18 Messages
Target Gift Card Scam *BEWARE THEY ARE GOOD*
*Edited Preface* Upon reading my experience please take the time to reply if you are engaged in the scammers net. I hope to prevent more victims and this post should serve as reference for Xfinity to take action.
Well, I just got hooked by this scam this weekend. Soon after completing the "Target Promotion" I searched Target Xfinity promotion and my stomach sank. I will tell you that I am with it on the tech front, have never fell for a scam, easily ID the fishing garbage, always check where emails are from even if they look to be from my bank, cable company etc. Given the level of detail they operate with makes me believe that it's either an internal job at Xfinity/Comcast or they have had a major data breach in which they are not aware or they have not acknowledged to their customers. Part of the hook is that Xfinity puts you on promotions that expire, raise the prices in an effort to get you to search for another promotion and/or contact them where they attempt to bundle additional services. Another problem with Xfinity that p[lays into their hands is that contacting an actual person at Xfinity requires detective like skill.
I received a voicemail offering up to a 50% off promotion for 36 months. Sounds good as it gets my internet only service from $90/mo. to $45/mo., which is reasonable as many other internet services today are in that range. Upon calling the scammers had full access to my Xfinifty account and history. They could not have logged in externally with my password and user ID as when that is done from an unknown device there is a 2 step authentication which I did not receive. They outlined the promotion which was a no 36 month term from lowering the amount to $45, hey would waive the current $90 bill due, and send me a $50 gift card. About half way through a 30 minute call they explained the "catch" in that this promotion was sponsored by Target, which through this promotion and advertising subsidizes the promotion. The details the agent had included that I was on autopay and had access to only the last 4 digits of my checking account that was used. They knew my bill had just recently increased (previously I have spoken to a live Xfinity agent when promotions expire through a reach out from Xfinity), they knew the cost of my service, the speed of my service, and that I was internet only. In finalizing the deal they explained the connection with Target and that it required paying for one year of service in advance and paying with Target gift cards which drives revenue for the sponsor. Upon accepting the offer they waived my current bill due and asked me to check the Xfinity app and confirm that the bill had been waived, which is was and now was showing $0 due. The agent explained that he was with the sales department and gave me a promotion code to reference and provided a number to billing to complete the process. The agent explained that it had to be completed within 24hrs and provided a number [Edited: "Invalid Phone Number"] to call and explained that billing was open until 8pm. I secured two gift cards totaling $540, called "billing" and all sounded like Xfinity and legit. The agent requested my promotion reference number, pulled up the details, explained the promotion, and took the gift cards as payment.
The initial VM I had received said " Hello this is Xfinity. We are contacting you about your 50% discount offer on your monthly bill which is set to expire today. Call back at this number on your caller ID to confirm your account and lock in your savings. Thank you."
After three call to Xfinity and utilizing my acquired detective work I was finally able to connect to a person to confirm the promotion was indeed not an active promotion with Xfinity. They connected me with a security department and after 20 minutes I spoke to an agent. The agent took the information and provided a reference number and said it would be escalated I would be hearing from the department. To perhaps save another time, the direct number to the security department is 888-565-4329.
XfinityPaula
Official Employee
•
1.3K Messages
23 days ago
Hello user_k093lz Thank you for sharing the experience that you had this past weekend with this scam. I'm so sorry that it seemed so legitimate. I am scared to click or trust anything anymore. I wish we didn't have to live with this cautious attitude, but that's what things have come to. Thank you for taking the right steps and connecting with our security team. Another step you can take to help all people and companies is to report the interaction to the FTC as well. The link is https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ but as I said I don't trust anything from anyone, so please simply search report fraud to FTC and you will find the website and a phone number as well.
Our security team can vary on when an update on their investigation is processed. I would be happy to try to connect with them for us, or you can call them again and ask for the status of the ticket they submitted for you. 888-565-4329 is the correct number that you have.
If you would like us to connect with the security team for you please send us a direct message with your name and service address.
To send a direct message, please click on the chat icon in the top-right corner of the screen, and select "Xfinity Support" to initiate a live chat.
