5 subscription scams and traps to watch out for

An old rip-off has reared its ugly head, with unexpected monthly payments to unknown firms dominating scam reports shared with Which?. 

After sifting through hundreds of complaints from the public submitted to our scam sharer tool, we've uncovered identical tactics and the same perpetrators emerging again and again. 

Recurring payments are widely used by legitimate businesses offering genuine services, but they can also open the door to subscription traps and even fraud.

When we surveyed 2,033 UK adults in November 2023, one in 10 said they had found unexpected recurring payments in their accounts in the past three years. When we asked about their most recent experiences, around a third said they found these in 2023 and another third found them in 2022, while only one in 10 were spotted in 2021.

Here we highlight the five main traps and lift the lid on the strategies used to sign you up for unwanted and often extortionate subscriptions. 

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1. Advert cloaking 

This is where dishonest websites camouflage their content to evade detection – even though this is strictly banned by advertising platforms. 

A Which? researcher discovered an advert for a company called OriginalPlus, which takes payments via Singapore. We think its advert (pictured above) urging users to Click on 'OPEN’ is intentionally designed so it looks like it’s part of the website.

It makes no mention of a company name, or the service being sold, until you click through – and we think it would be all too easy to add your card details without realising who you were paying. Even more sneakily, details about its €29.99 monthly fee were hidden right at the bottom of the web page, visible only when you scroll down. 

At the time of writing, Which? had received five complaints about OriginalPlus – and not one person had any idea how the company had obtained their card details. Reviews on Trustpilot paint a similar picture, with 96% of 125 users giving it one star. 

One woman told us she spoke to her bank about an unauthorised charge of €29.99 to OriginalPlus and was told the firm had taken 50p two weeks previously. She said: ‘I had no emails from this firm, nor messages in my spam folder. It turned out to be an online gaming and streaming site.' 

OriginalPlus told Which? it adheres to the terms and conditions of the relevant platform it uses (such as Google Ads, Meta Ads and TikTok Ads) and users who complete the checkout process receive all relevant information. It added that it takes customer satisfaction seriously and customers should reach out to it directly about their complaints.

• Tip: hidden adverts online maybe hard to spot, so if you're asked to enter sensitive information, scan the web address carefully and look for terms buried at the bottom of the web page or in the website's privacy policy.

2. Fake ads on search engines  

Paying Google and other search engines to appear at the top of search results continues to be a lucrative trick for scammers. 

We found dozens of advertisers that were impersonating parking apps such as JustPark, PayByPhone and RingGo. They do this by using stolen logos and hiding their subscription costs. 

We also received 13 complaints about a Cyprus-based firm called Alltainment, which claims to offer a video streaming service. People attempting to download a parking app didn't realise they were signing up for a package costing £39.99 a month. Alltainment didn't respond to our request for comment.

Tech firms seem to struggle with the sheer volume of scammers abusing their platforms. We saw the same advertisers impersonating RingGo and other parking apps even after we'd reported them, despite Google telling us it had taken action.

These ads claim you can download parking apps but sneakily sign you up for a health and lifestyle bundle costing £24.99 a month, the name and supposed service of which isn't stated. Google said it removes ads that violate its policies, including those that deceive users by excluding relevant product information or providing misleading information. 

• Tip: only download apps from the official Apple or Google Play stores and read reviews of the app before you download it. Beware of adverts when you use search engines, as these may have been taken out by scammers. Read more about search engine adverts. 

3. Hijacking QR codes 

Following the pandemic, we’ve become more accustomed to scanning digital and physical Quick Response (QR) codes – those black and white squares found on pub tables, in newspapers and on marketing posters – and scammers have sensed an opportunity. 

They’ve taken aim at drivers by placing stickers of fake QR codes over genuine ones in car parks to trick them into paying for outrageously expensive subscriptions. Which? is also aware of people being signed up for subscriptions to unfamiliar companies after scanning QR codes in shops, hotels or restaurants; or on fake survey invitations sent in the post; and even on a questionnaire at a work conference. 

