How to Remove the Geek Squad Scam? – 5 Noteworthy Ways

The Geek Squad scam is a notorious practice run by some scammers to gain access to your information by pretending to be a technical support team. 

Scams nowadays are all over the internet. Be it normal text messages or online video calls, scammers somehow make their way to scam you by any means possible. Just like the Apple Security Alert scam, there is another innovative and creative form of scam known as the Geek Squad Scam.

Vital Trivia

The Geek Squad is indeed a helpful and reliable technical support service that has undoubtedly served millions of users with their issues and complaints. However, there are some notorious elements on the internet who are running a full-fledged scam under their name.

However, you do not have to worry, as this write-up will be dedicated to informing and educating you about this cunning trap and how you can get rid of it.

What is the Geek Squad Scam?

The Geek Squad is a trending yet harmful phishing scam that typically reaches you through emails. The scammers here try to mimic a technical support team from a renowned service provider called the Geek Squad.

Threat Name	Geek Squad Email Scam
Type	A phishing scam, PUP, potential malware
Devices	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
Signs	Best Buy customer support asks you to click on the links or open the attachments
Damage	Financial fraud, stolen personal data, installed malware

The team in this scam is completely fake and is intended with a single motive, which is to hack your personal and financial information. What makes it difficult to differentiate whether the mail is legit or not is that they are so expert in mimicking the process that there are multiple types of emails that are being sent to victims. 

Types of Geek Squad Scam Emails

These scam traps are more complex than you think. There are different types of spam mail that enter into your inbox. Therefore, these are the types of phishing emails that you may receive:

• Emails with Links and Files With Malware: This is the most common and typical way through which scammers reach out to you. As mentioned earlier, they try to mimic the technical support team and ask you to enter your information in those links. That information gets stored on their servers directly, which they misuse afterward according to their convenience.
• Auto-Renewal Scam: With this email, scammers try to frighten you of the potential loss in the name of auto-renewal of the Best Buy subscription. To refrain from this heavy financial loss, they ask you to cancel the subscription plan by entering some extremely private information such as credit card details and Social Security Number (SNN).
• Fake Password Reset or Tech Support Scam: These scammers also run a fake email warning you about the attempt to change the password to your account without your knowledge. Innocent users like you then expectedly get worried and end up entering their precious account details in scammer’s fake phishing website prompts that look exactly like the real one.
• Random Browser Pop-Ups: In this type of pop-up, you will be redirected to fake or sketchy websites, like some adult sites. Alongside, there is also a possibility that you get pop-up messages saying “Your device has been infected with viruses and requires immediate action!”. In this case, the device will automatically download a device cleaner program that will ruin everything.
• Accidental Refund Mails: In this case, the scammer tries to scam you by first intentionally putting extra stolen money in your account and then asking it back in the name of “accidental refund” emails. This is where they ask you to access your account remotely on their platform. At this very step, you lose your privacy and give scammers the whole control.
• Offering Fake “Protection” Plans: These types of emails are not dangerous. In these messages, scammers simply offer you fake and unnecessary additional protection plans for you. You can simply ignore them and move on.

With these different types of emails, those hackers reach out to you and cunningly get access to your personal and financial information without your knowledge. Below is an example of a fake email that you might get in your inbox:

Therefore, with this information, let us get started by informing you about different ways through which you can get away from this scam.

How to Get Rid of Geek Squad Scam?

There are multiple alternate ways through which you can get rid of the scam. These alternatives are removing them automatically through antivirus programs, or you can also get away from the manual set of instructions mentioned below.

Probably the most convenient and one of the easiest ways to remove any Geek Squad scam email from your device would be through an antivirus program. In this way, you just have to install and set up antivirus software on your device.

One thing to notice here is that you have to go for legit antivirus software like TotalAV antivirus, so that you can be confident about their service. Antivirus software scans all the attachments sent through the Geek Squad scam email. 

You can also install an antivirus on your iPhone and other smart devices and keep it extra secure from email scams. Moreover, if there are any suspicious files or links, the program will inform you or warn you about the potential risk in that file or link.

If you do not trust any software program for your safety and want to deal with it yourself, you can follow the series of steps to stop the Geek Squad email scam manually.

In this manual procedure, you will need to try removing any suspicious application from the device and then remove any registries created by Geek Squad. Therefore, follow the list of steps given below on your Windows computer:

• Press and hold the Windows + R key and enter “msconfig” in the run program.

  

• From the system configuration window, choose the Boot tab, select the Safe Boot option, and click on Apply.
• Confirm by clicking Restart to safely restart your computer.
• Now go to Settings by right-clicking on the Start menu.

  

• On the left side, click on Apps and then Installed Apps.

  

• If you find any suspicious application that you have never installed, click on the 3-dot menu (…) button next to the application and click on Uninstall.

This way, you can seamlessly remove any suspicious program from your computer with Windows OS. 

As mentioned before, you can also try removing the registries done by Geek Squad on your computer. To do so, refer to the steps given below:

• Press and hold the Windows + R key.
• Search for “Regedit” and click OK.

  

• Find the Run and RunOnce directories from the Registry Editor window.
• If you find any suspicious element, you can remove that by right-clicking on it and hitting the delete button.

