CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Leo Chavez says he was watching his television Monday afternoon when the phone rang.
It was a promotional offer supposedly from AT&T.
“It was a 2-year promotional offer for $60.00 a month. No hidden fees. No taxes," Chavez said.
He would receive channels, like HBO and Cinemax.
While speaking with this alleged representative, Chavez claims he saw those channels on his television.
“We saw those 2 premium channels within a couple of minutes. So I said, ok, this has to be legit. He’s with AT&T,“ Chavez said.
Wait ! It gets better.
Chavez remembers the guy telling him that if he wanted more premium channels, to go buy 2 eBay gift cards totalling $360.00, and call the numbers in.
And do it by 4:00 Monday.
“If you do it by 4:00 you will get an additional $75.00 Visa gift card, ok, sent to you," Chavez said.
Chavez and his wife were suspicious, but they did what they were told.
The next day, Chavez says, he got a text notifying him his transaction had been canceled.
But, for the inconvenience, Chavez says they offered a refund.
“We’re gonna send you back your $360.00 plus an additional $40.00 for the inconvenience,“ he said.
Of course, Chavez hasn’t received one cent from these imposters. So he’s filed a police report.
“User can’t accept anymore messages. I’m sorry. An error has occurred. “
That’s the message the Troubleshooters heard when we called the number that called Chavez.
We contacted AT&T to see if they’d heard about this.
In a statement they said: “If someone calls and demands payment to a company with a prepaid card, it’s a red flag. We recommend consumers hang up on these calls.”
We also checked with the Better Business Bureau.
They offer these tips:
No company should ask you to buy anything before providing their services.
And, if anyone calls you with a similar offer, tell them you’ll call them back. Then do your research or go to bbb.org.
