CLEVELAND — Phishing scams are nothing new, but the scammers behind them do always seem to come up with new ways to try to get us to fall for their tricks.
I received a suspicious voicemail within the last week, which said, "Dear customer, this voicemail is to inform you that Spectrum is removing the 40% discount from your monthly bill as of today. To reactivate this offer immediately, please call the number shown on your caller ID. Thank you.”
THE QUESTION
So let's VERIFY: Is Spectrum leaving messages asking customers to call the number they seen on their caller ID in order to keep a 40% discount on their bill?
SOURCES
We have three sources on this fact check.
- I'm one of them
- An internet search
- A spectrum spokesperson
EXPLANATION
The voicemail I received came from the phone number (291) 286-1536. If I had listened to the instructions in the voicemail, I would have called that number back, but when I looked up that number online, I could see it isn't associated with Spectrum or its parent company, Charter, in any way.
When I reached out to Spectrum to let them know this was happening and get their comment about it, their spokesperson Mike Hogan told me, "Any time you think you are being contacted by a business that you do business with, you can call them back at the number on your statement, not the number the caller gives you, before sharing any personal information."
ANSWER
So we can VERIFY this is a scam. Spectrum is not leaving messages asking customers to call the number they seen on their caller ID in order to keep a 40% discount on their bill.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Fortunately for me, I knew this was a scam from the start because I'm not even a Spectrum customer. Now you know it's a scam, too.
If you see something you want us to fact check, you can send it our way at VERIFY@wkyc.com.