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.