Consumer Investigation: Scam targeting Spectrum customers has red flags

Scammers are targeting Spectrum customers with a promise that’s too good to be true. We first told you about the scam last week.

I’ve done more digging and discovered how they steal consumers’ money. They ask for payment with gift cards. That’s always a giant red flag. Gift cards are untraceable, and when your money is gone, it’s gone. Here’s how the scam works. First you get an automated call promising half off your monthly Spectrum bill. The recorded message says, “Hi there. I’m calling you from Spectrum to let you know that your Spectrum account is qualified for 50 percent off. In order to avail the discount, call us back at 855-660-6911.”

When I called the scammers last week I found that they are sophisticated.  Everything sounded authentic, from their automated message to their customer service representative who claimed to be from the Spectrum Promotions Department.

According to amateur sleuths on the website, scammer.info, the call that Spectrum customers are getting is a variation of a very old scam. The scammer says in order to get the half-off deal, you have to pay for a year up front with gift cards. 

Austin Goodenough is one of those amateur detectives.

“These scammers have been active for like several years now and regardless of what company they’re impersonating, a lot of the script is the same,” said Goodenough. “They say you can have half off your bill or whatever — they have called me about lowering my bill for Direct TV even though I’m a Spectrum customer.”

Goodenough and others like him call themselves scambaiters. because they scam the scammers.  The website scammer.info claims to have 30,000 scambaiters who post information about scams.