eBay card Scam

DTV sent these in late 2020 and the last one this month.

Glad you didn’t fall for it but you might want to check your account to see if anything got added or changed. The fact that a premium channel got added suggests something changed.

I was almost scammed by people who said to be representing directv and offering to decrease monthly payments to $75 or $70 for two or three years, respectively over two phone calls to them, with free premium channels if pay six months in advance with ebay gift cards. I hate to admit it, as I was almost taken, but when went to Target to get the gift cards, the cashier warned me about the scam. I'm embarrassed to admit I was almost taken, so beware! I will report the scammers to the FTC. 

Unfortunately most of these scammers aren't in the US so there is not much they can do.

Sounds like same scam they tried to pull on me, but with different amounts. They sound very believable, even saying you can think about it and call back. They even ask for a four digit PIN, which doesn’t even exist! I really despise these scammers. 

I had almost the exact situation today, 12/16/2021. I returned a call to 866-439-2116 and was told that they could cut my bill down to $85/month for two years and add 5-6 premium channels at no additional charge. All I had to do was pay the first five months up front., WITH EBAY GIFT CARDS TOTALLING $425! Too good to be true AND IT WASN'T! Unfortunately I bought the cards but something told me, too late, to check the internet for fraud. BINGO! I also at their direction selected channel 558 and 559 which automatically added Epix to my bill. BUT I DID NOT CALL THE BILLING NUMBER 877-773-4031 TO GIVE THEM THE EBAY NUMBERS. So now I have $425 of Ebay gift cards but fortunately the scammers do not! DirecTv has removed Epix & my bill is now okay.

They will probably call you again and threaten to cancel your service or something else and had you payed them they will call you back saying something went wrong with the gift cards and you need to buy more.

I’d call them back to give them a few choice words, but I want their phone numbers to work for any ongoing investigation. I found out that anyone that has your phone number can call DTV and get your bill balance, which makes the scammers sound even more legitimate when they have that info. Target actually has a sign posted about gift card scams, which I didn’t notice, but the cashier pointed it out to me. I profusely thanked her, and will thank her manager. These scammers are really, really good. What some people will do to others for money. 

You need to add a password to your DTV account, which I have done.  

The scammers change their phone numbers as often as they breath and the numbers they use go to a VOIP using VPN.

I was scammed yesterday & posted it. $425 worth of Ebay cards later & I received two new texts from two different numbers. I was told my "deal" was running out of time. Call the billing number I posted yesterday. Look out for these numbers. 855-977-0397 & 844-470-2080.

I too was ALMOST victimized by this scam yesterday, and I’ll tell you, these guys are extremely professional. After this alleged DirectTV marketing person (male, Indian accent) wanted me to travel to a store to buy a $600 eBay gift certificate to pay in advance for a 10-month DirectTV service, I knew it was a scam.

Prior to that action, the caller told me the amount of my last payment, the date it was paid, and even knew my correct DirectTV account number. He called from an 866 number (866-547-2675), and asked me to call him back at (877-841-4819) for a special 50%-off promotion only for current DirectTV account holders. After asking me to purchase an eBay gift card, flags went up. I did a quick Google search, and hit on an eBay community  group about the scam. After saying I no longer wanted to participate in the offer, these guys (I could hear multiple voices in the background talking on phones) really turned up the heat for the hard sell. I hung up on them, and within minutes, received a text from 833-697-1783, advising me to call Promotion Billing at 888-612-6483, giving me a authorization code to use.

Of course I ignored it, but about 15 minutes later, they sent another text stating my DirectTV service would be disconnected in one hour and a $300 penalty would be imposed on my bill - that I had to call the latter number above to rectify it. These guys must be making bank on this scam. Wish someone could shut them down. BEWARE! 

DTV allows insecure access to your account. Anyone with your phone number can access your account to get the balance due and other details, which makes the scammers appear legit when they call. They even asked me for a four digit passcode, which doesn’t exist! You need to set up a phone password. DTV should require everyone to have one, which would shut down the scam. 

Multiple flags:

They called you.

Pay by gift cards to get gift cards.

Gift cards are the equivalent of cash (untraceable).

Gift card sent by FedEx

50% discount when TV is not a cheap service (as dictated by the networks)

Urgent requiring immediate action.

The concern is if a new channel came on. In that case you need to call the official DirecTV number, revert any changes, and update your password. That suggests they had enough info to make a change on your account by calling and pretending to be you.

@texeyeguy 

AT&T uses a 4-digit PIN for their account. Scammers were assuming this automatically applied to DirecTV as well, or possibly for those that are in the new integrated account system that follows AT&T's rules. At least legacy DirecTV accounts should stay with your own created password, even if you have AT&T services as well, when they are in different account systems.