direct tv/Amazon scam

Easily ?  That's distressing.

Well, the scammers are at it again. I got a call this morning. I called Directv and they told me to call AT&T. Really? I couldn't even get the DTV person to admit it is a scam. When I asked for the fraud department I was told since fraud had not occurred, I would need to contact authorities outside of DTV to file a report. Haven't both Directv and AT&T made a big deal about the advantages of remaining with them? Why aren't more aggressive actions being taken to protect us, their customers? How did a call come in to me from the Directv 800 number, where the person had my name, phone and account number as well as general Amazon information. They also directed me to call a 888 number to pay with a Amazon pre-paid card for 5 months. I informed them I would be contacting Directv to confirm they were offering such a promotion, so I guess they knew they weren't getting my money. Nevertheless, what about other customers? How is this happening? Why don't the agencies (Directv and AT&T) lead the charge against this abuse of their customer's trust and loyalty? 

Any time they ask for an untraceable method of payment like gift cards, western union, money gram it is a SCAM!!!!

If you call Direct Tv fraud department you just waste your words they are aware of the scam are not going to notify

customers they said to many customers to notify. I made a statment that you can send over the message system

on your Tv  Guide listing in messages wasted my words that did not get anywhere also by the scammers having all your information has to be an inside job of direct tv employee or employees are getting a cut of money who are scammed.

Very few read those.

Hello @Queenie69,

As various scams are out there, we do advise to always be cautious when discussing your account information. We work hard to maintain the safety and security of all our customers’ accounts, and we know you do as well. A good way to help avoid scams, is to ask as many questions as possible to determine if an offer presented is real. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

-ATTDIRECTVCare

I was also contacted with the DirecTV/Amazon scam this morning.  They offered 2 years' premier service with 2 years NFL season pass for $60/month and no contract.  All I had to do is pay 4 months up front with the promotion partner's (Amazon) gift card and then I would be billed at $60 each month for the remainder of the 2 years.

I called DirecTV and was told it was a scam.  I expected this answer as I did not believe it to be a real offer.  

But, here is the rub: the caller ID showed 800-531-5000 (DirecTV number), they knew my name, phone number, service address, and when I had DirecTV installed.  The DirecTV rep said they would put me on their 'Do Not Call' list.  I asked him how this would help as DirecTV had not called me in the first place.  Maybe he was offering to put me on the 'Do Not Call' list of the scammers?

So, three calls with DirecTV customer support.  They did identify that the offer was fake, but they could not tell me how the scammers got all of that account information about me.  When I asked to talk to a supervisor, the first two calls were transferred to a number that is only answered during business hours (11:30 AM on Wednesday is not business hours) or simply recycled me back to the front of your automated system from Hades (system would not let me post H.E.L.L.) .  After thirty minutes on the last call and asking to talk to a supervisor, I was told by the 'support' rep that the wait time to talk to a supervisor was 1 hour.  I ask if the supervisor would call me back and she said that they can't do that.  I had to either wait for an hour to talk to a supervisor or give up.

I am posting here because I can find no way of talking to a real person that has the knowledge or authority to give a dam(n) about your customers.  We are being called by scammers that have way too much information about your customers. They are representing themselves as DirecTV and are presenting your phone number on our caller ID (they even point that out to prove it is DirecTV calling).  And, I can't find a way to contact anyone who cares.  

As far as I can tell, DirecTV is either selling or losing customer information.  They either don't know or don't care this is occurring.  

Queenie69, Anybody can call you and say that they represent anyone.  And it isn't reasonable for everyone to say, "hey, there are scammers out there using my good name."  The police are telling you that scams exist.  The FTC is telling you that.  Your local TV stations are telling you that.

flmountain, The only part of the information which you list that the scammer should not have easy access to would be when you originally had DirecTV installed.  Telephone numbers, names and addresses are bought and sold daily, even unlisted numbers.  Anybody can spoof any phone number on Caller ID, my office telephone system can do it easily.  I imagine that DirecTV may release lists of potential customers to some independent sales organizations.  The question is whether one of those organizations is perpetrating the scam, or has inadvertantly offered up that information by being hacked, or via some employee wandering off with it.

jeffer, I am looking for a response from DirecTV.  Your condescending answer simply stating the obvious is not helpful.  You have ignored some issues:

• I have installed DirecTV within the last two weeks and the scammers already know I am a customer. DirecTV support claims they do not release this information to anyone including marketing partners.  I understand that most information is easy to come by, but DirecTV scammers have never contacted me before. This points to the one piece of information you said should not have been easy to access.
• I know numbers can be spoofed. Everyone knows numbers can be spoofed.  But, if it were my customers and my company, I would at least pretend to be concerned when customers call; especially when the scammers are using my phone number.
• We all know scams are there. You are right that the police, FTC, and local stations tell us this.  However, the complacency in your remarks are astounding.  Do you truly believe that just because we know this happens that we should not report it and have some expectation of concern on the company’s part?
• The issues I had with support should not be expected nor accepted by customers nor should they be considered acceptable by the company on their forums.
• There should be some additional level of support available. Waiting on a call for an hour to speak to a supervisor is not the answer.  If they have this type of wait, they are either having a LOT of support calls or they are hiding.

