NordVPN is being spoiled, as scamsters are using its name to duplicate their website and installing malware in devices to skim information used for many charges laid as Lagosec Inc mentioned on your credit card. However, Lagosec Inc is not fake, it’s too spoiled, as it’s the payment processing platform for NordVPN. This is not something new that fraudsters have come up with, it’s a technique that is commonly used over the internet and if you don’t pay close attention, you could be in trouble.
However, this is mainly happening with NordVPn subscribers as they would hardly pay any attention to any charges mentioned as some services they have already subscribed to and if there is double charge then scammers know that NordVPN charges you for the upcoming subscription period before the beginning of an upcoming Subscription period (unless you cancel the Subscription before the day of the charge), and then the charge in accordance with your pre-selected payment method will be made. But when they suddenly tried to widen their network by charging those who hadn’t bought any services from NordVPN they were noticed and reported.
NordVPN has also addressed this concern, in this guide, I have explained the report from them also on these charges and how to determine their legitimacy. Even if you have subscribed to NordVPN you could be charged wrongly, understand with this guide how to know that and how you could deal with any such charges put unauthorizedly on your credit card bill.
What Does Lagosec Inc Charge On Credit Card Mean?
Lagosec, INC. is a platform set by NordVPN, as a payment processing partner. Its role primarily involves handling and managing payment transactions for varying services and products offered by NordVPN.
When you see a charge labeled as Lagosec, INC. on your credit card statement, it’s more likely related to your NordVPN subscription or services. The charge will appear as Lagosec, INC as they manage the payment transactions on behalf of NordVPN. Lagosec, INC. is responsible for processing various types of payments which include subscription fees, one-time purchases, and possibly many other transactions related to NordVPN services.
However, a scam is quite famous these days which is using this information to loot people. I have explained the whole plot below for detailed information, understand if that resonates with your case and what measures you shall take are also mentioned along.
What Does Lagosec Inc Charge On Credit Card Indicate?
A charge from Lagosec, INC. on your credit card primarily indicates a payment that is related to NordVPN services which include subscriptions, renewals, or additional features. Lagosec, INC. is a payment processing partner for NordVPN that facilitates their bills and other payment transactions. Below are some key points for you to know;
You Subscribed to NordVPN: This is the key factor that says that if you have subscribed to NordVPN, then a Lagosec, INC. charge should appear on your credit card and during the NordVPN subscription process, you used your credit card as the payment method.
As NordVPN uses Lagosec, INC. as their payment processor, most specifically for US customers according to their terms of service, then you will see these charges mentioned on your credit card.
Below are some of the legitimate reasons for this charge;
NordVPN Subscription or Renewal:
- Subscription Fees: The charge represents the fees associated with your NordVPN subscription.
- Billing Cycle: This could also be for a monthly, yearly, or other periodic subscription plan which depends upon the type of NordVPN service you have.
Additional NordVPN Services:
- Upgrades or Add-ons: If you’ve purchased some of the additional features or upgraded your NordVPN plan, those charges would also be processed through Lagosec, INC.
Payment Processing:
- Payment Partner: Lagosec, INC. is responsible for handling, operating, and processing the payments made with NordVPN services. This includes making sure that the transaction is successfully completed and funds are transferred to NordVPN.
Transaction Details:
- Charge Description: The charge will appear as the description “Lagosec, INC.” on your credit card statement. It sometimes also includes additional details such as the date and amount of the transaction.
Your Subscription is Active: There are two possibilities here:
- Initial Charge: This might be the initial charge for your NordVPN subscription if you have recently signed up.
- Recurring Charge: If you have an active NordVPN subscription with recurring billing enabled, Lagosec, INC. as default, would handle the automatic renewal payments.
Possibilities: Why is Lagosec Inc Charge On My Credit Card
Below are research team has listed some of the legitimate possibilities for these charges to incur on your credit card, try to relate and if you fail this simply implies to scam;
NordVPN Subscription Fee:
- Monthly/Annual Payment: If you have an ongoing NordVPN subscription, Lagosec, INC. may handle the payment processing for your monthly or annual subscription fee. The charge will then appear on your statement as Lagosec, INC. as they manage transactions as deployed by NordVPN.
Renewal of NordVPN Service:
- Automatic Renewal: NordVPN runs on mainly a subscription model and also charges in advance for the upcoming months, and this all is set as automatic renewal for subscriptions. In case your subscription is automatically renewed, the charge from Lagosec, INC. would appear as a charge for renewal which reflects the continuation of your service.
