Avoid VPN Scams: Choosing a Reliable Service for Online Security

Why you need to choose wisely to avoid VPN scams. We can help you.

Here’s what very bothersome about VPN scams: Think about it: if you signed up for a service, a product or an event—and it didn’t work like that you thought it would—then you got scammed. Getting scammed doesn’t have to mean that what you bought was a total fake…it can simply mean you were fooled or hoodwinked into buying something that was less than what you got.

And there’s a chance you might not even know it. It can happen whether you’re buying computers and peripherals or a drum set, and let’s not even get into the burning topic of Artificial Intelligence scams.

It can also happen if you’re not buying something tangible, like a language program, a software program and even a VPN—a virtual private network.

VPN Scams are a reality.

And how lousy is that? Because a VPN is supposed to do three important things for you.

Boost your online privacy
Increase your online security
Help you get around internet filters and website blocks and blackouts

And the majority of VPNs do exactly that, but unfortunately you won’t get those benefits if you stumbled into a VPN scam. In fact, the opposite might happen: you might lose some security or privacy.

Here are some of the scams you should be aware of.

Lifetime subscription offers.

Is there any service or product for which you’d have a lifetime subscription? Probably not. So, if a VPN provider is offering never-ending service for a one-time fee, you have to wonder what’s going on, even if the low price seems worth it.

You never know what can happen to a company, even a VPN service, that offers a subscription. Consider the possibilities.

The VPN could one day be sold, and the new owner might not honor the lifetime subscriptions. That’s what happened in May 2025 when VPNSecure changed hands. The new owner claimed they weren’t made aware of the lifetime subscriptions during the sale and soon cancelled them all, without warning. Loyal VPNSecure users who’d paid $30-$40 for their lifetime subscriptions, were out of luck.
It’s likely that the VPN isn’t well-known. You’ll never see the higher-rated VPNs offering such a plan, which should explain a lot.
The VPN offering a lifetime subscription is likely new, which means they’re scrambling to make money as quickly as they can. If the VPN doesn’t grow as they hoped, they may one day either go out of business or simply scale down and weaken their product.
Finally, a lifetime subscription could simply be a scam itself from a fly-by-night, fake VPN provider.

The takeaway? Think twice before signing up for a lifetime subscription. The service may one day not be around or offered to you for free

Good deals on VPNs

Fake “Great” VPNs

As privacy and security issues continue to grow, VPNs become even more popular, because of what a VPN does and how it works.

There’s a problem though.

Consumers in general know very little about VPNs or VPN providers. The truth is, the topic is confusing, so many consumers simply pick one and hope for the best. Choosing a VPN is difficult for someone who doesn’t know much about them in the first place.

Scammers who know this try to cash in by creating VPNs that don’t exist. Then they promote the non-existent VPN in emails making claims that sound wonderful. They sometimes back their lie with another one; they’ll send emails announcing that a well-known tech business has expanded into offering VPNs. Then, they’ll direct consumers to a good-looking and convincing website to sign up.

It’s such a simple scam and easy to pull off. The warning is this: Always do some research when you hear of something like this. Be sure of what you’re getting…as sure as you can be.

See the top VPNs for security, privacy and unblocking websites

Free VPNs. Not so fast.

Here’s what you need to know about free VPNs—nearly all security experts will tell you to avoid them. Here’s why. In exchange for providing their service to you for free, the VPN is doing things behind your back to make money.

Some Free VPNs make money by tracking and capturing your online activity, by your IP address. They will then package and sell your data: what your actual IP address is, what your online behavior reflects, etc.
They’ll likely show ads to you, from businesses that have paid the VPN in order to do so
They might redirect your browser to e-commerce and third-party websites.

On top of that, there have even been reports that some free VPN apps available in the Apple and Google app stores are suspected of carrying malware.

There’s an expression regarding free online services, such as some VPNs : If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.”

Alert: not all free VPNs are bad!

We’ll start this section with this important note and distinction:

There are shady or shaky providers that may offer a free VPN at no charge
There are reputable VPN providers who offer a free (but limited) version of their service. We’re not talking about a free trial period—we mean access to their VPN service for free. Maybe not all their servers and not for streaming movies, but free to browse online while hiding your IP address.
If you want to see more information, check out our article here.

Explore, learn, choose wisely!

WhatIsMyIPAddress.com offers a wide range of information on VPNs. Best of all, when you’re online using a VPN, you can check to see if it’s indeed working by doing a before and after check. Here’s what we mean:

When you’re online but NOT YET connected to your VPN service, check your IP address at WhatIsMyIPAddress.com and take note.
Then turn on your VPN, refresh your browser and recheck your IP address at WhatIsMyIPAddress.com. You should see a different IP

You can find great offers and deals on VPNs.

Finally, if you’re in the market for a VPN and want to find a reputable provider, see our VPN comparison chart and see a list of VPNs to choose from—every provider has a reputation for recognized and genuine provider of their service.

Best of all, you might find an offer or a discount that you can’t pass up.

How to get the best of the best.

Finally, if you want to find a top VPN provider for what you want, we suggest you check out our VPN Simplifier page. to look like this: Finally, if you want to find a top VPN provider for what you want, we suggest you check out our VPN Simplifier page or our VPN simplifier for security page.

Choosing a top VPN provider couldn’t be easier, faster or more risk free. Check it out.

VPN Simplifier