With these two methods, there would be no potential case of you receiving any fake Geek Squad email again.

Similar to Windows, you can try to remove suspicious programs or elements from your Apple computer device to get rid of the fake Geek Squad email problem. That said, follow the steps given below to do so:

• From the Apple Sidebar, click on Go and then Applications.

  

• Look for a suspicious program and drag it to the Empty Bin.

  

• Then click on Finder and Empty Bin.

This is how effortlessly you can uninstall programs on your Mac. However, there is one more thing that you can do in order to stay away from the Geek Squad email scam.

In any case, if you are unable to remove the app, you can delete some specific or harmful files. You can delete them on your Mac by following these steps:

• Open the Mac’s Finder toolbar, click on Go and select Go to folder.
• Enter the keyword “/Library/LaunchAgents” in the search bar and then click Go.
• If you see any suspicious folder related to the Geek Squad scam email, send it to the Trash Bin.

Now, follow the same series of steps with the following folders (by entering them as keywords) as well:

• ~/Library/Application Support
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons

This is how you can permanently eradicate any possible chance of receiving the Geek Squad scam email ever again on a Mac.

Just like how you previously removed malicious applications and programs from your PC or MAC, you can also try to remove some malicious web browser extensions: 

If Google Chrome is your default browser, follow steps to remove any extension you suspect:

• From Google Chrome, click on the 3-dot menu, go to More Tools, and then click on Extensions.

  

• From the extension that you suspect to be malicious, click on Remove.

Doing this will remove any extension that you want from Google Chrome.

To remove extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

• Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the Menu button on the right side.
• Go to Add-ons and Themes.

  

• Go to the extension and click on the 3-dot menu.

  

• Click on Remove.

This is how you can seamlessly remove extensions from Mozilla Firefox.

In Safari too, the process of removing extensions is easy but different. To remove web extensions from Safari:

• Go to the Safari section in the top-left corner of the web browser.
• Click on Preferences.

  

• Go to Extensions and then click on the Uninstall button.

  

Once you complete these steps, you will be able to remove any extension that you want.

How to Spot a Fake Geek Squad Email?

Even though these Geek Squad fake emails are not legit, they still seem almost similar to the real ones. However, there are still some ways to identify if the email you receive is authentic or not.

There are several signs or symptoms that can help you identify the real emails and fake Geek Squad emails:

1. Fishy Email Address: This is the first and foremost thing that you should verify every time you receive a Geek Squad renewal scam email. If there is a genuine issue, you will see their authentic email address. But if there are any extra characters or any minor changes in their email address, it’s a scam.
2. Grammatical Errors: Scammers often leave silly grammatical errors while drafting their Geek Squad scam email. Therefore, if you notice any spelling mistakes or incorrect grammar, it means that the mail is fake.
3. Verify the Currency: If the Geek Squad email that you got is real, the currency in which the amount is demanded would be the same in which you ordered their service.
4. Verify the Customer Service Details: You can also verify the customer support contact details that are provided. If they do not match the ones mentioned on the official website, it means that it is a Geek Squad email scam.
5. Approach or Salutation: Since real companies know about their customers, their names, and genders obviously, they greet them accordingly. So, if you receive a message with a generic opening like “dear ma’am/sir”, it is surely a scam email.

So, these were some basic yet helpful symptoms or signs that can tell you that the message you got is legit or if is it a Geek Squad renewal scam.

What to do If You Become a Victim of Geek Squad Fake Email?

If in any unfortunate situation, you become a victim of this situation, consider the following points as necessary measures:

• If you know that the person you are talking to is a scammer, simply do not tell them anything and ignore the message.
• Block the contact or number from which they are contacting. It will prevent them from ever connecting again with you.
• In case you have accidentally given them details and realized your mistake, call your bank to freeze your account and credit card to minimize the loss.
• Check antivirus software and manually verify if there is any suspicious element or virus present in the computer. If yes, remove the program or file you are suspecting.
• Change your password and login details. And keep on changing them at regular intervals of time.
• If contacting through video conferencing, turn off your webcam if enabled.

With these active measures, you can minimize the risk once you become a victim of the scam. Installing an antivirus might seem unnecessary but it will benefit you in the long run. Other things you can do is install an ad blocker on your device, this will protect you from random pop ups. 

Why Are You Getting a Fake Geek Squad Email Scam?

The most common reason why someone becomes a target for these phishing emails is if they end up on a fake website created by scammers. This can be a possibility in your case too.

The fake websites built by these scammers look almost the same and mimic all the characteristics. However, in the previous section, we have already told you how to get rid of them and how to know if it is a real email or a scam. But, you should also know that you must never make any payment or give your financial information if you have even a slight doubt over the demand put up.

In this situation, when the message is not able to convince you that it is legit or not. You can connect to the official customer support of the company with details mentioned on their official website and address the issue with them directly.

Final Words

The Geek Squad email scam is a pretty clever and harmful scam that is currently creating chaos. Through this scam, the scammers not only get access to your personal information but also your financial information as well. With this, everything, from your Social Security Number to your Credit Card number, is at risk.

However, you can get rid of this virus through antivirus programs, removing suspicious applications from your computer, or removing any suspicious browser extensions.