Why it’s so easy to fall for this scam involving Xfinity and Verizon

Two new scams are happening in New Jersey, and police in Middlesex County are issuing warnings. If you’re like me, you get frustrated with how many people fall for scams that seem so obvious. This story isn’t one of those.

Verizon Scam

Particularly easy to fall for is the Verizon scam that’s going around. Con artists are sending text messages and emails to customers instructing them to click on a link to claim their $20 account credit for the recent service outage. It’s a phishing scam, which is where they’ll trick you into clicking on a link that can then potentially give the scammer access to sensitive information about you.

Now in this case, there really was a Verizon service outage. It happened for about 10 hours on January 14. So the timing feels about right. Also, the company really is giving a $20 credit to your account. So it sounds completely credible.

Verizon, however, says the credit can be redeemed directly through the MyVerizon app and that a text message from the company that tells customers about the credit does not include any links. Huge difference, but subtle. I can see smart people falling for this since it checks so many boxes.

Xfinity Scam

The other is a scam using the good name of Xfinity. Scammers are sending emails claiming that the terms of service and privacy policy have changed. The email falsely tells customers that they need to click on a link to prevent losing access to emails. A second Xfinity scam email claims changes were made to the Wi-Fi network name or password and encourages the customer to click on a link to reconnect.

Another reason people are being taken in this scam is that these are companies involved with technology. When we hear about the IRS scam by phone or the Motor Vehicle Commission scam by text message, we innately know these entities don’t communicate that way.

The fact that both Verizon and Xfinity are tech companies makes it feel far more realistic that they could routinely communicate in this manner. It doesn’t send up the same red flags. And if it happens on a day you’re already distracted, God help you.