Watch DirecTV phishing ploy

A Coeur d’Alene reader called to warn us to watch out for a DirecTV offer that is fake. She’s been paying about $65 a month for her service and without warning this past billing cycle, the bill increased to $86. She called DirecTV’s customer service number to inquire about the rate increase and was told that there were no discounts in her area and that she would need to pay the higher rate.

Then the next day she received a call from someone claiming to be a DirecTV representative. She was told that if she paid $264 for six months service, her rate would effectively be reduced to $44 per month. The deal sounded good until she was ready to proceed and was informed that she would have to pay the $264 by gift card through eBay. And to add a little pressure, the representative informed our reader that she only had 60 minutes to get this done or the deal would go away.

Since this deal covers two tell-tell signs of a scam which is time pressure and paying by gift card, our reader decided to do a little investigating.

First, our suspicious reader let the caller know she had reservations about the deal. To combat her concerns, the representative gave her another number to call to “verify” the information. The phone number was an 817 number, which ended up being an Arlington, Texas, number.

A call to that number raised more questions so she looked up the DirecTV customer service number online and called 800-288-2020 to inquire about any deals. She was informed that there was a special but that deal had expired. She informed DirecTV of the call she received and was told that there is no DirectTV in Arlington, so that call did not come from them. Then who called our reader? DirecTV acknowledged it was possible that someone working within DirecTV is using the customer information to make these calls but that could not be verified.

Bottom line: Make sure that if you're negotiating a “deal,” you're speaking with an actual representative of the company. And when you're being told to pay up front with gift cards and then told you only have a short time to comply, it's a scam so avoid it.

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NETFLIX DOUBLE CHARGE: It’s a good idea to check your credit card statements routinely to make sure there are no errors or double charges on your account.

A Press reader called to warn us about a Netflix billing issue. He didn’t notice this for several months but here's what happened.

While he was going over his credit card bill, he noticed that he was charged the traditional $12.99 for Netflix, which was the correct charge for the service. Then he noticed on his wife’s card there was another charge for $15.99 from Netflix, which was a bogus charge. The difference is the higher fee was charged from Netflix with a Los Angeles address while the legitimate charge for $12.99 was from Netflix with no address listed.

Our reader called his credit card company, then checked the charges with Netflix. Netflix claimed they charged only the $12.99 and didn’t know who charged the $15.99. The reader was able to dispute the $15.99 charged and is working with his credit card company to get the bogus charges reversed.

It's easy to overlook these charges since they aren’t big dollars — which is what scammers are hoping consumers will do. I checked my own credit card statements for the last several months and I'm getting charged $12.99 per month from Netflix, with no address listed. Remember, it's good to pay these bills with a credit card instead of a debit card. If there's a dispute, the credit card company can help you resolve any disagreement.

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MYSTERIOUS PACKAGES: Several readers have pointed out that they're getting text messages from the United States Postal Service, which states that they have a package waiting for them at the post office. All they need to do is click on the link to access the details of their package.

To make the text seem legitimate, it includes details about the address and the hours of the post office branch. However, usually the details are not correct.

A quick check with a USPS representative reveals that the USPS does not notify us by text message that a package is waiting for us. If you get a text message like this, just ignore it. Do not click on any links because it’s a scam.

If you're expecting a package, you could be notified by email with a tracking number.

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Remember: I’m on your side.

If you have encountered a consumer issue that you have questions about or think our readers should know about, please send me an email at terridickersonadvocate@gmail.com or call me at 208-274-4458. As The CDA Press Consumer Gal, I’m here to help. I’m a copywriter working with businesses on marketing strategy, a columnist, a veterans advocate and a consumer advocate living in Coeur d’Alene.