NordVPN kills popular free trial due to widespread abuse

NordVPN running on Windows laptop
(Image credit: TechRadar) (Image credit: NordVPN)

Popular VPN provider NordVPN has terminated its seven day free trial offer but has kept its 30 day money back guarantee amidst widespread abuse by its service by scammers. 

A spokesperson for the company revealed that such abuse was so significant that it took a toll on their infrastructure and harmed their services in multiple ways.

The company was the only major VPN to offer a free trial; ExpressVPN, Hotspot Shield and IPVanish all have money back guarantee setup instead.

Widespread

Panama-registered NordVPN ranks second on our best VPN list and has more than one million customers worldwide using 5,200 servers in 60 countries. It provides whitelabel services to a number of partners including Bullguard.

The news comes days after its advert about public Wi-Fi in the UK was banned by the regulator for UK’s advertising industry, ASA. The Advertising Standards Authority said that the advert exaggerated the risk of data theft without using a VPN service.

It received a massive boost in visibility yesterday as Liverpool FC reached the Champions League; NordVPN is LFC’s official cyber security partner.

TOPICS
Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

Latest in VPN Services
Proton VPN and Vivaldi partnership – promo image
Proton joins forces with Vivaldi browser to help you break free from Big Tech
A hand holds a smartphone displaying the NordVPN logo
NordVPN Prime hits lowest-ever price in VPN Spring sale
ExpressVPN mobile app and Aircove
ExpressVPN ‘reduces workforce’ for the second time in two years
Harry Halpin, CEO and co-founder of Nym Technologies, and Chelsea Manning, Nym Technlogies' security consultant, on stage at the Frontline Club in London during the NymVPN launch on March 13, 2025.
NymVPN is now live – here's everything you need to know
Green background featuring laptop with connect button
I tried the "world's most secure VPN" and while it's not the VPN you'll want, you'll need it sooner than you think
A representational concept of a social media network
Living in the US? You can now measure your online data exposure for free
Latest in News
Pro-Ject A1.2 in black, playing a vinyl record in a hi-fi listening room
Pro-Ject's new fully-automatic turntable could be the buy of Record Store Day 2025
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet reportedly won't release until after 2026, as Neil Druckmann says that staff 'are playing it at the office' right now - but I don't think I can wait that long
Screenshot from action RPG soulslike Lies of P
Lies of P Overture won't elaborate on the game's eyebrow-raising post-credits twist, and I think that's good news
Nintendo Switch 2
The Switch 2 launching with a Mario Kart game 'is very unlike Nintendo' compared to the original Switch releasing with Breath of the Wild, says former marketing leads: 'That's what's gonna make you want to buy the new hardware'
Kindle de Amazon
The latest Kindle update finally fixes page turning – and adds the perfect reading tool for my sieve-like brain
Waze voice control
Waze is ditching Google Assistant for Gemini on iOS, and for good reasons