MALWAREBYTES has warned that shipping-rebate services branded ShipmentsFree, FreeShipments and ShipmentFree may enrol customers in recurring paid memberships. ShipmentsFree says members can claim up to $100 a month in shipping and return rebates if they provide proof of eligible costs, but its terms describe an auto-renewing subscription.
The warning follows an investigation into several similar websites, including freeshpmts.com and shipmentsfreezone.com, which reportedly used related branding, account pages, policy wording and support details. Malwarebytes said customers may encounter these offers through retailer promotions, browser pop-ups, checkout pages, apps or shipping-themed domains, and later see an unfamiliar business name on their card statement.
The company cited ShipmentsFree’s Better Business Bureau profile, which listed 529 complaints over the previous three years, including 179 categorised as billing issues, while stressing that the BBB is neither a regulator nor a court. Several complaints described unexpected recurring charges of $25 a month and confusion about having agreed to a paid membership.
Malwarebytes did not establish that every complaint involved unauthorised billing, but said the reports indicated recurring difficulty understanding the offer and cancelling it. Anyone affected should check purchase confirmations, email and browser history, preserve evidence of the charge and any cancellation attempt, cancel through the provider’s official channel, request enrolment and consent records, and contact their bank or card issuer promptly if the payment was unauthorised or continues after cancellation.