Internet software email scam

Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 12:07 pm

So I’ve been a Norton customer for many years. Lately, I’ve noticed I’ve been sent a few spammy looking emails. Again this isn’t anything new. As we know email fraud is a big business for scammers.

Yet, this one is a bit different. It’s a receipt much like the PayPal scam I share with all of you a while ago. It’s a guise of a receipt claiming your subscription has been reviews. Just an FYI even though I’m a Norton user this can be for any type of anti-virus or internet security software brand.

the email

first off the email was marked a spam. Which it should be but you never in it may end up in someone’s inbox. This email stated that my internet security software had been renewed. Which was a lie because my service had been renewed a while ago.

Another thing always remember to read the sender line. If the email is coming from a free (Yahoo, Gmail etc) service it’s not from your service provider.

Also if the email addressed or cc’d to someone else or you need to reply to a different email address it’s also a scam.

email text

Norton Total <rintukanrar@yahoo.com>

Dear Vanessa Alonzo,

Renewal request of your subscription for Norton Life Lock has been accepted and processed successfully.

The amount of $239 for this subscription will be deducted from your account and will reflect in your account in next month billing cycle.

The subscription will give you 5 years of protection.

If you want to cancel your subscription, please reach us at +1 754 666 7742.

Note: As it is a no-reply address. Please don’t reply to this mail.You will not get any update about your query.

Subscription Details

Subscription ID: 16697739

Client Name : Vanessa Alonzo

Product Name : Norton Life Lock.

Item Subtotal : $239.

Tax : $0.

Total : $ 239.

There were also some files attached to the end of the email. Gmail disabled them but I would think they were fake installation files.

the red flags

Let’s start off with the obvious shall we. Norton contacts you via a branded email address. What I mean by branded is that they have a norton dot com related email address.

So this one was from a Yahoo address. Another thing is that they pricing was off. Because I pay much less then the stated price in the email.

Another thing the phone number listed is also not right. Most if not all companies provided a 1-800 or another version of an 800 number. Some may offer a number such as an 1-855 or 1-888 for customer service.

what i found out

Doing a quick search I found out that this isn’t a new scam. But this does seem to be a long running one. It’s been around for a few months. There have been other companies who have been noted for similar scams as well.

The phone number +1 754 666 7742 is stated to be a scam number I found a thread that lists it as a Florida number. Or at least the area code is from Florida. I found a few from phone number lookup websites about the number. Most people state that the number is associated with a scam.

what to do

You can always verify if your service needs to be renewed with the service provider. NEVER and I mean NEVER contact the numbers in these emails or download any attachments. You don’t know what you’ll infect your computer with. You may also not know where your call will be routed to. It may be a US base number your call may be routed overseas.

So just be careful with these types of emails.