you reach for the phone.

Stop there first. This is a subscription renewal scam email, one of the most common scams aimed at seniors right now. The charge isn't real, and the phone number in the email doesn't belong to the company it claims to be from. It belongs to a scammer who is waiting for your call.

Here's what one of these emails looks like, why the phone number is the real trap, and exactly what to do — so you keep your money and your computer safe.

What a subscription renewal scam email looks like

These emails are built to look like a receipt from a well-known antivirus or computer company. Names like Norton, McAfee, or Geek Squad show up often, though the exact name changes. The email usually includes:

A large dollar amount, often $300 to $500, meant to alarm you
An order or invoice number that looks official
A phone number to call "if you did not authorize this purchase"
A deadline, suggesting the charge will go through for good unless you call today

The email isn't from the real company. A scammer sent it, and they want one thing: for you to pick up the phone and call that number.

Why the phone number is the real trap

Here's the part that catches so many people off guard: the email itself usually doesn't ask for a password or a bank number. It just asks you to call.

When you call, a calm, professional-sounding person answers. They say they can issue you a refund — but first, they need to connect to your computer, or have you install a small program so they can "process it." That program hands them remote access to your computer. Once they're in, they may:

Ask you to log into your bank account "so the refund can go through"
Install malware, which means harmful software designed to damage or spy on your computer
Talk you into buying gift cards to cover a supposed "refund mistake" on their end

The fake charge is just bait. The phone call is the scam.

What to do when one of these emails arrives

Don't call the number in the email. A real company never asks you to call a number from a surprise invoice to fix a billing problem.
Don't click any links or buttons in it. A link can lead to a fake website built to steal whatever you type into it.
Check your real account instead. If you're genuinely worried about a charge, open your bank or credit card's own app, or call the number printed on the back of your card — never the number in the email.
Delete the email, or mark it as spam in your email program.
Tell a family member or friend if the email rattled you. Saying it out loud to someone you trust makes the next one easier to spot.

What to do if you already called the number

If you already called and let someone connect to your computer, or gave them account information, you haven't done anything foolish. This scam is built by professionals to fool careful, sensible people. Here's what matters now:

Turn off your Wi-Fi or unplug the network cable to end their access to your computer right away.
Call your bank or credit card company and tell them what happened, so they can watch for charges that aren't yours.
Change your passwords from a different device, starting with email and banking.
Have your computer checked for anything the caller may have installed.

This is exactly the situation Porchswing's hack and scam cleanup service is for. A real person can look at what happened on your computer and help put things right, calmly and without any judgment.

A calmer way to handle these going forward

Part of what makes subscription renewal scam emails work is that ordinary antivirus software doesn't warn you about them — the email itself isn't a virus, so there's nothing for most antivirus programs to catch. This is one of the gaps PorchswingProtect is built for. It's made for seniors, runs quietly in the background on your Windows or Mac computer, and includes a real, US-based Porchswing person you can call or email when a message like this shows up and you just want someone to check it with you. It's backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it pairs with — rather than replaces — hack and scam cleanup if your computer ever does need that kind of help.

Common questions

Will deleting the email cancel a real subscription of mine?

No. Deleting a scam email has no effect on any of your real accounts, because it was never connected to them to begin with.

The email had my name or part of my address in it. Does that mean I've been hacked?

Not necessarily. Scammers often buy or find names and addresses from data that has leaked online over the years. Seeing your own name in a scam email doesn't mean your accounts are compromised — it means your information turned up somewhere a scammer could find it. The safe response is still the same: don't call the number.

Is it safer to just reply and say I didn't authorize the charge?

No. Replying tells the scammer your email address is real and read by a real person, which usually brings more scam attempts, not fewer. Deleting it is the safer move.

If you want quiet protection on your Windows or Mac computer — with a real Porchswing person to call — learn about PorchswingProtect. Or call us at (916) 521-0065 and we'll help you set it up.