Scam Alert: Fraudsters Targeting Streaming Apps, Smart TVs with Fake Error Messages, Phony Activation Fees
Scam calls and texts can be pretty annoying. At best, they take time out of your day that you could spend doing literally anything else, and at worst they can lead to the nightmares of identity theft, credit card fraud, and a mountain of paperwork to undo it all.
Unfortunately, scammers know that you’re onto them, and they’re constantly trying to find new ways to catch people with their guard down. The Better Business Bureau is now warning about a new evolution in scammer tactics, this time involving smart TVs and popular streaming apps.
How it works is, once you attempt to open a streaming service on your smart TV, an error pop-up message will appear. The message will say that there is a problem with your TV or service, and that you’ll need to call a number or visit a website to fix it. Users who have done so report being told they’ll need to pay an activation fee to gain access again, or purchase gift cards in order to add “anti-hacking protection” to their accounts.
Users should never give out their payment information in this way. If you receive such an error message with a phone number attached, always check the number before doing anything. If the pop up has a web link, do not follow it, even if it looks authentic. Instead, type the URL into your search browser manually, and check to see if your accounts have any messages regarding errors. If you think it might be authentic, but you’re not sure, double-check with a customer service representative of the service in question directly, not through the pop-up message.
No subscription streaming service or device on the market will ever ask you to pay an activation fee of any kind, outside of the cost of your plan. Google can be your best friend in this instance; if you’re not sure whether you’re being asked to pay a legitimate cost, a quick web search should tell you if others have had to pay this kind of fee, or if it’s a scam.
If you get an error message of any kind from any of your streaming services on a smart TV, the best thing to do first is check on other devices to see if you still have access. If you do, email a customer service rep and inform them of the error message you received. It will likely be a scam, and the best thing to do in that instance is to uninstall the app in question from your smart TV (if possible), and get more guidance from that streaming service as to the next steps.
Fraudsters are tricky and willing to adapt in multiple ways to get what they want from unsuspecting consumers. This smart TV/streaming service scam is just their latest evolution, and users must be wary about giving out any information when they’re unsure of the situation.