Free-trial or "$1 intro" signup secretly enrolls you in a costly recurring subscription
A website advertises a free trial or $1 intro but buries a costly monthly subscription in fine print. Cancellation deliberately uses multi-screen dark patterns to exhaust you. The FTC sued JustAnswer in January 2026 for this practice.
Also known as: subscription trap, free trial scam, dark pattern billing, negative option subscription, AI tool subscription scam, click-to-cancel violation
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Review your bank and card statements monthly and look for recurring charges you do not recognize — even small ones
- 2 Before entering payment information for any free trial, screenshot the full offer terms including the monthly price and cancellation policy
- 3 Consider using a virtual card with a spending cap (such as Privacy.com) for free trials — it automatically blocks charges above the set limit
- 4 To cancel, go to the same account settings used to sign up — the FTC's 2025 Click-to-Cancel rule requires cancellation to be as easy as sign-up
- 5 If a company makes cancellation unreasonably difficult or refuses to refund unauthorized charges, dispute the charge with your card issuer and file a complaint with the FTC
- 6 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ You entered a credit card number for a 'free trial' or '$1 intro' and were not shown the full monthly charge clearly before clicking
- ⚠ The recurring subscription price appears only in gray text, a pre-checked checkbox, or buried in page 7 of the terms of service
- ⚠ Cancellation sends you through multiple 'Are you sure?' screens, retention offers, and surveys — sometimes 20+ steps, while sign-up took one click
- ⚠ An AI chatbot or tool app charges $15–$20 per week for what official AI services provide free or for a few dollars
- ⚠ The service name closely mimics a well-known AI tool (contains 'GPT', 'AI Chat', or 'Ask AI') with a near-copy icon
- ⚠ A 'free' expert Q&A website shows a $1 or $5 join fee but immediately charges $28–$125/month without further notice
Known variants
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Fake or clone AI chatbot app with a name mimicking popular AI tools (containing 'GPT', 'AI Chat', or 'Ask AI') offers a '3-day free trial' requiring payment details or a prepaid gift card to activate, then charges $15–$20/week or $60–$80/month for what genuine AI services provide free or at a fraction of the cost.
Last seen: 6/1/2026
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A website advertising expert Q&A advice ($1 intro fee to ask a question) immediately enrolls the user in a $28–$125/month recurring subscription before they speak to any expert. The FTC sued JustAnswer in January 2026 for this scheme, which affected hundreds of thousands of consumers across its network of hundreds of landing page domains.
Last seen: 6/1/2026
Sources
- FTC — FTC Sues JustAnswer for Deceiving Consumers into Enrolling in a Costly Recurring Monthly Subscription (Jan 2026)
- FTC — Negative Option Rule (Click-to-Cancel): final rule effective 2025
- NPR — FTC accuses AI search engine of 'rampant consumer deception' (Jan 2026)
- ScamWatchHQ — The 'Free AI Tool' That Charges You Forever: How Subscription Traps Got a Dangerous Upgrade (2026)
- ScamWatchHQ — The Subscription Scam Maze: How Hidden Fees and Fake Cancellations Are Draining $2.8 Billion Annually
- RegWatch — FTC Sues JustAnswer for Deceptive Subscription Practices (2026)