Beware of These 4 Dubious VPN Subscription Offers

The Most Untrustworthy VPN Subscription Offers: How Scams Work

With the increasing concern over internet privacy and security, new VPN services appear every week, promising 100 percent online anonymity and a (safe and secure) surfing experience.

Unfortunately, many VPN subscription offers deceive customers with false marketing claims, gimmicks, and various cons. Because VPNs are generally based in foreign countries, they will almost certainly never be held accountable for fraudulent advertising and outright theft. And, because the majority of individuals are unfamiliar with the warning signals, many are taken in by these typical VPN frauds. In this article, we’ll expose the VPN fraud and publish the results of our testing for the most trustworthy VPN service out there. Let’s begin.

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Scam Detectors Most Trusted Websites in Online Security

1. Guard.io (100): Protect your digital world on any device – Guardio stops scams and phishing in their tracks.
2. Incogni.com (100): Delete your personal data from the internet and protect against scams and identity theft.
3. ExpressVPN (100) Stay secure and anonymous online - Best VPN Out There

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Here are four scams to avoid:

1. Suspicious Free VPN Software

In general, free VPN software has shown to be unreliable when it comes to privacy and security. Free VPN apps on the Google Play Store were recently exposed as “designed to distribute financial malware” to unsuspecting victims.

The vast majority of free VPN apps you’ll discover on the Google Play or Apple App Stores are hazardous and insecure, with a few exceptions.

2. Subscriptions For Lifetime VPNs

Running a fast, safe, secure worldwide VPN network with excellent apps and support is prohibitively expensive because of its fixed recurring expenses.

How can so many VPNs offer cheap (lifetime subscriptions) when the costs are so high?

There are several different reasons for this:

• A free or low-cost VPN is harvesting user information and selling it to third parties and advertisers. This is a successful and profitable industry – and the most likely business model behind most free VPNs.
• The VPN serves advertisements or redirects your browser to third-party sites to earn commissions on sales.
• The (lifetime) promise is a hoax, and they will cancel your (lifetime) membership after a year or two (see VPNLand example below).
• The VPN is a type of Ponzi scheme in which it must acquire new members at an ever-increasing rate until the structure comes tumbling down.

The bottom line is that the “lifetime” doesn’t refer to the user’s lifetime but rather to the VPN business’s existence. The owners may pay themselves and then close the firm after selling many lifetime subscriptions. Be cautious about purchasing.

3. Free VPN Providers

Why are there a lot of free VPNs? Answer: Free VPN services are used to gather your data and sell it to third parties. Most people concentrate on “free” without thinking about the risks.

Free VPNs are just another way for businesses to profit from your personal information, much like free Gmail, Facebook, and other free products/services. The fundamental business strategy is data gathering.

While paying for a VPN subscription might seem off-putting, it’s the only way to guarantee a reliable and safe service. Luckily, in most cases you can try a VPN free trial to get familiar with it before committing to it.

4. Fake VPNs

With the increased popularity of VPNs, imitation VPNs have started to appear on the market. To put it a different way, there is no actual VPN service involved – instead, fraudsters sell “VPN subscriptions” and then flee with your money. MySafeVPN is one such example – but there are others.

In general, it’s good to avoid the new VPNs that are about to launch and claim to make you “anonymous” with their software. If the VPN service has no history or track record of successful performance and support, it should be avoided. That’s where the best Internet security tools come into place.

Trustworthy VPN Providers: The Winner

After the increased amount of hacking online over the last year, we’ve been asked several times by our readers what the most effective VPN providers on the market are. After trying many platforms ourselves, in our opinion the winner is Surfshark. There are many reasons for this choice, but the Top 3 are:

1. Not only do they have an awarded VPN service, protecting your privacy, securing your identity, and preventing third parties from tracking your device, but they have a super efficient antivirus program. It offers protection from viruses and zero-day threats, a lightweight, clean, and easy-to-use app, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
2. They help you hide your online searches, which will get you purely organic search results, free from ads and tracking.
3. They will notify you when your personal info is leaked online.

Awesome, right? For the Scam Detector readers, Surfshark offers 86% off plus up to five months free. You can get the deal HERE.

How To Remove Your Personal Information From The Internet

However, if it’s a bit too late and your personal information is leaked online, we have good news. If you wonder how to remove your private data from the Internet, you should get a service like Incogni, see below. It is a trustworthy powerful privacy tool that requests your data removal from almost a hundred brokers on your behalf. The service is verified by our staff and is legitimate. For only $5.79US/month, it’s totally worth it. Click below to remove your personal data from the Internet:

How To Report a Fake VPN Provider

Let your family and friends know about these suspicious VPN subscription red flags by sharing this article on social media. You can also officially report VPN scammers and any other suspicious activity to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using this link:

Report To The FTC Here

How To Protect Yourself More

If you want to be the first to find out the most notorious scams on a regular basis, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter here. You’ll receive periodic emails – we promise not to spam.

Meanwhile, educate yourself about some other VPN scams listed right under this paragraph, so that you know how to stay safe online. Last but not least, feel free to use the comments section below to expose other scammers.

Top 6 VPN Scams

VPN Fraud – What They Don’t Want You To Know