The Xfinity scam, which we reported in April, shows no signs of going away. And now parent company Comcast has warned its customers to be wary of the scammers’ pitch, which goes something like this:
Comcast customers receive a call that usually goes straight to voicemail, offering a 50% discount on their cable bill if they commit to another two years of service. But the first year – or six months in some cases – must be paid in advance, and paid with Target gift cards.
What’s different about this scam is that targets are not picked at random – they’re actually Xfinity subscribers. On an Xfinity forum, a customer using the handle User_19cfc5 said the call showed up on Caller ID as Xfinity, making it seem legitimate.
“I have lost $540. due to this scam,” the customer wrote in their post. “The more troubling point is that the scammer knew all the details about my account and how much my current and prior bills were in addition to other information about my account.”
Data breaches?
That may be due to the fact that Comcast has suffered recent data breaches. The latest reported data breach occurred in December 2022. Customer information could be circulating on the dark web, giving scammers powerful information.
Charlie Schoenthaler, a spokesman for Comcast’s Washington, D.C., region, told The Ronoake Times that Comcast will never request a specific payment method such as merchant gift cards or wire transfers.
“Comcast/Xfinity customers who receive suspicious calls should report them to the Comcast Security Assurance team, at abuse@comcast.net, Schoenthaler said. “Customers also can call Comcast/Xfinity at 800-565-4329 to speak with Comcast support.
The scammers explain the odd payment request as a joint venture between Comcast and Target – an alliance both companies say does not exist. Jon Clay, vice president of Threat Intelligence at Trend Micro, says the scam is successful for a number of reasons, including the fact that cable customers are looking for ways to lower their bills.
“In this scam, fraudsters offer to pay a customer's Comcast bill at a discounted rate,” Clay told ConsumerAffairs. “They request the customer's account information and ask for payment via untraceable methods. The scam is effective because customers are already looking for ways to lower their bills.”