When it comes to online scams, a little knowledge can make you more confident in your safety. Read on to learn about the most common types of scams, how to spot them, and how to avoid them.
Tip: Report fraudulent emails using the McAfee brand to spam@mcafee.com
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Imposter Scams
Recently, some of our customers have been targeted by messages that appear to be actual McAfee communications but are from cybercriminals trying to steal personal and financial information. Here are a few examples of fraudulent McAfee communications.
How to tell if your subscription, renewal, invoice, or receipt notice is real
We recommend logging on to McAfee.com to confirm your subscription and renewal status. We will never require you to call a phone number in an email or text message.
You can also visit our customer service site at https://www.mcafee.com/support to find a solution to your problem in our Knowledge Base, or contact the official McAfee Customer Support team by phone or chat.
How to tell if the email you receive is legitimately from McAfee
There are many ways to spot phishing emails. Look for:
If you believe you have used a fraudulent customer service website, you can take actions to protect yourself based on the type of information you provided.
McAfee Identity Protection services are available across 32 countries through an active McAfee subscription. To enroll:
More information about McAfee customer service
McAfee provides free customer service and will never call to ask you to pay for Customer Service.
If you receive calls that claim to be from McAfee, but are of a harassing or abusive nature, contact McAfee Customer Service and report the call to one of our team members.
McAfee Customer Service and the Customer Service teams of our partners don’t require, and will never request sensitive information such as your social security number, PINs, and bank or payment details.
List of legitimate McAfee email addresses
McAfee sends email communications from several email domains and for different purposes. Click on this support article to view an example of each legitimate email address.
We’re here to help. Head over to our “Report a scam” page for next steps you can take and for ways your McAfee subscription can help you get on the path to recovery.
Web Scams
Cybercriminals have many tools for defrauding you while you go about your day online. Phony websites, bogus apps, and malware-loaded attachments are some of the ways they come after you and your personal information.
Scammers will prop up sites to sell products that they will never deliver. However, they will take your money and debit or credit card info.
Some scammer sites will ask for credit card information or other account information (Apple ID or Google account) to proceed or browse on their site.
Suspicious links or malicious email attachments are used to install viruses and other malware on your devices. Some apps from uncommon app stores can have malware too.
Another form of malware that holds your device and data for ransom — locking it up until you pay. Even then, you have no guarantee they’ll set your data free.
Your operating system, web browsers, and apps are constantly updating to adjust to the scammers’ new tricks. This includes keeping your McAfee subscription updated as well.
The long-standing advice still holds true. You can use web protection that warns you of suspicious links and websites that may appear on some search results.
Device manufacturers like Apple and Google have measures in place that help prevent malware-loaded apps from ending up in their stores.
Online scams often ask for payment by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency. Consider using a credit card instead of a debit card for more protection against fraudulent activity.
We’re here to help. Head over to our “Report a scam” page for next steps you can take and for ways your McAfee subscription can help you get on the path to recovery.
Messaging Scams
Scammers will try to reach you in many ways – phone, chat, text, email, direct messages on social media, with phishing scams, and they even target senior citizens. They’ll try to get your guard down by posing as someone, business, or organization you trust.
Phone scams imitate real calls you might expect to receive. Scammers try to get your personal information and money with tech support, credit repair, charity, and extended car warranty scams.
These messages mention free prizes and cheap goods, fake package delivery, debt and student loan assistance, payment issues, or a “wrong number” text can lead to a friendship or romance scam.
Scammers use emails to pose as reputable brands to get your personal information or money by offering deals or assistance to make payments. They’ll often include links to fake sites and attachments that are really malware.
Scammers see senior citizens as less technically savvy and as people who lack daily contact with others. They use these assumptions to pose as relatives, a security pro or rep for tech support, and government employees.
Scammers send dangerous links through requests for files, document signatures, survey completion, and payments. They often pose as a company’s CEO or executives to get company, employee, or contract information.
Watch out for unsolicited phone calls, mailings, and door-to-door services offers—particularly those that create a sense of urgency or use scare tactics to lure you into immediate action. Those are telltale signs of a scam.
If a friend, family member, bank, or any other business asks you for personal information or money, validate the request by going directly to the company’s website or by calling the company or person making the request.
If you don’t do business with a particular company, don’t click on any links, attachments, or take any surveys it may send. Likewise, if the email comes from someone or business you do know, follow up with them to see if they in fact sent it.
Phishers often set up bogus websites that look legitimate hoping to trick you into entering your login details. In fact, it’s safest to directly type in the address of the site you wish to visit.
