From weekly meal kits and TV streaming to business software, we’re subscribing to more services than ever. Unfortunately, whenever scammers see such a steady stream of cash, they want in. These criminals might buy or steal your information, including the details about your subscriptions. Then, using an impostor phishing scam, they trick you into paying them—not the real subscription service—when renewal time rolls around. If you’re unsure about a renewal notice, it’s best to ignore the message.
“I knew my Microsoft 365 subscription was up for renewal,” wrote Jane Doe on the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Scam Tracker in October 2024. “I started receiving reminders, and I paid.” But when Jane began getting additional reminders after the fact, she wondered what was up. Didn’t they know she had paid in full?
“That’s when I looked at my Microsoft 365 account,” Jane continued, “and saw that no payment was there. I called the number on my ‘receipt,’ and it was disconnected.”
Jane had been scammed, and though she was out only $69, the scammers also scored her financial and personal details, potentially setting her up for future identity theft crimes.
In subscription renewal scams, criminals are betting that you'll panic-click before you pause. In this guide, we'll uncover how subscription renewal scams work and how to keep yourself safe from the phishers lurking in your inboxes.
What is a subscription renewal scam?
Subscription renewal scams fall into the phishing scam category. In a subscription renewal scam, the con artist impersonates a legitimate business or entity to trick you into forking over your money or personal information—or both.
Back in the day, a “subscription” typically referred to a year’s worth of print magazines or newspapers. Soon after you subscribed, a bill arrived in your mailbox. You then wrote out a check, stuffed it into the supplied business reply envelope, licked it shut, and sent it on its way. Since the digital age, subscriptions have evolved to cover a variety of categories:
Financial services: Apps for investing, betting, or managing finances
Goods: Monthly boxes with themed products or meal kits
Leisure: Subscriptions for fitness, wellness, dating, or astrology
Marketing: Platforms for business networking, newsletters, lead generation, and job listings
Media: Access to sports, newspapers, magazines, streaming services, gaming platforms, music apps, and podcasts
Reference materials: Digital access to style guides, encyclopedias, and recipe collections
Software: Security tools, word processors, graphic design apps, site hosting services, and video conferencing tools
Today, most brands market and manage these subscriptions online, and subscribers can typically keep their accounts current via apps and websites. That means tech-savvy scammers can easily interrupt the loop between subscribers and the company.
How subscription renewal scams happen
A renewal scam typically arrives via email or text. Often, the messages reach you around the time you need to renew your subscription.
How would a third-party stranger know that timeframe? The scammer likely bought your information—your contact details and subscription cycle—from a legal data broker or an illegal one they found on the dark web.
The con renewal message advises, “Click here to pay,” and the embedded link might take you to a bogus bill-paying page. You enter your payment details, press submit payment, and get a thank-you popup and/or a confirmation email or text.
By this point, the perp has your money and more personal information than before.
Common subscription renewal scams
Reports of widespread subscription renewal fraud repeatedly mention these companies:
Geek Squad (Best Buy)
Microsoft
McAfee
Sirius XM
Walmart
How to spot a subscription renewal scam message
Here’s the good news: Subscription renewal scams often give themselves away with tell-tales like the following:
Unexpected sender: If you don’t have an active subscription with the company that sent you the renewal message, or if the sender’s email address includes a string of random numbers and letters instead of a recognizable brand name, it’s likely a scam.
Automatic renewal confusion: If your account is set to renew automatically with payments on auto-draft, you should only receive a confirmation of the renewal, not a request for payment.
Inconsistent branding: Watch for logos that don’t match the brand’s usual look or business names that are slightly misspelled.
Improper language: Sloppy language, grammar, punctuation, or spelling is a warning sign. Scam messages may also sound alarming or even threatening.
Suspicious URLs or contact information: Hovering over links may reveal unrelated URLs, or URLs that don’t start with “https.” Contact details like phone numbers or email addresses may lead to dead ends or appear suspicious.
Unprotected payment methods: Scam messages often request payment via prepaid debit cards, digital wallets, money wires, or direct bank transfers.
What to do if you receive a subscription renewal scam message
If you suspect you received a scam subscription renewal notice, do not download any of its attachments, click on embedded links, or call or text any listed numbers.
Instead, log in to your main account portal to verify your billing interval. If the notice you received matches what’s on your account, enter the company name and “subscription renewal scam” in your browser’s search engine. Note the results, then enter “scam” and the company’s name in the BBB’s Scam Tracker. If either search yields reports matching your experience, you’ve uncovered a subscription renewal scam.
In that case, take a screenshot of the scam message. If the scam message came via text, block the sender and delete the message. Mark any emailed scam messages as spam (this automatically notifies your email host).
Then delete the message and empty your email trash. If you click on the message’s embedded links, clear your browser cache and erase your browsing history for the scam site. Next, report the scam.
Where to report a subscription renewal scam
If you're an Allstate Identity Protection member, reach out to us right away. If you share any personal and financial information, we can help you file reports and set up the ongoing protections you need to lessen the damage.
You can also contact the company that the scammer impersonated. Call the proper company using the number on their actual site, or report the scam via their “contact us” email address, form, chatbot, etc.
Then, recount the scam on the BBB’s Scam Tracker. Because this log of consumer-reported scams is public, other would-be victims stand to benefit from your experience.
