Once again scammers are finding a new way to try and get money from people. Now a scam that has been targeting Comcast customers has started to target Spectrum internet customers.
Recently a Cord Cutters News reader emailed us and detailed a recent scam possibly targeting Spectrum internet customers, a cable provider of which they are a subscriber.
Our reader he was offered a promotion from a caller claiming to be with Spectrum. During an almost hour-long call, he was told he could halve her cable internet bill for three years with no contract, but he had to pay $520 up front to cover the cost of the first eight months. The fake Spectrum representative he paid the $520 — which he requested in the form of a Target gift card — within two hours, he’d get a $100 Spectrum gift card in addition to the lower bill.
We have also been told that these scammers will also text customers with an offer like this so be careful about text offers similar to this one also.
We have confirmed that Target has no such relationship with Spectrum. The scammer later called her again and asked her to give him the gift card number. Our reader, who hadn’t purchased the gift card, confronted the scammer and contacted Spectrum’s live chat about the encounter.
It’s unclear if our reader’s experience was an isolated incident or part of a larger scheme. Spectrum wasn’t immediately available for comment.
You’ve likely received a phishing email or text. These scams often want you to click a link to make a payment, offer free stuff or claim there’s a problem with one of your accounts or payment information. The FCC has tips for spotting these ploys and protecting yourself, but phishing isn’t the only weapon in a scammer’s arsenal. For example, our reader experienced vishing, a type of phishing that happens over a voice call.
Cord Cutters News reached out to Spectrum for comment about this scam but Spectrum has not responded back about this scam at the time of this publication.