Several banks, financial institutions, and the American Association of Retired People (AARP) offer resources, such as the AARP fraud hotline, to help protect elder customers. Our McAfee Safety Series include guides that cover topics like phishing, identity theft, and staying safe on social media.
We’re here to help. Head over to our “Report a scam” page for next steps you can take and for ways your McAfee subscription can help you get on the path to recovery.
Report a scam
Realizing you’ve become a victim of a scam carries plenty of emotion, which is understandable—the scammer has taken you in, along with your money and information. Once that initial rush of anger and surprise has passed, it’s time to get clinical and get to work on the following steps.
If you spot a curious charge, a potentially fraudulent account, or get an alert from your monitoring service, let the bank or organization involved know as soon as possible. Also, forward phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, which includes ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies at: reportphishing@apwg.org
Some businesses will require you to file a local police report to acquire a case number to complete your claim. Beyond that, filing a report is a good idea in itself. Identity theft is still theft and reporting it provides an official record of the incident.
The identity theft website from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a fantastic resource should you find yourself in need. Further, filing a complaint with the FBI through their Internet Crime Complaint Center can help the FBI and its partners bring cybercriminals to justice.
Contact your national tax or revenue agency if you believe your tax ID number was involved in the scam. They will have their own reporting mechanisms and processes to assist you with the recovery process.
If you think you got scammed, a credit freeze or lock can help minimize and prevent further harm. See what the credit bureaus in your region offer, along with the terms and conditions of each. You can set freezes and locks right from our app with certain McAfee plans.
Use a monitoring service to help you continue to keep tabs on your identity. The unfortunate fact of identity theft and fraud is that it can mark the start of a long, drawn-out affair.
Given the time, money, and stress that can come along with setting your financial record straight, leaning on the expertise of a professional can provide you with much-needed relief on several counts.
up to $2M for lost funds or expenses involved in restoring your identity with assistance from licensed restoration experts to repair your identity and credit.
helps you keep an eye on changes to your credit score, report, and accounts with timely notifications and guidance so you can take action if needed.
prevents unauthorized access to existing accounts or from new credit, bank, or utility accounts being set up in your name.
monitors up to 60 unique pieces of personal information on the dark web and sends timely alerts up to 10 months sooner than competitive products.
finds and removes your information from data broker and people search sites, then continuously monitors those sites for ongoing protection.
Recently, some of our customers have been targeted by messages that appear to be actual McAfee communications but are from cybercriminals trying to steal personal and financial information. Here are a few examples of fraudulent McAfee communications.
How to tell if your subscription, renewal, invoice, or receipt notice is real
We recommend logging on to McAfee.com to confirm your subscription and renewal status. We will never require you to call a phone number in an email or text message.
You can also visit our customer service site at https://www.mcafee.com/support to find a solution to your problem in our Knowledge Base, or contact the official McAfee Customer Support team by phone or chat.
How to tell if the email you receive is legitimately from McAfee
There are many ways to spot phishing emails. Look for:
If you believe you have used a fraudulent customer service website, you can take actions to protect yourself based on the type of information you provided.
McAfee Identity Protection services are available across 32 countries through an active McAfee subscription. To enroll:
More information about McAfee customer service
McAfee provides free customer service and will never call to ask you to pay for Customer Service.
If you receive calls that claim to be from McAfee, but are of a harassing or abusive nature, contact McAfee Customer Service and report the call to one of our team members.
McAfee Customer Service and the Customer Service teams of our partners don’t require, and will never request sensitive information such as your social security number, PINs, and bank or payment details.
List of legitimate McAfee email addresses
McAfee sends email communications from several email domains and for different purposes. Click on this support article to view an example of each legitimate email address.
We’re here to help. Head over to our “Report a scam” page for next steps you can take and for ways your McAfee subscription can help you get on the path to recovery.
Cybercriminals have many tools for defrauding you while you go about your day online. Phony websites, bogus apps, and malware-loaded attachments are some of the ways they come after you and your personal information.
Scammers will prop up sites to sell products that they will never deliver. However, they will take your money and debit or credit card info.
Some scammer sites will ask for credit card information or other account information (Apple ID or Google account) to proceed or browse on their site.
Suspicious links or malicious email attachments are used to install viruses and other malware on your devices. Some apps from uncommon app stores can have malware too.
Another form of malware that holds your device and data for ransom — locking it up until you pay. Even then, you have no guarantee they’ll set your data free.
