ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Viewers and coworkers alerted News10 NBC’s Deanna Dewberry about receiving invoices from what looks like Geek Squad, a tech support company owned by Best Buy. The scam is so widespread, the Federal Trade Commission has issued an alert.
In 2023, scammers impersonated Geek Squad and Best Buy more often than any other company, even giants like Amazon. The FTC reports that it received 52,000 reports of scams involving Best Buy and its subsidiary Geek Squad followed by 34,000 reports of Amazon impersonators. PayPal was third with 10,000 reports. Often when impersonating Geek Squad, the scammers’ intent is to separate you from your cash by infiltrating your computer under the guise of tech support.
The scam starts with a text message or email containing an invoice allegedly from Geek Squad. One example claims the recipient bought an “Internet Security Plan” for $498.98, which has already been charged to their linked checking account.
Red flags in the scam emails include:
A customer service number that doesn’t match Geek Squad’s actual help number (888-BEST BUY or 237-8289) The emails come from Gmail accounts, which a multi-billion-dollar company like Best Buy would not useWhen News10NBC’s Deanna Dewberry called the scammer’s number, he asked for her invoice number and put her on hold, claiming to verify the details. He insisted she likely didn’t remember signing up 2 years ago and that the money was being auto renewed that day.
The scammer then asked if Dewberry was sitting in front of her computer and told her he could stop the payment if she went to a website called “anydesk.com.” This website would give the scammer remote access to her computer, allowing him to install spyware, steal online banking credentials and drain her account.
Dewberry revealed her identity as a News10NBC reporter and confronted the scammer about the FTC warning. The scammer chuckled and hung up, unwilling to answer further questions.
There are several variations of this scam, including tricking victims into giving their checking account number for a “refund” or stealing PayPal credentials.
If you receive one of these scams, report it to the Federal Trade Commission and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
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Consumer Alert: How to Recognize the Geek Squad Scam WHEC.com.
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