HARLINGEN — Tina Cavazos initially thought she had received a call about “discount deals” from her cable provider. Unfortunately, she later realized, she had been tricked by a phone scammer. Now, she is urging the public to be aware of scammers who claim to be calling from DirecTV.
The caller told Cavazos that DirecTV was offering discounted packages and in order to receive her “special deal,” she needed to purchase an eBay gift card in the amount of $300 in credit by 9 p.m.
Cavazos agreed and was then given a discount code and a different phone number to call after purchasing the $300 eBay gift card. She called the number she was given, read them her discount code and gift card number, and was told that she would see her new package plan within the next 42-72 hours. After days of waiting, nothing happened. That’s when Cavazos realized she had been scammed.
DirecTV advises customers to be careful with the outbound calls they receive.
A local customer service representative for DirecTV said, “Why would we call you when you can look at the promotions online.”
The Harlingen Police Department hasn’t received an influx of phone scam cases recently and said phone scams happen throughout the year and start to pick up around income tax season.
“That’s actually an old scam. Where they make you go out and get these credit cards,” said Sgt. Larry Moore.
“They’ll use different company names and scam people. People should be aware of asking for gift cards. There isn’t any company going to ask for gift cards. That’s not going to happen,” said Sgt. Moore.
Two months later, Cavazos received more calls from the same number however, this time; she knew what their agenda was.
“After the fourth or fifth call, I answered it and he went again with the same story,” said Cavazos. “I told him I knew what he was doing and hung up.”
The callback number the scammers gave Cavazos is now disconnected.
What is caller ID spoofing?
Caller ID spoofing is a term used to describe a specific kind of phone or online scam. Scammers alter the number that appears on your caller ID and make it look like you’re receiving a call from a business or government agency. Sometimes they even make it look like you’re receiving a call or text from your own number. The scammer’s goal is to get you to answer their text or call in order to open a window of opportunities for them to retrieve your personal information.
Tips to avoid spoofing
– Ignore incoming texts and calls from numbers you do not recognize.
– Never click on embedded links in unsolicited text messages from unknown numbers.
– Don’t give out personal information just because the person asks for it no matter how simple the request may seem.
– If the call seems like it might be from a person or company you know, tell them you’ll call them back and hang up. Call them back using a number from a trusted source, such as their secure website or your bill.
What is a prepaid card scam?
A prepaid card scam is when someone is pretending to represent a legitimate company you might regularly do business with and offers a discount on your service. Here’s their scheme: they want you to purchase a pre-paid credit card or retail gift card to prepay for a period outside of your normal contract. These scammers might also give you a toll free number to call back in order to make the payment.
What to do when you experience a prepaid card scam
– Hang up immediately if you think it’s a call from a spoofed number.
– Report suspicious phone calls or texts to the company or agency that supposedly contacted you.
