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Costco Email Scam: Did you receive an Email claiming Automatic reply Today is the final day to extend your account by a year. !!FOR_FREE.!!
Email and Online Scams -
Have You Received a Scam Email?
claiming to be from Costco, claiming "Automatic reply"
"Today is the final day to extend your account by a year. !!FOR_FREE.!!"
Did you receive an email claiming to be from Costco, claiming "Dear Customer, your Costco account has expired", "But as part of our Loyalty program, you can now extend for 90 days Extend for free" and "Today is the final day to extend your account by a year. !!FOR_FREE.!!"? Did they then instruct you to "Extend for Free", Click here please or something similar?
Well, don't fall for it. It is a scam, and if you call them back or follow their instructions you will lose money and possibly your identity! Ther scammers can'teven keep their scam straight! Is it "one year for free" or "90 days for free". Unless you are a total moron, you know it's nothing for free, it is a scam!
It is a fairly realistic looking scam. The scammers are getting better at stealing images from the real websites to make their fake emails look genuine. The most obvious proof that it is a scam is found by hovering your mouse over (or right clicking on) the return email address of the link they want you to click.
When you do this, you see that the email and website has nnothing to do with the real company (Costco) but in this case goes to "https://mytools.graphic.com.gh/Oxgro" which is probably spoofed, hacked or redirected.
The people behind this are the worst kind of human scum; willing to do anything to scare, threaten, lie, cheat and steal money from anyone, including the elderly and poor. They usually operate out of Nigeria, China, Russia and even some developed western countries. Attachments typically include malware to infect your computer, tablet or phone and allow the scammer to capture your passwords.
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Report received, August 24, 2024:
From: final Notice Costco Membership --- <SoveadbhHm@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2024 5:42 AM
To:
Subject: Automatic reply: 7179614341675446Today is the final day to extend your account by a year. !!FOR_FREE.!!
Information About Costco Scam Email, claiming Automatic reply Today is the final day to extend your account by a year. !!FOR_FREE.!!
There are several websites that focus on reports of scam Emails.
The links below go to pages on these other websites were you can read reports about the scams associated with this email addressCostco Scam Email, claiming Automatic reply Today is the final day to extend your account by a year. !!FOR_FREE.!!):
- Microsoft Safety and Security Center
- Microsoft Community - Windows Support Scam - I was called by someone who said they were windows support and my computer was sending them warnings and messages!
- ARS Technica
It is a scam
Don't fall for it. It is a scam.
What to do
Just ignore it and delete the email. Do not click on anything in the email.
Apple offers the following advice:
If you get a suspicious Email:
Scammers spoof phone numbers and use flattery and threats to pressure you into giving them information, money, and even iTunes gift cards. Always verify the caller's identity before you provide any personal information. If you get an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Apple, hang up and contact us directly.
Tech support scams are an industry-wide issue where scammers use scare tactics to trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services that supposedly fix contrived device, platform, or software problems.
Scammers may call you directly on your phone and pretend to be representatives of a software company. They might even spoof the caller ID so that it displays a legitimate support phone number from a trusted company. They can then ask you to install applications that give them remote access to your device. Using remote access, these experienced scammers can misrepresent normal system output as signs of problems.
Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:
Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.
More information
There are several websites that focus on reports of scam Emails.
The links below go to pages on these other websites were you can read reports about the scams associated with this phone number (855-687-1444, claiming This is Microsoft. This call is to inform you that your Microsoft license key has expired):
- Microsoft Safety and Security Center
- Microsoft Community - Windows Support Scam - I was called by someone who said they were windows support and my computer was sending them warnings and messages!
- ARS Technica
Related Scams
There are a number of common telephone scams, such as:
and some new and as yet, uncommon scams.
Information About Specific Phone numbers
There are several websites that focus on reports of scam Emails. See these:
What to do about it
See these pages for guidance as applicable to your specific situation:
- If you are certain you don't owe a debt: What to do about harassing Emails
- If you may owe a debt: Debt collection Emails - what they may do, what the may not do and how to stop them
- If you are being harassed by the collector: file a compliant against a debt collector with the FTC - Use this form to submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection about a particular company or organization..
- How to stop telemarketers
For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.