Another $399.99 Subscription? Apparently Geek Squad Is Throwing a Facebook Event
I have another expensive subscription I didn’t know about.
And once again, the scammers were thoughtful enough to invite me to a Facebook event to celebrate it.
This email arrived with the subject:
“Jordan Ramirez invited you to Geek Squad Order confirmed: INV#445016.Amount:$399.99”
According to the invitation, I supposedly paid $399.99 for a Geek Squad PC Protection Plan.
There's just one minor problem.
I didn't.
And if this looks familiar, it should.
🚩 Haven't We Seen This Movie Before?
Just recently, I received another Facebook event invitation claiming that $498.99 had been paid for a subscription through my PayPal account.
That one came from “Agnes V. Burden.”
This time we have Jordan Ramirez, Geek Squad, and $399.99.
Different person.
Different company.
Different dollar amount.
But remarkably similar script.
The invitation claims:
“Bill has paid $399.99 for a subscription using your PayPal account from an unknown seller IP.”
Wait.
Bill is back?!
Apparently Bill has access to my imaginary PayPal account and is having quite a shopping spree.
It would be helpful to sit Bill down and discuss boundaries.
🚩 Facebook Is Literally Warning Me
One of my favorite parts is that the warning is sitting right there at the top of the message:
“Meta did not send this event invitation. Please be cautious when clicking on links or providing personal information.”
Thank you, Meta.
Message received.
That's an important distinction because the sender shown in the email is:
Jordan Ramirez <notification@facebookmail.com>
Someone might see the Facebook-related email address and assume the underlying message must be trustworthy.
But the screenshot itself explains what's happening.
Jordan Ramirez invited me to an event.
The suspicious content is contained inside that event invitation.
A legitimate platform delivering a notification doesn't automatically make the content created by another user legitimate.
🎉 What Time Does My Geek Squad Party Start?
The invitation gives me the traditional Facebook choices:
Going
Maybe
Can't Go
Let's see.
Am I going to my imaginary $399.99 Geek Squad subscription celebration?
I'm leaning toward:
Can't Go.
I have plans that evening.
Specifically, not calling the phone number in this message.
🚩 And There It Is: The Phone Number
The message says that if I don't recognize the purchase, I should contact a:
“Resolution Center”
and conveniently provides a phone number.
That's the part that deserves attention.
The scary $399.99 charge gets your attention.
Geek Squad provides a recognizable brand.
PayPal adds a financial component.
And the phone number provides an immediate way to “fix” the problem.
That's exactly when I'd stop.
If I genuinely thought Geek Squad charged me $399.99, I wouldn't call the number supplied in a suspicious Facebook event.
I'd check my PayPal, credit card, and bank accounts independently.
Then, if necessary, I'd independently find the legitimate contact information for Geek Squad or the financial institution involved.
The suspicious message doesn't provide both the problem and the solution.
🚩 “Pay_Pal” Makes Another Appearance
This is another detail I noticed in both messages.
Not PayPal.
Pay_Pal.
The previous $498.99 subscription invitation used essentially the same wording.
Now this one does too.
So let's compare.
Previous message:
$498.99 subscription.
Facebook event invitation.
Claim involving “Pay_Pal.”
Unknown seller IP.
Phone number to call.
Current message:
$399.99 Geek Squad subscription.
Facebook event invitation.
Claim involving “PayPal.”
Unknown seller IP.
Phone number to call.
That's quite a coincidence.
Or perhaps we're looking at variations of the same social-engineering template.
🧠 The Scam Isn't Really About Geek Squad
That's an important point.
The recognizable company name makes the story believable.
Today it's Geek Squad.
Another day it could be PayPal, Norton, McAfee, Amazon, Microsoft, or another familiar brand.
The psychology is what matters.
You see:
$399.99
Your immediate reaction might be:
WHAT DID I BUY?!
Then you see:
“If you do not recognize this purchase, please contact...”
Perfect!
There's a phone number!
And before you've checked whether the transaction actually exists, you're talking to whoever is on the other end.
That's why urgency is so effective.
The message doesn't necessarily need to survive careful analysis.
It just needs to get you to act before you do careful analysis.
🚩 Don't Call the Number to Find Out Whether the Number Is Legitimate
This seems obvious when you say it out loud, but it's worth repeating.
If a suspicious message tells you that something terrible happened and then provides a phone number to fix it:
Don't use the suspicious message to verify the suspicious message.