Upgrade or Add-On Purchase:
- Additional Features: If you have recently upgraded your NordVPN plan or purchased additional features or add-ons, the charge from Lagosec, INC. would be against those enhancements. This might include higher-tier plans, extra security features, or additional devices.
One-Time Purchase Related to NordVPN:
- Special Services or Products: Sometimes as an offer, NordVPN may offer one-time purchases for their special services or products and if you have availed any then charges from Lagosec, INC. could be against one-time transactions.
Correction or Adjustment:
- Billing Adjustment: If there was some adjustment or correction with reference to some prior error needed on your NordVPN account (e.g., a billing error was corrected), Lagosec, INC. would process this adjustment which could result in a charge on your card.
Free Trial Conversion:
- End of Trial Period: If you have earlier signed up for a free trial of NordVPN and it has converted to a paid subscription, Lagosec, INC. will process the payment after the trial period ends which will reflect the charge on your credit card.
Payment Processing Error:
- Mistaken Charge: In rare cases, a charge might appear from Lagosec, INC. because of some processing error or duplicate transaction.
Unauthorized Transaction:
- Potential Fraud: If you don’t have a NordVPN account or haven’t ever authorized any related transactions, the charge could potentially be a result of fraudulent activity. Below I have provided a detailed report on this, as suggested by NordVPN itself and our research team;
How The Lagosec Inc. Scam Works
As per the reports and the NordVPN research, scammers have built a replica of their site on the URL nord-vpn[.]club (I have intentionally inserted the brackets to avoid mentioning the actual URL) as this is not a legitimate URL and NordVPN never uses this for their business.
This site offers a download of what it claims is NordVPN’s Windows app. If you click on that link, with the intention to download the app then in addition to the app, you will also download a virus, “Win32.Bolik.2 trojan”.
Further using this malware, hackers will then perform web injections, traffic intercepts, keylogging, and steal information from different bank-client systems. These insights are from the team of anti-virus developers who first reported the scam.
This implies that the virus can monitor virtually everything activity you do online and steal your online banking information. Hence, NordVPN highly suggests that users should not download the app from the above-mentioned website link or even visit it. I have also below explained ways on how to tackle this and what measures NordVPN suggests.
How Could Lagosec Inc Charge Appear On Credit Cards?
The same vendor could apply a charge in many different ways and This depends upon the merchant, type of transaction, services used, location, and the payment processing method used;
- CHARGE_Lagosec,_INC._SUBSCRIPTION_MTH_07/24_CARD_****1234_NYC,_NY
- Lagosec,_INC._ANNUAL_RENEW_07/24_CARD_****5678_LA,_CA
- Lagosec,_INC._PREMIUM_UPGRADE_07/24_CARD_****9101_CHI,_IL
- Lagosec,_INC._ONE-TIME_PAY_07/24_CARD_****2345_HOU,_TX
- Lagosec,_INC._BILL_ADJ_07/24_CARD_****6789_MIA,_FL
- Lagosec,_INC._TRIAL_TO_PAID_07/24_CARD_****3456_ATL,_GA
- Lagosec,_INC._ERRONEOUS_CHG_07/24_CARD_****7890_PHI,_PA
- Lagosec,_INC._UNK_CHARGE_07/24_CARD_****4567_DAL,_TX
- Lagosec,_INC._1-YR_PLAN_RENEW_07/24_CARD_****8912_SAN,_CA
- CHARGE_Lagosec,_INC._EXTRA_SEC_07/24_CARD_****1234_SEA,_WA
- Lagosec,_INC._FAM_PLAN_UPGRADE_07/24_CARD_****5678_BOS,_MA
- Lagosec,_INC._ADD_DEVICE_07/24_CARD_****9101_DEN,_CO
- Lagosec,_INC._SERV_ADJ_07/24_CARD_****2345_PHO,_AZ
- CHARGE_Lagosec,_INC._ANNUAL_BILL_07/24_CARD_****6789_MIN,_MN
- Lagosec,_INC._MTH_CHARGE_07/24_CARD_****3456_IND,_IN
- Lagosec,_INC._SPEC_OFFER_07/24_CARD_****7890_ORL,_FL
- Lagosec,_INC._NEW_SUB_07/24_CARD_****4567_STL,_MO
- Lagosec,_INC._PREMIUM_SUB_07/24_CARD_****8912_KC,_MO
- CHARGE_Lagosec,_INC._RENEW_FEE_07/24_CARD_****1234_BAL,_MD
- Lagosec,_INC._TRIAL_CONV_07/24_CARD_****5678_NASH,_TN
- Lagosec,_INC._PAY_ERROR_07/24_CARD_****9101_RIC,_VA
- Lagosec,_INC._ADJ_07/24_CARD_****2345_CLE,_OH