Your operating system, web browsers, and apps are constantly updating to adjust to the scammers’ new tricks. This includes keeping your McAfee subscription updated as well.
The long-standing advice still holds true. You can use web protection that warns you of suspicious links and websites that may appear on some search results.
Device manufacturers like Apple and Google have measures in place that help prevent malware-loaded apps from ending up in their stores.
Online scams often ask for payment by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency. Consider using a credit card instead of a debit card for more protection against fraudulent activity.
We’re here to help. Head over to our “Report a scam” page for next steps you can take and for ways your McAfee subscription can help you get on the path to recovery.
Scammers will try to reach you in many ways – phone, chat, text, email, direct messages on social media, with phishing scams, and they even target senior citizens. They’ll try to get your guard down by posing as someone, business, or organization you trust.
Phone scams imitate real calls you might expect to receive. Scammers try to get your personal information and money with tech support, credit repair, charity, and extended car warranty scams.
These messages mention free prizes and cheap goods, fake package delivery, debt and student loan assistance, payment issues, or a “wrong number” text can lead to a friendship or romance scam.
Scammers use emails to pose as reputable brands to get your personal information or money by offering deals or assistance to make payments. They’ll often include links to fake sites and attachments that are really malware.
Scammers see senior citizens as less technically savvy and as people who lack daily contact with others. They use these assumptions to pose as relatives, a security pro or rep for tech support, and government employees.
Scammers send dangerous links through requests for files, document signatures, survey completion, and payments. They often pose as a company’s CEO or executives to get company, employee, or contract information.
Watch out for unsolicited phone calls, mailings, and door-to-door services offers—particularly those that create a sense of urgency or use scare tactics to lure you into immediate action. Those are telltale signs of a scam.
If a friend, family member, bank, or any other business asks you for personal information or money, validate the request by going directly to the company’s website or by calling the company or person making the request.
If you don’t do business with a particular company, don’t click on any links, attachments, or take any surveys it may send. Likewise, if the email comes from someone or business you do know, follow up with them to see if they in fact sent it.
Phishers often set up bogus websites that look legitimate hoping to trick you into entering your login details. In fact, it’s safest to directly type in the address of the site you wish to visit.
Several banks, financial institutions, and the American Association of Retired People (AARP) offer resources, such as the AARP fraud hotline, to help protect elder customers. Our McAfee Safety Series include guides that cover topics like phishing, identity theft, and staying safe on social media.
We’re here to help. Head over to our “Report a scam” page for next steps you can take and for ways your McAfee subscription can help you get on the path to recovery.
Realizing you’ve become a victim of a scam carries plenty of emotion, which is understandable—the scammer has taken you in, along with your money and information. Once that initial rush of anger and surprise has passed, it’s time to get clinical and get to work on the following steps.
If you spot a curious charge, a potentially fraudulent account, or get an alert from your monitoring service, let the bank or organization involved know as soon as possible. Also, forward phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, which includes ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies at: reportphishing@apwg.org
Some businesses will require you to file a local police report to acquire a case number to complete your claim. Beyond that, filing a report is a good idea in itself. Identity theft is still theft and reporting it provides an official record of the incident.
The identity theft website from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a fantastic resource should you find yourself in need. Further, filing a complaint with the FBI through their Internet Crime Complaint Center can help the FBI and its partners bring cybercriminals to justice.
Contact your national tax or revenue agency if you believe your tax ID number was involved in the scam. They will have their own reporting mechanisms and processes to assist you with the recovery process.
If you think you got scammed, a credit freeze or lock can help minimize and prevent further harm. See what the credit bureaus in your region offer, along with the terms and conditions of each. You can set freezes and locks right from our app with certain McAfee plans.
Use a monitoring service to help you continue to keep tabs on your identity. The unfortunate fact of identity theft and fraud is that it can mark the start of a long, drawn-out affair.
Given the time, money, and stress that can come along with setting your financial record straight, leaning on the expertise of a professional can provide you with much-needed relief on several counts.
up to $2M for lost funds or expenses involved in restoring your identity with assistance from licensed restoration experts to repair your identity and credit.
helps you keep an eye on changes to your credit score, report, and accounts with timely notifications and guidance so you can take action if needed.
prevents unauthorized access to existing accounts or from new credit, bank, or utility accounts being set up in your name.
monitors up to 60 unique pieces of personal information on the dark web and sends timely alerts up to 10 months sooner than competitive products.
finds and removes your information from data broker and people search sites, then continuously monitors those sites for ongoing protection.
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