Have you received an email or text message that looks like the image above? In this scam email that was sent to a BCT team member, the sender is posing as Norton, a company that offers anti-virus software. An invoice has been included in the email that details a subscription to "Norton 360 premium." 

There are a number of red flags that indicate this email is a scam - let's go through 4 of them. 

1)    The bill is addressed to "Dear Customer." When was the last time you received an invoice that was addressed to "Dear Customer" and not your name? 

2)    There is a typo here - the zeroes in 699.00 are actually the letter O. 

3)    This note says that the supposed subscription has been auto-renewed. If that were the case, why does the invoice say that there is a balance due?

4)    This section says that the invoice has been paid successfully, but then goes on to say that the recipient should make the payment if they haven't yet. Real companies know what bills have been paid and what haven't. 

And finally, the biggest telltale sign that this was a scam is that the BCT employee did not have a Norton anti-virus subscription in the first place. The most important step you can take when you receive a suspicious message like this is to stop and think about what it's saying. This email is trying to scare the recipient into thinking that $699 has been taken out of their account so that they'll try and contact the scammer, who will then attempt to swindle further personal or payment information. Don't fall for it! 

Learn more about common scam tactics and how to avoid them at www.bctelco.com/support/scams