Go around it.
Open your actual PayPal app.
Check your bank.
Check your credit card.
Go independently to the company's official website.
If there's no $399.99 transaction anywhere, that's important information.
And if there is an unauthorized transaction, contact the financial institution using independently verified information—not the number supplied in the questionable message.
🏡 Don't Be Passive. Be a Good Neighbor.
This is why I keep sharing these.
I recognize the pattern because I've been documenting them.
Someone else might not.
Someone might see Geek Squad, recognize the name, and panic.
Someone might think their spouse or child bought something.
Someone might worry that their PayPal account has been hacked.
And someone might immediately call.
If you see one of these, don't just delete it and move on.
Warn somebody.
Show your parents.
Show your neighbors.
Show the person who always calls you when something weird appears on their computer.
Report suspicious content through the appropriate platform.
Sometimes being a good neighbor is simply saying:
“Don't call that number. Let's check your actual account first.”
Jordan, I'm Going to Have to Decline
So thank you, Jordan Ramirez, for inviting me to the celebration of my imaginary $399.99 Geek Squad subscription.
Unfortunately:
Going? Nope.
Maybe? Still nope.
Can't Go? That's the one.
And apparently I need to have a serious conversation with Bill, because he keeps buying subscriptions with my imaginary PayPal account.
Follow along at NielFlamm.com/blog for more scam emails, suspicious recruiters, questionable vehicle offers, and whatever strange invitation lands in my inbox next.
The Scammers Missed Me — Apparently My Geek Squad Membership Renewed Again
I was starting to get worried.
It had been an entire week since someone invited me to a Facebook event announcing that I had supposedly purchased something I didn't purchase.
Was I no longer desirable to scammers?
Had they moved on?
Did Karen, Taiba, Callie, and Princess Manahil have a group chat where they decided I wasn't worth the effort?
Thankfully, my fears were put to rest today.
They're back.
This afternoon, I received another Facebook event invitation. This one came from the wonderfully named “Hxer Ahver.”
Hxer has invited me to:
“Payment Confirmation: $439.99 Auto-Renewal for Geek Squad Tech Support…”
Oh good.
Geek Squad again.
My Computer Is Apparently VERY Protected
Last week, Princess Manahil informed me that I had supposedly renewed my Geek Squad protection.
Now Hxer Ahver says I've done it again.
At this point, my computer should be the most protected in North America.
I'm expecting Geek Squad employees to start physically guarding it.
One by the monitor.
One near the keyboard.
Another stationed outside my house.
For $439.99, somebody better be watching the perimeter.
There is, of course, one tiny problem:
I didn't buy this.
Just like I didn't buy the Bitcoin.
Just like I didn't authorize the mystery subscription.
Just like I didn't purchase the previous Geek Squad protection.
My imaginary credit card has apparently been having an incredible summer.
And Once Again, I'm Invited to Attend
The brilliance of this particular scam remains my favorite part.
It's being delivered as a Facebook event invitation.
That means underneath a message claiming I've been charged $439.99, Facebook politely asks:
“Tell them if you can make it.”
And then gives me three options:
Going
Maybe
Can't Go
I appreciate the flexibility.
After reviewing my calendar, however, I'm going to have to select:
Can't Go.
I'd love to attend my $439.99 fraudulent Geek Squad auto-renewal, but unfortunately I have plans that afternoon.
Maybe next year.
Meta Is Still Warning Me
Just like the previous scam invitations, there's a warning sitting right at the top:
“Meta did not send this event invitation. Please be cautious when clicking on links or providing personal information.”
That's probably worth reading.
The clever part of this scam is that the notification itself can arrive through Facebook's event system. That gives the garbage in the invitation a little borrowed legitimacy.
You see a familiar notification.
You see Facebook.
You see a large dollar amount.
You see “Payment Confirmation.”
And the scammer hopes you panic before stopping to ask the most obvious question:
Why in the hell is Geek Squad notifying me about a $439.99 auto-renewal through a Facebook event invitation?
Geek Squad isn't throwing me a party.
The Scam Social Calendar Continues
So let's update the guest list.
Previously, I had:
Karen: Bitcoin purchase.
Taiba: Another Bitcoin purchase.
Callie: Mystery $398.99 subscription.
Princess Manahil: Geek Squad protection.