Click "Sign In" if necessary
Click the "direct messaging" icon or https://comca.st/3J0ir1l
Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon
Type "Xfinity Support" in the "To:" line and select "Xfinity Support" from the drop-down list which appears. The "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line
Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window
Press Enter to send it
0
0
user_npsjyn
1 Message
22 days ago
This literally just happened to me just now and I contacted the security department using the number you provided. Thanks for making this post since before reading it I was actually going to go and get target gift cards. I didn't give them any information except for my name, address, and email. They already had access to my name and address but not my email.
The thing I'm concerned with, which perhaps xfinity can answer for me or maybe you can provide some insight, is how they managed to make a payment to my account. They told me they would give me one month worth of credit and told me to look at my account balance, which turned out to be -30 dollars, meaning they actually payed that amount. I was told the payment will be rejected by the security person I reported this incident to since it was from a checking account that isn't on my account file. An email was also sent to me by xfinity, notifying me that a payment was made from a checking account I didn't recognize.
My question is TWO fold: how were they able to make a payment on my account? and should I be worried about them having access to my credit card information that is on file on my account as a result?
After this I changed my password and enabled two factor verification. Is this enough protection from my account being messed with my scammers?
10
user_lzm6fq
1 Message
22 days ago
Thank you so much for posting about your experience. This just happened to me, too. Without your note here, I would have fallen for this scam as well. Instead, I gathered as much info as I could from the scammer and I called the security number you posted. My heart goes out to you right now, but please know that your prompt post is helping others from falling victim to it. And, hopefully, Xfinity can catch these criminals.
1
user_vzm9k9
1 Message
21 days ago
I almost fell for it too, but when they asked for untraceable "gift cards" as payment...I knew they were not legit, but how are they crediting accounts? Xfinity needs to step up their game and stop these people for accessing our accounts!
0
user_8haniq
1 Message
20 days ago
I need help i fell for it i went and bought the cards and gave them the info and then they called saying it didnt go through and i need to get another card but i was emotionally distraught that it didnt go through because it was a lot that i spent it was $720 they were starting to get rude and that seemed off for me cause as a customer service representative you should feel a little bit of empathy for your customers so I finally looked up about the xfinity target promotion and my heart sank to find out that I was scammed. What do I do , I lost $720 in the process
3
0
user_ppzdfz
1 Message
20 days ago
Guys, same thing happened to me as well. I bought the gift cards but didn't end up calling the number given by them as something didn't feel right. Then I came across this post which validated my concern. Thank you for posting it!
But yes the acknowledgment email and text for waiving off my next month bill seems legit i.e. it's from xfinity. There is definitely a security flaw in xfinity that these folks are exploiting.
(edited)
1
0
user_ql93jk
1 Message
19 days ago
Hi, I just wanted to also thank you for your post! I assumed when they had all my information that they were legit and, like everyone else, was freaked out at hearing my bill would double. Luckily once I heard the gift cards bit I was suspicious it was a scam, so I never got them. But hearing about your experience was really helpful in cementing that it's catching on, so really appreciate you sharing!
1
Again
Expert
•
31.1K Messages
19 days ago
Business Hours: 8:00am - 12:00am EST, 7 days a week
Contact: 1-888-565-4329
(edited)
3
MomoPing
Visitor
•
4 Messages
19 days ago
Today, Jan 16, 2025, I experienced the same scam, the only difference is that the promotion is slightly different. Same tactics. I did not fall into the trap as I was stopped by a Target Manager when I went to customer desk to buy the Target gift cards. She told me this is a scam. Target online already blocking gift card purchase. Next to the Target is an Xfinity Store. That Target manager asked me to go check out with them. I went and again confirmed no such deals. By that time, the scammer called me and I hand over my phone to the Xfinity store manager. She confronted the scammer and the scammer threatened to "stop my internet" and charge me $300 from any checking.
I called my bank to put a fraud alert. When I got the chance to check my email, I received a Comcast email confirming my request of "Seasonal" service hold (https://comcastseasonal.com). I searched the link and logged onto my account and confirmed that a hold has been put on my internet starting tomorrow (Jan 17). I immediately submit a cancel request online. I got EXACTLY the same email sender (xfinitynoreply@comcast.com) and exactly the same format of email with the only difference of "cancellation" instead of "confirmation of seasonal hold for two months". These SCAMMERS are VERY GOOD. They are either insiders or Xfinity has a serious data and security leak. I spent 4-5 hours text chatting with Xfinity agent and on the phone with life person with security assurance team (based in the Philippines). She look at my log in time / date, browser, etc... and there was no trace of fake login during the time that "seasonal hold" request was sent. I told them this must be either inside job or security breach. They denied and said they will investigate. I requested for putting my account on alert. The scammer did not (or not yet) withdraw money from my bank account but I also did put a security alert with my bank.
