The following are the most common types of scams faced by Best Buy customers:

Phone activation scams

Scammers impersonating our Mobile Advisors manipulate customers into falsely activating a phone plan over the phone. You can start a phone plan activation online, but you must come to a store to complete the process and pick up your new phone. We don't offer phone activations over the phone. We strongly advise you to hang up if anyone recommends against coming into the store for a phone activation. 

Gift card and content card scams

Gift cards and content cards are the preferred payment method of scammers everywhere. This is because cards can be purchased almost anywhere and can't be traced once used. Scammers are creative with their plans, but not when it comes to getting paid for them. 

Be careful of anyone you don't know who requests to be paid in gift cards. We recommend our Gift Cards and eGift Cards page for further details on our policies when purchasing gift cards.

Phishing scams

There are hundreds of email, text, and phone scams designed to trick you into accessing a link to a dangerous website, providing too much information, and downloading attachments that contain viruses. Fake communications from scammers impersonating Best Buy include unexpected membership renewals and fake contests and giveaways. Our official contest and giveaways are tagged on our blog or distributed through our official channels and social media accounts (see below). We won't send you third-party software or links to download over email, except when redeeming digital content that you purchased. We recommend that you report unfamiliar emails with suspicious external links or file attachments, threatening language, and asks for sensitive data as phish right away. 

Geek Squad and tech support scams

Scammers who impersonate our Geek Squad agents offer "tech support" that is anything but helpful. They falsely identify issues with your computer or infect you with a virus that only they can fix. Be wary of tech support calls that you didn't formally request, especially if they directly request your payment information unprompted. It's best practice to hang up and call us directly with any concerns. 

Social media scams

Best Buy Canada has verified social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest. Scammers create fake accounts on these platforms to trick customers into clicking dangerous links and providing sensitive information. We advise you to ignore fake Best Buy accounts. 

Protect your sensitive information 

We won't ask you to share sensitive personal or account details over the phone, in a text, or through email. This includes documents like your driver's license, your SIN, and personal banking information. We may ask for your payment information, like a credit card number or billing/shipping information, to process requests, complete purchases, provide services, authenticate orders, and communicate with you about your order. Please don't send us your credit card information in an email. 

Verify sources of communication

If you receive an email or text from that looks like it was sent by Best Buy, but don't recognize the email address, don't interact with it. Official Best Buy email communications are sent from a "bestbuy.ca" address. Misspelled and strangely worded messaging is often the sign of a scam. 

Stay informed 

Educating yourself about the criminal intentions of scammers will keep you one-step ahead of them. Regularly check the Best Buy website and communication channels for alerts about ongoing scams.

If you still have questions about how we protect and collect your data, refer to our Privacy Policy. 

If you suspect a scam

It's important to report any suspicious activity or communications. Don't interact with or respond to suspected scam. Reach out to us right away if a scammer contacts you, or if you're unsure whether something you received is a scam. You can forward suspicious emails to abuse@bestbuy.com. 

If you are the victim of a scam

Act quickly. Scammers will redeem gift cards and content cards in other provinces within minutes, so come to a store as soon as possible with your proof of purchase/receipt. We can process refunds for unused cards.

To report a scam to the authorities, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or file a report on the official Government of Canada website.