And now:
Hxer Ahver: Another $439.99 Geek Squad renewal.
I'm beginning to see a pattern.
The names change.
The dollar amounts change.
The supposed purchases change.
But the objective remains remarkably similar: make the recipient believe money has been charged, create urgency, and get them to react before they think.
That's why I don't use the contact information contained in suspicious messages.
If a message says there's a charge on one of my accounts, I'll independently open the company's official app or website and check the account myself.
No panic.
No mystery phone numbers.
No handing over account information.
Please don't attend Facebook events celebrating purchases I didn't make.
See You at the Next One
At this point, I don't think this is over.
We've done Bitcoin.
We've done subscriptions.
We've done Geek Squad twice.
I'm curious what I'll apparently purchase next.
A $799 Norton subscription?
A $1,200 iPhone?
Extended warranty coverage for a car I don't own?
Whatever it is, I have only one request for the scammers:
Please check my calendar first.
I'm getting really busy declining all these invitations.
Apparently My Scam Social Calendar Is Getting Pretty Full
Well, this is getting ridiculous.
Yesterday, I wrote about the collection of scam emails I've been receiving disguised as Facebook event invitations.
Apparently, I had purchased Bitcoin. Twice. I had also supposedly paid for a mysterious subscription.
Today, I received another invitation.
At this point, I don't know whether I'm being scammed or whether I'm just incredibly popular.
This latest invitation comes courtesy of someone named Princess Manahil, who has graciously invited me to an event involving:
“Geek Squad Annual Geek Squad Tech Support 1 Year | Amount $370.39 has been auto debited…”
Catchy event name.
I'm not sure who's handling marketing for this gathering, but it needs some work.
Going, Maybe, or Can't Go?
Once again, because this is being delivered as a Facebook event invitation, I get three wonderful choices:
Going. Maybe. Can't Go.
I'm going with Can't Go.
Not because I'm busy.
Not because I have another engagement.
But because I DIDN'T BUY GEEK SQUAD PROTECTION.
The invitation claims that a Geek Squad PC protection renewal is complete and that I need to take “immediate action” by calling the conveniently supplied telephone number if I want to cancel.
Interestingly, the email can't even seem to decide how much I supposedly spent.
The event title says $370.39.
The description says the Geek Squad protection renewal is $489.39.
Apparently, even my imaginary purchases are experiencing inflation.
Yesterday Bitcoin, Today Geek Squad
What I find interesting is how quickly the product changes while the basic scam stays almost the same.
Yesterday:
PayPal! Bitcoin! Hundreds of dollars! CALL NOW!
Today:
Geek Squad! Computer protection! Hundreds of dollars! CALL NOW!
Tomorrow?
Who knows?
Maybe I'll receive an invitation informing me that I've purchased a 12-month extended warranty for a submarine.
The important part isn't what they're pretending I bought.
The important part is the urgency.
There's supposedly a large charge.
I supposedly need to act immediately.
And—how convenient—there's a phone number waiting for me.
Once Again, Meta Is Basically Waving a Red Flag
At the top of the email is this warning:
“Meta did not send this event invitation. Please be cautious when clicking on links or providing personal information.”
That's not exactly subtle.
When the platform delivering the invitation is essentially saying, “Hey, you might want to be careful with this thing,” perhaps calling the mystery phone number isn't the best next move.
And that's what makes these messages interesting.
The surrounding email can look legitimate because it is tied to an actual Facebook event invitation. The scammer doesn't necessarily need to spoof an entire email from scratch. Instead, the scam message is stuffed into the event information.
The legitimate notification becomes the delivery vehicle for the garbage inside it.
My Rule Remains the Same
If I receive an unexpected message saying I've been charged hundreds of dollars, I won’t call the number provided in that same unexpected message.
If it's supposedly PayPal, I'll go directly to PayPal.
If it's supposedly my bank, I'll go directly to my bank.
If it's supposed to be Geek Squad, I’ll look up the legitimate company contact information and check there.
I'm not calling Princess Manahil's Urgent: Please Call Us Immediately Refund Department.
So, let's update my scam social calendar:
Karen: Bitcoin — Can't Go.
Taiba: Bitcoin — Can't Go.
Callie: Mystery subscription — Can't Go.
Princess Manahil: Geek Squad — Can't Go.
Four invitations and I've declined every one.
At this rate, the scammers are going to stop inviting me to things.
And frankly, that would hurt.