Beware: New Streaming Scam Emerges in New York
Another day. Another scam.
Gone are the days of three channels and an antenna. Now people have several different streaming services to watch their favorite TV shows and movies.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has a warning on the latest streaming scam.
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How it Works
You get an email from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV, or any other streaming service you may have an account with, that says your membership expired. It asks you to click on a link to renew.
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It may look legit with all the company logos and signatures. It may have even been sent around the same time your subscription will be ending. DON'T CLICK THE LINK! More importantly, don't give your credit card information to renew your membership. It's fake.
The BBB has received numerous reports about scammers impersonating different businesses through email.
One consumer shared they had received an email one day after their Sirius XM renewal date. Before clicking the link, they went into their Sirius XM account and verified it had automatically renewed. "What threw me off at first was that the scammer somehow knew my renewal date.”
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How to Avoid Scams
Look at the email closely for red flags. Is the sender’s email address a long string of numbers and letters that don’t make sense? Are there spelling errors and poor grammar?
Confirm the email first. Verify the information by going directly to the company in question.
Keep track of your subscriptions and renewal dates. That way you know when payments are due.
Don’t provide payment information if you did not initiate the purchase.
Check with BBB Scam Tracker. You can look up details on BBB Scam Tracker and verify if anyone else has received the same type of email.
Report it and delete it. Mark the email as spam and delete it.
You can learn more about how to avoid impostor scams at BBB.org.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins
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