Ever received a bill for a subscription you cannot remember getting or a lack of information in your bank statement?
The money just keeps going out, and you have nothing to show for it. Doing any sort of business online these days is a minefield.
We have subscriptions for websites that sell anything from cat food to music download sites. Yes, it’s always important to check you’re not in a subscription contract.
When you sign up on some website for a trial run of software and music, you may be asked to enter your credit card details. This will then mean that after the trial, if you don’t cancel, they will take their money monthly or yearly.
But there are many scams that can subscribe to their financial system, like the car park QR code scam. You want to pay for parking and scan the QR code, which takes you to a sign-up page.
Enter your credit card details, and that’s it no parking, just subscribed to a rogue site. Within 5 mins, you have £50 or more taken on a monthly subscription. And how’s that, you wonder.
People go round car parks and stick their QR codes over the real ones so unsuspecting customers go to a scam site. BEWARE.
Subscription scams are deceptive recurring charges—often triggered by fake free trials, hidden fees, or fraudulent renewal notices—that quietly bill your account without clear consent.
They typically involve misleading signups, brand impersonation, impossible-to-cancel subscriptions, and they can lead to financial loss or even malware infections.
Steps To Protect Yourself
- Verify before paying: Only share payment details with trusted, official websites.
- Use official channels: Avoid third-party links or pop-ups that look like official offers.
- Set up payment alerts: Enable notifications for new subscriptions or changes to existing ones.
- Review your bank statements: Check for unfamiliar or high charges regularly.
- Unsubscribe immediately: If you spot a suspicious subscription, cancel it and contact your bank.
Another important thing is to check and read the contract and how to cancel the subscription thoroughly.
Remember, you get a certain amount of protection with a credit card over £120, but the company that has the subscription rights can still get payment details even if you change your card number.
The only way to stop payment is to close your account or cancel your credit card account sometimes.
The government is currently looking at this subject to stop people being ripped off by subscription scammers.