- CHARGE_Lagosec,_INC._UPGRADE_FEE_07/24_CARD_****6789_TAM,_FL
- Lagosec,_INC._ONE-TIME_PURCH_07/24_CARD_****3456_LOU,_KY
- Lagosec,_INC._SERV_FEE_07/24_CARD_****7890_SAC,_CA
- Lagosec,_INC._ADD_PLAN_07/24_CARD_****4567_ALB,_NY
- Lagosec,_INC._PLAN_RENEW_07/24_CARD_****8912_HON,_HI
- CHARGE_Lagosec,_INC._ANNUAL_PLAN_07/24_CARD_****1234_JAC,_MS
- Lagosec,_INC._ONE-TIME_FEE_07/24_CARD_****5678_COL,_SC
- Lagosec,_INC._SERV_UPGRADE_07/24_CARD_****9101_NEV,_NV
What to Do if You See Lagosec Inc Charge
Even if you are using VPN services from NordVPN then you can’t take a chance to let this go without being checked, you must verify, below is the step-by-step process along with the reports suggested by NordVPN;
How Is NordVPN Fighting This Scam
Below are steps taken by the NordVPN team to eliminate this scam;
- They are working continuously to take this offline but it’s quite uncertain when the site will be taken offline because it doesn’t depend entirely on NordVPN. The fight has already begun and the initial version has been successfully taken down and their team is now monitoring the situation just in case it bounces back.
- The site has been blacklisted by NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro feature. NordVPN users who buy their optional Threat Protection Pro feature will be prevented from visiting the site in question as Threat Protection Pro works by blacklisting and blocking malicious websites which prevent users from visiting them when the feature is turned on.
NordVPN Measures To Protect From Lagosec Inc Scam
- They suggest every user check the URL as the URL has been carefully designed to resemble the genuine one to confuse the visitors. NordVPN in a single scenario, doesn’t conduct business on a URL based on nordvpn.com in countries that block their core website. NordVPN always uses legitimate URLs in such countries so that users can download their apps. If you’re unsure if the website you’re on is a legitimate NordVPN website, try reaching out to the NordVPN support team.
- HTTPS always ensures a basic level of security, but not legitimacy. HTTP sites are always less secure and often are an indication of a scam. The scammers in these, however, have HTTPS enabled on their site, which provides a basic level of encryption and can trick victims into a false sense of security. But, the HTTPS certificate is not the same as the one on NordVPN’s website. Try clicking on the lock icon next to the URL when you browse their website to inspect the HTTPS certificate. NordVPN always uses an extended validation SSL certificate self-signed by Tefincom S.A. Then, try comparing this to the certificate of any website that is claiming to impersonate NordVPN but has a questionable URL, the certificates won’t be the same.
What Scammers Do NordVPN Representatives Never
1. NordVPN representatives will never ask for your password.
If someone posing as a NordVPN representative asks for your password, they are probably scammers. Make sure you never disclose it to anyone. Also, be aware of some fake password change emails, saying “your password is expiring soon”. This is another advanced trick that makes you change your password on an illegitimate website. The scammer operating the website will catch your password and use it for their purposes.
NordVPN suggests you use your email to log into your account on NordVPN’s website to do the following:
- Get special deals and offers
- Change your password
- Change your payment method
- Update your credit card info
- Cancel your auto-payment
- Extend your (manual) subscription
2. NordVPN won’t send you to the wrong website.
Scammers design websites that look like genuine NordVPN to scam NordVPN users and the core part of NordVPN’s web page URL will always be https://nordvpn.com/.
The only difference to this rule will only be for users buying NordVPN in countries that block their core website as users in such countries are provided with other legitimate URLs for purchasing official NordVPN subscriptions.
3. NordVPN does not make phone calls.
NordVPN’s official always uses email as the first priority for communication, the support chat on their website, their official Twitter (@NordVPN), or their official Facebook page.