Online marketing provides an even broader target. People told us they’d been scammed after scanning QR codes via streaming sites and ‘smart’ TVs that provide video-on-demand services. 

We received 10 scam reports about a company called Media Craze via QR codes. In every case, people believed they were dealing with known brands (including Iceland, ITVX, Gumtree, Snappy Snaps and Tesco) and had no idea they were handing over their card details to Media Craze, which then charged them £29.99 a month for its entertainment package. 

We contacted Media Craze but received no response. Its website was taken down shortly after we reported it to the National Cyber Security Centre in October 2023. 

Earlier this month, the Insolvency Service said a winding-up order was made against the company trading as Media Craze (Paragrim Ltd) at the High Court on 5 December 2023 and investigations are ongoing. 

• Tip: pay close attention to the web address a QR code directs you to. Don’t use a QR code scanner app as it increases the risk of downloading malware. Most phones have a scanner in the camera app, so use this instead.

4. Premium SMS alerts 

Premium text alerts provide opportunistic companies with yet another way to make easy money – because they can charge you without asking for your card details. Known as Charge to Bill, this is often used to donate to charity or vote in TV shows using your mobile phone number, but reports to Which? suggest this payment system is being abused. 

Two names kept cropping up in the scam reports we received: Alerts4U and Stripey Offers. Registered as separate companies (SB7 Mobile Ltd and Stripey Giraffe Ltd), they use near-identical branding, list the same PO box address and promote shopping discount alerts costing £1.50 per text message, up to a maximum of three alerts a week. 

The Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA), the UK’s regulator for premium rate services, received 178 complaints about SB7 and 322 complaints about Stripey Giraffe from November 2022 to October 2023. In September 2023, it issued a fine of £10,000 to SB7 for ‘failure to comply with a direction for information’. It currently has open enforcement investigations into both companies for potential breaches of its code of practice.

SB7 and Stripey Giraffe require customers to independently verify their intention to complete the subscription process by entering a Pin sent to their phone, and they say this was the case in each of the complaints we shared with them. This would suggest users sign up willingly and knowingly, but, these texts don’t mention the company name or pricing. We feel they may be misleading.

• Tip: ask your mobile network provider if it can block premium rate services (not all can). Providers of services accessed through mobile networks are required to send receipts, so if you receive one don’t ignore it. It may seem like spam but will tell you how to stop a subscription. Then report the firm to the PSA.

5. ‘Free’ product trials 

Free trials – often for nutrition and beauty products such as ‘keto diet pills’ and ‘CBD gummies’ – are a particularly persistent type of subscription trap that’s prevalent on social media platforms. 

Which? has previously exposed scammers using fake news stories and celebrity endorsement to persuade victims to hand over their card details. Typically, you’re led to believe that you're authorising a one-off payment or covering postage costs – only to discover you will be charged tens or even hundreds of pounds every month. These fees may be buried in the terms and conditions, although the worst offenders simply lie about their pricing model. 

One victim told us that he saw an advert for health supplements and ordered a three-month supply using his credit card. He received a package a week later and thought that was the end of it – until a ‘wellness’ box was delivered the following month. 

‘I checked my bank account and found I’d been charged more than £230 for some vitamins. I contacted the company straight away and was told, “No refund”. They cancelled my subscription but said the next order had already been processed and would still be shipped so they are going to charge me another £230. I am going to contact my bank for help, but this has already put me under financial strain.’ 

• Tip: if you’ve been signed up for a subscription that you don’t want, you have a 14-day cooling-off period for distance purchases within the EU, or 12 months if you weren’t informed of your right to cancel within this period. Beyond this, if a company refuses to refund you, ask your bank to use chargeback or Section 75 (credit cards only) to reclaim the money.

How to get your money back