A subscription created with your consent but not your understanding. The charge is legal-looking, which is why the card is the wrong tool to fight it with.
This is the difficult case, because you did agree to something. A checkbox was pre-ticked, or the terms were on a page you did not open, or the trial renewal was written in a way most people read as optional.
The result is a recurring charge that continues until it is cancelled, and a cancellation route that is deliberately harder to find than the sign-up page was.
The shapes it takes
- A 'free' trial that charges a small amount immediately, which is really an authorisation and the start of a billing cycle.
- A one-time purchase that silently creates a subscription, disclosed only in the confirmation email most people never read.
- A quiz, a scan or a test that ends in a card form for a 'personalised result', billed weekly.
- A subscription created on a legitimate-looking product page whose support address stops working as soon as you try to cancel.
How to cancel and get the money back
- 1Find the merchant name as it appears on your statement. Search for that exact string, not the brand in the advert.
- 2Send a written cancellation request by email and keep the message. A written record with a date is what a chargeback depends on.
- 3Ask your bank to block recurring payments to that merchant, and to dispute the last charges as unauthorised if you never received what was promised.
- 4If the card keeps being charged, ask for the card to be reissued with a new number.
- 5Revoke the merchant's access in your bank's own list of recurring payments, if it has one.
How to spot it before paying
- Read what the confirmation email says about billing, not what the advert page said.
- Look for a price per period next to the word 'free', and for a renewal date.
- Check whether the terms mention the billing period in plain language. If renewal is described only in dense text, that is the design.
- Use a virtual or single-use card number where your bank offers one, so a subscription cannot outlive your intention.
Frequently asked questions
I agreed to the terms. Is it still fraud?
Sometimes yes, sometimes it is a legal but hostile practice that consumer law in many countries still restricts. Either way, the practical route is the same: written cancellation, then a dispute.
The site disappeared. Who do I complain to?
Your card issuer first — they carry the dispute on the transaction. Then your national consumer protection body, which keeps a record of the merchant even after the site is gone.
How long do I have to dispute the charges?
Rules vary, but reports of recurring charges are time-limited and shorter than most people assume. Dispute the moment you notice, and include every charge in the same report.
Written by The BaitScan team
Last updated September 16, 2026
Results are automated risk estimates based on public indicators and heuristics.