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It’s a sad fact of life that scammers impersonate well-known, reputable companies and government agencies. Unfortunately, scammers have been creating fake emails designed to look like real Avast emails in an effort to trick recipients into acting quickly and exposing personal information. Learn how to spot a fake Avast email. And get Avast’s real cybersecurity app, which packs a built-in scam detector to help block phishing links and other email scams.
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Let’s start by looking at different types of Avast scam emails that could land in your inbox. These aren’t specific to Avast, or even the cybersecurity industry. Scammers often use the same tricks when posing as other companies or government agencies, too.
Here’s what a scam email alleging to come from Avast might look like:
An Avast phishing email, which includes a fake Avast email address and a fake phone number that leads directly to the scammer.
Because scam impersonation emails can come from any scammer, they won’t all look the same. Some will look immaculate and closely resemble a real Avast email, while others may be easier to spot due to stylistic, grammatical, or spelling errors.
But they’ll almost always contain malicious links or attachments, ask you to call or respond urgently with personal information, or land with a combination of the two.
Here are the types of emails that should ring your internal alarm bells that the message is fake:
Subscription renewal scams: These messages claim your Avast subscription is about to expire, and your payment will go through on a specific date unless you call or reply to cancel. If you never subscribed, it’s a scam.
Payment scams: A common scam email states that your payment was successful and your order has been processed. It may even include an infected “confirmation” attachment or link. If you never ordered the product or service, it’s a scam.
Fake expiration scams: Scammers often send fake expiration notices, claiming your Avast antivirus or another product is about to expire, urging you to click a link to “renew” and restore coverage immediately.
Tech support scams: Fraudsters pose as Avast support in tech support scams, warning you of a critical security issue and urging you to call a number or click a link. In reality, we never contact non-Avast users about issues out of the blue.
Fake virus alerts: Fake virus and malware alerts often arrive as alarming emails claiming your device is infected, hoping to make you panic and act without thinking. If you use Avast, remember that we only notify you of malware or other threats through the app itself or an on-screen pop-up.
Password reset alerts: Fake security emails claim your Avast password has been compromised, directing you to click a shady link to reset it. Ignore any messages like this, and only ever update your password in your Avast Account, which you can navigate to directly or open via the Avast app you have installed.
Most email scams share common hallmarks that fraudsters use. Look out for the following warning signs — whether in Avast emails or any others — to help you spot a spoof message or phishing attack:
No personalization: If the email isn’t addressed to you, a scammer could be trying their luck by spamming a list of random email addresses. They’re not concerned whether you’re a customer — they assume someone will be, then take the bait. In fact, some scams don’t even rely on you being an existing user at all.
Urgency: Phishing emails typically push for immediate action. Deadlines, threats, or pressure tactics are designed to make you act before thinking or verifying the sender.
Suspicious links: Scammers include malicious links to direct victims to fake websites that harvest personal or payment details. Look out for shortened links or typosquatting (when hackers mimic a URL with tiny changes). For example, they could have used “accounts@avaast.com.” Hover over the link to preview it before clicking, being careful not to click accidentally.
Attachments: Attackers often hide malware in attachments. Unless you’re expecting an attachment, don’t interact with it.
Bad grammar: We take care to ensure our emails are clear and error-free, as do other trusted organizations. Fraudsters may not check their emails carefully, and sometimes even make mistakes on purpose to weed out skeptical targets early on.
Incorrect branding: Scammers are sometimes sloppy and use an old logo, font, color, or other outdated branding element. This is a dead giveaway, since Avast never uses branding that’s inconsistent with our standards, nor would any reputable organization.
Unwarranted requests: Be cautious of any email asking for personal information or payment for a product or service you didn’t order. If you don’t use an Avast product, steer clear of the request or contact us via an official channel to check if the request is legitimate.
Strange email address: We will only ever send emails from an Avast domain, like avast.com, and never from free providers like Gmail.
Spoofed email address: Beware that scammers can also spoof an email address to make it appear legitimate. For example, the display name may say “Avast” but the actual address is “avastbusiness123@gmail.com.” To check, hover over or expand the sender field to see the full address.
Here’s an example of a scam email with a fake “from” address and an old Avast logo:
An Avast scam email with a phishing link, an old logo, and sent from a fake Avast email address.
The good news is that with a little caution, the right knowledge, and solid cybersecurity measures, you can avoid fake Avast emails and similar online scams. These tips will help you protect yourself from phishing attempts, whether they claim to be from Avast or another organization. Here’s how:
Stay informed: Use resources like Avast Academy to stay on top of the latest scams and online threats. Awareness is one of your best defenses.
Update your software: Keep your software and operating system updated on all your devices to benefit from any security patches released.
Take your time: Don’t be rushed into making a mistake. Check emails closely, especially before clicking a link or downloading an attachment.
Verify emails: If you’re not sure whether an email is legitimate, contact the company via an official channel (website, in-app contact, or their official phone number).
Limit sharing: Don’t share personal information over email, no matter how official it looks. Genuine companies will direct you to a secure platform if sensitive information is required.
Use antivirus software: Install a trusted antivirus on all your devices to help protect you against malware-infected links and malicious websites. The best antivirus apps also include scam detection features. Avast Free Antivirus offers an AI-powered Assistant to review suspicious emails and a Web Guard that blocks phishing links and hidden scam sites.
If you suspect an email you received is a scam, don’t click anything, run it through a scam detector tool, and report the email.
Here’s a more detailed walk-through on how to stay safe:
Don’t click anything: Don’t open links or attachments, no matter how tempting or urgent they seem.
Double-check the sender: Look closely at the sender’s email — does it really end with the right domain, like “@avast.com”? If not, it’s a red flag.
Don’t reply: Avoid answering or providing any info in reply to the email.
Use a scam detector: Run it through a scam detector like Avast Assistant (included in Avast Free Antivirus) to help determine whether it’s a scam or not.
Report the email: Use your email provider’s “Report phishing” or “Mark as spam” option to alert them and prevent getting emails from the same sender again. Report the email to the impersonated company. If it claims to be from Avast, report the scam email to us.
Go straight to the source: If you’re still unsure, contact the supposed sender. For example, if you’ve received an odd email from Avast, type in our website — www.avast.com — and contact us through an official channel.
If you’ve accidentally clicked, replied, or shared personal information with a scam email, secure your accounts, alert relevant companies immediately, and report the incident.
Change your passwords: Change your credentials for any potentially compromised accounts, using a strong, unique password for each one.
Enable 2FA: Set up two-factor authentication on any potentially compromised accounts, if you haven’t already.
Alert relevant companies: If you lost money or gave away financial details, contact your financial institution to try to reverse the transaction and/or freeze your credit.
Run a full malware scan: Use a malware removal tool to scan, detect, and remove any malware found on your device.
Warn your contacts: If your email is compromised, warn your contacts that they could get scam messages from your account.
Report the incident: Forward any phishing attempts to “reportphishing@apwg.org,” report the fraud to the FTC, and also notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). This will help these organizations collect data and potentially protect others in the future.
Awareness is your first line of defense against scammers, but because new phishing scams appear constantly, it’s impossible to spot them all. The cutting-edge features included with Avast Free Antivirus help by blocking malware and flagging suspicious emails, so you can stay protected even when scams slip past your radar.