Please be aware of calls from the following numbers. They close at 5pm (PDT) and looks very legit.
[Edited: "Invalid Phone Number"]. <-- This is the initial call. They know when my contract is due and price hike in February. I logged onto my account to find out in deed the monthly service for Internet is going up from $45 to $84. The scammers have access to my account details.
As in the original post, the scammer deposited my monthly bill from a bank account that differs from that of my auto-pay. Xfinity refund would not show bank account (last four digits). This is an indication of scam.
Other phone numbers they used: [Edited: "Invalid Phone Number"], [Edited: "Invalid Phone Number"] (this one is not out-of-service at time of posting).
I provided the above phone numbers to Xfinity agent , security team. They filed a tier 2 security alert. Will see if they are serious in fixing their data leak and security issue. Could potential a class action if other customer data are leak (or leaked in the past).
Until then, any Xfinity promotion phone call needs to be verified with Xfinity on-line chat or real brick-0and-mortor personnel.
Target fit card to pay for Xfnity service upfront is definitely a scam.
(edited)
0
0
user_6kt7ui
1 Message
18 days ago
Thank you for posting about this! I found it when I was on the phone with these guys and it stopped me from making a huge mistake!
0
user_93v946
1 Message
18 days ago
Thank you, @user_k4unyz! I just had the exact same experience this morning. So glad I checked here first before buying the Target gift cards. Seemed legit, since they had all my login info; except, of course, for the Target gift card part (they said I needed to buy two cards, not one, and split the payment...what?!!), and—not to racially profile here at all—but the man had a very strong Indian accent, and he said his name was Norman White, at "extension 782." Not cool. Gonna change my password and do two-factor authentication post haste. Do people have nothing better to do with their time than come up with intricate scams to rip people off. Seems like with that level of complexity. they could put that time and know-how to far better and more honest use.
3
0
user_l143w4
5 Messages
14 days ago
Embarrassed to say I got caught in this for $480.00 on 12/30/24. But it gets worse. After calling CVS, Target (who was aware of problem), Visa (to open a dispute) and Infinity, I got an additional surprise in a Comcast email that my payment went from $35/month to $67 but now also owed them $147 for various upgrades and late fees. While talking to a very nice Comcast rep in Security (888 565 4329), it was discovered that my account was hacked again on 1/19/25 and was now using a different checking account number, which is weird as I pay with Visa. It seems someone without a life had gone in and upgraded my service, for what reason I have no idea. In the end, the rep had me do a password reset, use 2-step verification and placed my account in a "restricted" category. He also noted the entire matter will be investigated and expect a call from Comcast in 2-3 weeks.
0
0
tonydots
New Poster
•
3 Messages
14 days ago
Wow, I almost fell for this until they started talking about Target.
[Edited: "Invalid Phone Number"] was the billing number they gave me.
(edited)
2
0
user_6abc3d
Visitor
•
1 Message
13 days ago
I too was almost a victim of this scam today. Once I pulled up the invoice that they sent me in my email and saw the Target gift card comment, I was done and told the person on the phone that this was a scam and that I was going to call Xfinity at another number. They were able to credit my Xfinity account for $230.00 and I am on the phone with Xfinity Customer Security Assurance right now to get that taken care of. I also changed my password right away. This is so alarming but I am glad that I didn't go so far as to buy the gift cards or call their billing department. Xfinity assures me that my account is secure and connected me with billing to remove the credit.
0
0
user_ureetl
1 Message
13 days ago
Thanks for posting this scam! I got the same call as you about the promo from a Washington DC number. Yes, they are very convincing. When they said you can pay for two years of service up front, using gift cards, I got suspicious, googled "target xfinity promo" and got your post, while I was still talking to the so-called Xfinity rep. I started reading your post to him, and he hung up.
Sorry you got taken. But you helped me and others avoid the scam, and that's worth something. You have my gratitude!
1