The Federal Trade Commission has recently gotten countless reports of scam artists pretending to be cable and internet companies. These fraudsters are so good at deception that even the savviest consumer can get duped.
Despite call-blocking apps, software, and caller ID, scam artists are conning hard-working people like you and me of our hard-earned cash over the phone.
A woman recently emailed me saying this very thing happened to her and her husband:
"We just received a scam phone call yesterday addressing my husband by name and claiming to be Cox Cable. We had just canceled Cox cable TV two or three days before, which this caller was privy about. They offered a 40% discount if we reconnected. I inquired about the cost, but before he would give me the cost, he wanted to verify our account and asked for my mother's maiden name. That's when the red flag went up. I said, 'May I call you back in 15 minutes', with the intention of checking out the phone number and calling Cox Cable. The caller replied that he'd call me back. Once I did a Google search of the number and called Cox Cable, I realized it was, in fact, a scam call. The caller didn't call back. I followed up with a call to my older parents to warn them about these types of scams."
"The question in my mind is, how did they know we had just canceled cable service with Cox Cable after we'd had it for the past 11 years? Is there a breach in the Cox Cable data system?"
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Scammers posing as trusted sources like your cable or internet provider make it all the easier for their victims to fall prey to them and willingly give out their personal information. And sadly, more and more scam artists tend to prey on people aged 65 and older because:
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Thankfully, there are easy red flags to look out for to determine if the person calling you is genuinely who they claim to be:
Unfortunately, some scam artists are advanced enough to make their caller IDs appear as if they are, in fact, the company they are claiming to be. If they are legit, they will leave a message for you to call them back with the number, allowing you to do a Google search and ensure the number is safe. They are most likely scam artists if they don't leave a message.
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It is alarming that the scam artist appeared to know the maiden name of the woman's mother and that they had just canceled their cable subscription.
A mother's maiden name is one of the most popular security questions people choose to authenticate their identity, should they get locked out of their account. Understandable because this is an easy question to remember; however, it's also easy to track down, as a simple internet search could discover it. Data brokers or "people search" sites collect your information, including your birthday, phone number, and address, from various websites, then sell it to people searching for you online for a small fee.
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Fortunately, there are ways to get a handle on what personal information of yours is out there on the internet. The most surefire way is to invest in a trusted removal service as covered in our article here.
As for how they knew about the woman and her husband canceling their subscription, that is strange. It’s not unfathomable to think there may be prying eyes in your email that may reveal you canceled your cable. You may consider locking up your email with a secure email account if these calls keep coming. Check out my #1 pick for secure email at CyberGuy.com/Mail.
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