Comcast is one of the biggest providers of cable and Internet services in the country and their billing can be far from simple which makes them a tempting target for scammers.  The latest Comcast related scam starts with a telephone call to the potential victim from a scammer who represents that he or she is a Comcast employee calling to inform you of a new promotion where if you make an initial $600 payment, you will not be billed for six months and after that you bill will only be $99 per month.  Because Comcast often does offer tempting promotions the offer doesn’t seem unrealistic.  In addition, the scammer calling generally has information about the victim’s Comcast account such as how long they have been a Comcast customer and the amount of their current bill that makes the call seem even more legitimate.  However, then comes the catch.  In order to take advantage of this offer, the victim is told that he or she must use a Green Dot Money-Pak cash card.  Of course, once the victim send the money via the cash card, the money is lost forever and to make things worse, when the victim stops paying his or her regular Comcast bill, there services may be terminated.

TIPS

You can never trust anyone calling you on the phone to be who they say they are.  Even if the Caller ID appears to say it is someone legitimate, such as Comcast, scammers can alter Caller ID through a process called spoofing so it appears that the call is from a legitimate source even though in truth it is not.  You should always be wary whenever anyone asks for payment by way of a cash card such as the Green Dot Money-Pak or by wiring funds, such as through Western Union because once those funds have been sent in those ways, they are impossible to get back.  If you ever get contacted on the phone with an offer that you think might be legitimate, you should hang up and contact the company at a number that you know is legitimate to find out the truth.

In response to this particular scam, Comcast issued the following statement: “We are aware of the Greendot Moneypak scam in which victims receive an email or call offering them a promotional package for Comcast services.  The call or email advises the victim to pay an upfront fee using a Greendot Moneypak.  While Comcast accepts Greendot as one form of payment, under no circumstances would it be required in advance for services.  We encourage customers to confirm promotional emails or call that appear to be from Comcast by verifying the offer information on the company’s official website http://www.comcast.com or by calling 1-800-COMCAST (266-2278).”