NordVPN never calls people by phone and their representatives do not make use of private social media accounts to reach out to their users. Never trust connections outside of these mentioned communication tools.
4. NordVPN won’t use sketchy email addresses.
NordVPN’s official email ends with @nordvpn.com and sometimes @nordvpnmedia.com or @nordvpnbusiness.com. They never send emails from addresses like nordvpn@gmail.com or nordvpn@nord.com.
Moreover, faking a legitimate address is easy, as hackers can use readily available online tools like http://deadfake.com/ or http://anonymailer.net. Experienced scammers can also fake an address by using Unix or PHP command lines.
As Gmail service always warns you that the email is suspicious, and so will most of the other reputed email providers. Always look for such warning signs and ignore and mark spam emails if they tell the tale of these warnings.
Moreover, the appearance of the email can also be easily copied by using various photo editing tools and you might get an email that looks exactly as from NordVPN to the naked eye. To avoid being tricked, make sure to check if the link in an email redirects to a legitimate NordVPN website with a URL starting with https://nordvpn.com/. Never trust any other suspicious links, even if they show up very similar to a genuine one.
How To Check Whether Nord VPN’s Website Is Legit
- Check the URL. If a URL contains anything but https://nordvpn.com/ (or https://nordvpn.org/), it’s more likely a fake site scam – Check for grammar mistakes in the domain name or suspicious extensions like .tech or .biz.
- Ensure that the website has a padlock next to the URL – In case there’s no padlock symbol, your browser will warn you that the website is not secure.
- Check the domain age. Anyone can always see how old the domain is and check where it’s registered. If you find that a website has been recently created, report such scams immediately.
- Look for any grammar mistakes – If you are already suspicious of the site, inspect it further for grammar mistakes, flashy ads, or poor design – Hackers often don’t pay much attention in polishing every sentence and illustration.
- Check for contact details – If you’ve encountered a fake site scam, it’s most likely to not have any contact details listed or will only include a generic email address.
- Check if the website is known for hosting malware. Google’s transparency report allows you to enter a URL and check if the website is legitimate.
- If you’re still suspicious. Having doubts and always double-checking everything is a good habit to have while you explore the internet and if you’re still not sure if you are on a legitimate NordVPN website, try visiting the company’s social media pages, where you will find a link to their website.
Steps To Take Further
You must take initiative if you suspect the charges mentioned as Lagosec Inc. on your credit card;
- Verify with NordVPN:
- Check Your Account: Log in to your NordVPN account and confirm the details of your subscription along with the charge that aligns with your account activities.
- Billing History: Check your billing history and verify if this charge corresponds to any recent transactions or renewals.
- Contact NordVPN Support:
- Customer Support: If you are suspicious and have questions or concerns about the charge, immediately contact NordVPN’s customer support for further clarification and assistance.
- Review Credit Card Statements:
- Monitor Statements: periodically check your credit card statements for any additional or unexpected charges. Make sure that all transactions are accurate and authorized.
- Dispute the Charge:
- If Unrecognized: If you do not recognize the charge and believe it to be unauthorized, report it to your credit card issuer and request for card freeze immediately and also for investigation and possible resolution.
Conclusion
Many such reputed names like NordVPN are being spoiled by scammers these days. Scammers are highly educated and have complex techniques to steal your information which they could further use in a manner that would most probably leave you wondering whether you have made that purchase or not because the charge description will include known names like NordVPN, Walmart, Google, Microsoft and many more.
It’s always advised to check your credit card bills and bank statements every month verify any charge that seems unfamiliar to you and report it promptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does NordVPN Cost After 2 Years?
Choosing NordVPN’s 2-year plan when you sign up gets you a really good deal at just $5.99 per month, billed as $143.76 for the full 2-year period. When it’s time to renew your NordVPN subscription after 24 months, you’ll pay the same $143.76 for another 2 years.
Can I Get A Refund From NordVPN?
You’re eligible for a full refund as long as it’s requested within 30 days of signing up. To obtain a NordVPN refund, contact their customer service team via email or live chat. The support team can guide customers through the entire refund process effortlessly at any time, any day.
How To Remove Payment Method NordVPN?
Steps To Remove Payment Details From NordVPN
1) Sign in and navigate to the “My Account” section to remove a payment method.
2) Confirm your decision, and it’s done.
Also Read – What is Pepsiven Charge on Credit Card