Scheduled Payment Scam: How It Works
There is an email making its rounds these days, which is sent to millions of inboxes regardless of the country you live in. It claims to be from your cell phone network provider, whether that's AT&T, Vodafone, Rogers, Verizon, Telus, Orange, etc. The scam also comes via text message.
The crooks send these emails using all the names listed above, so chances are that you may receive something that you think is legitimate. Of course, the trouble comes when the email reaches the real clients of the company, who panic as they see an amount to be paid which is higher than usual. How does it work?
Watch the video below to see the Scheduled Payment Scam exposed (replace the name in the video with your cell phone network provider):
Cell Phone Provider Message Scam Video
The scammer informs that your monthly payment is scheduled to be withdrawn from your account on a date coming up very soon. The content looks very realistic and even has actual ads from the company's website, added graphically on the side.
The recipients of the message are invited to log in to pay the amount or sign up for automatic monthly payments. By clicking on the links, they are taken to the next page, which is also perfectly replicated from the company. They are asked for credit card information and a password.
Scheduled Payment Scam: How to Avoid
A typical scam email addresses to you with "Dear Customer" and not with your name, like your network provider does. Delete the email as soon as you see the message is not personalized. Besides cell phone network providers, scammers also use the names of other organizations that charge their customers on a regular basis – water, energy, etc..
Scheduled Payment Scam: How To Report
Warn your family and friends about the Scheduled Payment Scam by sharing it on social media using the buttons provided. You can also officially report the scammers to the Federal Trade Commission using the link below:
How To Protect Yourself More
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I too have fallen prey to this box scheme. He asked me my name, country name and so on and said he was an American soldier in Syria and made $ 2 million during the war. He got the money he could not keep the money, so he asked me to keep the money and I trusted him and I lost a lot of money like this.
The Netflix payment scam seems to be a regular annoyance here in Ireland. No mention of one’s name and a litany of bad spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, but I’m sure the less vulnerable must fall prey.
I have received an email purporting to be from Geek Squad about inability to collect our plan payment but our payments have gone out on schedule to Best Buy for our phone plans. Is this a new phishing effort. The phone number given to contact is 866-548-0885.