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J

New Member

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2 Messages

Tuesday, February 7th, 2023 8:10 AM

Is there a current scam on sending new receiver to existing customer?

Last week I received a call from Justin (ID B101) saying he was an account manager with DirecTV.  Said he was sending me a new receiver due to upgrades in my area.  He had a lot of information about my account with DirecTV.  He only asked that I give him the receiver ID from my present setup, which I did.  Than he mentioned there would be a $399 charge, which would be deducted from my monthly bill at the rate of $35 per month.  I did not give him any credit card or personal banking information.  After hanging up, I noticed the caller ID from his call showed "Directtv" (misspelled) and began wondering if this was legitimate.  Today I received a new HR54-500 receiver (identical to the one I already have) delivered by Fedex.  Looking at my account, I see that equipment order, with a second receiver listed as "not active swap" with a matching serial number to the one I received.  "Justin" said to call him when I received the receiver and he would set it up.  Is this legitimate, or some kind of scam?  My present receiver is working just fine, and see no need for this new machine.

Accepted Solution

ACE - Expert

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19.7K Messages

1 year ago

DTV doesn't call to replace equipment, the upfront lease cost for an HR54 is $299.00.  DTV has your RID number so there is no need to ask for it.  Most likely  they bought you info from the dark web.

Accepted Solution

ACE - Expert

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20.5K Messages

1 year ago

@jimbalkwill 

That was absolutely a scam and your account info is compromised.

DirecTV (good catch on the misspelling) never calls you to send new equipment, or to verify info on your current equipment. There are no upgrades in your area as service is by satellite, not area specific like some hardline services.

Call DirecTV. Inform them the order was done by a scammer. You need to add a password to your account. Do NOT activate that new box or you lock yourself into a 24 month agreement as was likely put through as an upgrade.

Unfortunately a lot of info is available on the "dark web" and with good social engineering they can get the remaining info from you directly or a customer support rep they catch off guard.

Accepted Solution

ACE - Expert

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20.5K Messages

1 year ago

Either scamming upgrades with an agent (seems too much hassle for too little gain), or they make it legitimate looking enough to get card info. They see order on the account so assume it is valid and feel comfortable handing over their financial info.

Accepted Solution

ACE - Expert

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19.7K Messages

1 year ago

They are scamming your info, now they know you are real and fell for it they will sell your info to other scammers and continue to try to do it again for money.  Most likely they spoofed your phone number to DTV when they called to order the replacement/new HR54 and to help prove they where you gave DTV the RID number you gave them.

Accepted Solution

ACE - New Member

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5.1K Messages

1 year ago

This is especially odd since the same guy keeps calling you. First, directv doesn’t call you, you call them. Second, it is extremely unlikely for one agent to be handling the entire activation procedure. Two red flags right there, I think that when you may try to activate this new receiver, the scammer will try to make something up about how it costs money to activate the box maybe.

Anyway, the fact that you got this ‘replacement’ box in the first place doesn’t make any sense. The scammer would have to had called in or at least started a chat session as you cannot order replacement equipment through the online site. 

To call directv and verify anything at this point, call the satellite number in my greeting below and say ‘cancel’ to the robot. That will route you to the loyalty/retention department where a more educated agent can assist. Tell them everything you told us. 

In the meantime, obviously be sure to change your online account password and set up or change the four digit PIN required to authenticate your account both over the phone as well as over the online chat. 

Changing your phone number doesn’t do much as the scammer likely has your account number and this is a more than sufficient substitute as far as account authentication goes. 

(edited)

ACE - Expert

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1.9K Messages

1 year ago

@Juniper So what’s the scam if the victim isn’t paying the scammer directly? I would have to presume the order is being placed by someone authorized to place such an order and someone who gets some sort of commission for the order. If it’s just someone on the dark web, how do they get money out of the scam if not directly from Directv?

ACE - New Member

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5.1K Messages

1 year ago

I’m surprised the scammer even knows what a receiver ID is lol... (if they are one)

(edited)

New Member

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2 Messages

1 year ago

Thanks for your comments....I'm still confused about  this entire situation.  Now the original guy keeps calling to get me to activate the new receiver.  I've tried every number I can find to ask DirecTV if this is for real, but nobody there seems to know.  Very strange that they wouldn't have a department to handle fraud.  Not sure what to do next......change my phone number......cancel my DirecTV account, or what.


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