[sllug-members]: Comcast phone call the other day and excessive bandwidth

[u235sentinel at comcast.net]

Gentlemen,

I've learned a few things since my email the other day.  It seems this was a scam artist from New Jersey.  I believe he spoofed the Caller ID to make it look like he was legit and referenced a false Comcast problem ticket.

Some history.   A voicemail was first left on my wife's cell phone by a caller claiming he was with Comcast Customer Service.  He stated we're using more than 300 Gigs a month and our account will be terminated unless we cut back or upgrade our account to the next level for $20 more a month.  His voicemail left a number to call back at.  856-234-3025 and a reference number of 2278555.  He ended up calling us back an hour later and discussed this with my wife.  She told him she will discuss the problem with me and hung up.  (Thanks goodness she hung up).

I've learned that phone number is not legit and after speaking with Comcast this morning they said the reference number isn't in their system.  They believe someone was scamming us by impersonating a Comcast employee.  What's interesting is the Caller ID number he called from was 856-638-4000.  This is a legit Comcast number however we should never have seen it.  The Comcast rep I spoke to this morning said in Utah we should have seen 801-485-0500 instead.  When the rep I was working with called me back to let me know what he discovered,  he flat out said we were being scammed.  I noticed the Caller ID number was from 801-485-0500.  Very interesting.

I would recommend anyone who get's a call or email from some company "claiming" you are in trouble that you always verify by asking for a number to call them back at, their name and any ticket number you can reference.  I know this sounds like common sense but when in a panic (like my wife was yesterday) she was very close to giving him a credit card number over the phone to "ugprade" our account.  I'm glad she called me first :-)

I also learned that the upgrade to our 6Mb pipe would be $10/month for a faster pipe.  I told her next time she should tell them to "Bill Us" :-)   I'm thinking of calling the phone company and reporting this.  Perhaps we'll get lucky and he left bread crumbs.  I'd love to nail this scumbag.

BTW, they had her full name when they called.  I'm curious if she's on some mailing list they are using.  Anyway.  We were lucky.  Spread the word.  There be jerks out there :-)