To DirecTV: you have a couple of customers that have tried let you know that there are scammers using a specific ploy against NEW customers.  We have tried to let you know about the scam and have been meet with a lack of concern on your part This type of response from your forum experts will prevent your customers from trying to resolve issues using your forums and eventually cause them to leave as customers. 

 [Please keep it courteous]

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@flmountain wrote:

...

• I have installed DirecTV within the last two weeks and the scammers already know I am a customer. DirecTV support claims they do not release this information to anyone including marketing partners.  I understand that most information is easy to come by, but DirecTV scammers have never contacted me before. This points to the one piece of information you said should not have been easy to access.

I apologize here.  I did not understand your situation.  I thought you were saying that you had previously had DirecTV, not that you were a new customer.  Yes, knowing that you had subscribed to DIRECTV recently does paint a different picture.

• I know numbers can be spoofed. Everyone knows numbers can be spoofed.  But, if it were my customers and my company, I would at least pretend to be concerned when customers call; especially when the scammers are using my phone number.

But, but, but, they have no control over whether someone is using their phone number.  I could use their phone number.  I could use your phone number.  This is nothing to be embarassed or ashamed or have to apologize for.  It's the way the public telephone system works.  Being concerned doesn't change a thing.

• We all know scams are there. You are right that the police, FTC, and local stations tell us this.  However, the complacency in your remarks are astounding.  Do you truly believe that just because we know this happens that we should not report it and have some expectation of concern on the company’s part?

I'm afraid my initial remark were colored by the fact that you're not the first person to post about scammers employing the DIRECTV product line.  Most of them are non-customers who think that DIRECTV should have done more to warn the general public that there are scammers out there.  If the warnings from the FTC, local police and local media haven't sunk in, I'm not sure what more DirecTV would be able to do.  The specifics of your situation is different.   The OP didn't specify enough to know where she's coming from, but I'm betting more the former than the latter.

• The issues I had with support should not be expected nor accepted by customers nor should they be considered acceptable by the company or ‘Experts’ on their forums.

I did not address those issues in my response.  I agree with you, for what that's worth.

• There should be some additional level of support available. Waiting on a call for an hour to speak to a supervisor is not the answer.  If they have this type of wait, they are either having a LOT of support calls or they are hiding.

Again, I did not address those issues in my response.  Again, I agree with you,

To DirecTV: you have a couple of customers that have tried let you know that there are scammers using a specific ploy against NEW customers.  We have tried to let you know about the scam and have been meet with a lack of concern on your part and trolls representing themselves as ‘ACE – Expert’ on your forum.  This type of response from your forum experts will prevent your customers from trying to resolve issues using your forums and eventually cause them to leave as customers. 

This is designed to be a customer to customer forum.  If you want to notify DIRECTV of something, I'd suggest a Private Message to @ATTDIRECTVCare .  A public post conveys a different agenda.  And I do not represent myself as an expert.  The 'Expert' title is awarded by formula by the forum software based upon my level of particpation.

 

I guess jeffers can now spit another condescending answer to increase his ‘Kudo’ count from other ‘Experts’.

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While I appreciate when others recognize my wit or wisdom with a Kudo, I lose no sleep over my Kudo count.  If such things motivate you, I suppose you'll be elated that this post I've replied to got one.

jeffers, I apologize if I misunderstood your initial response.  Sometimes electronic communication does not properly represent the intent of the author.

I posted here only after trying to communicate through the telephone support system. It was extremely frustrating. Most first level support systems are designed to handle the vast majority calls as efficiently as possible and, as a new customer, I hope they are successful. However, these first level support systems are also generally lacking when it comes to issues that are not on the ‘script’. This is when a robust issue promotion system is called for and I found it to be severely deficient in this case. I hope to never have an issue that goes off script again.

I also posted here with a great deal of reluctance as I hate posting anywhere for any reason. It seems that no matter how much effort I put into crafting a reasonable message, it either does not convey the message or the intent of the message or (most frequently) it simply sounds moronic. For this reason alone, I neither want nor expect any type of badge nor designation on the forum. I only wanted DirecTV to give me some indication that they heard my issue and give a rat’s behind about their customer’s concerns.

BTW, I also apologize for the 'Trolls' comment.  It is obvious from your last response that you are trying to positively impact this site's users, not trolling them.