In the last month I have reported on a Rogers phone scam, and a TELUS phone scam that target customers of both telcos to scam the unwitting out of phones. After coming across the TELUS one, I said this:
What’s clear here is that the threat actors have either moved on from using the Rogers name to run their scam, or the threat actors are running the two scams in parallel. Which means that they could move to using Bell, or Freedom, or any other carrier at any time once the word gets out that the scam exists and is tied to a specific carrier. That means you need to keep your head on a swivel at all times to make sure that you don’t get taken advantage of these scams.
Well, it seems the threat actors have moved onto Bell. A reader emailed into me about a scam that they encountered that involves Bell that goes something like this:
- A person claiming to be from “Bell” will call you and offer you a discount in terms of your wireless service. And along with that, you will get a brand new Samsung Galaxy S23 delivered to your door.
- IF you say yes, they will extract all sorts of personal information to complete the order. You will then get the phone a couple of days later.
- After you receive the phone, you will then get another call from “Bell” saying the phone that you just received was accidentally sent to you. You will then be directed to go to the nearest UPS to send the phone to the “correct recipient”. And you will get a label from an email address ending in “@thebell.ca ” which isn’t Bell Canada.
What the scam is all about is that the threat actors are extracting enough information from you to order a new phone from Bell and ship it to you. That way you and Bell are out a new phone. Thus I will give you this advice:
- Remember that Canadian cell phone plans are among the most expensive in the world. And carriers don’t give away phones. Especially Samsung Galaxy S23 models. Thus if it sound too good to be true. It is likely too good to be true.
- If you want to verify if a deal is true or a scam, hang up and call Bell using a number from their website. Do not rely on the number that you see on your phone’s call display as that could be a number that has been spoofed.
- Under no circumstances should you give out any personal information to anyone who calls you in this manner.
If you have fallen for this scam and the phone shows up at your home, call Bell, explain the situation and follow their instructions to cancel the account that the threat actors created and to return the phone to Bell. This is what I told the person who reported this to me.
Clearly these threat actors are very active. That means that you need to have your thinking caps on to make sure that you aren’t scammed. And if you come across any more variants of this scam, please let me know so that I can get the word out.
Bell Is Now The Target Of A Phone Scam
Posted in Commentary with tags Bell, Scam on September 2, 2023 by itnerdIn the last month I have reported on a Rogers phone scam, and a TELUS phone scam that target customers of both telcos to scam the unwitting out of phones. After coming across the TELUS one, I said this:
What’s clear here is that the threat actors have either moved on from using the Rogers name to run their scam, or the threat actors are running the two scams in parallel. Which means that they could move to using Bell, or Freedom, or any other carrier at any time once the word gets out that the scam exists and is tied to a specific carrier. That means you need to keep your head on a swivel at all times to make sure that you don’t get taken advantage of these scams.
Well, it seems the threat actors have moved onto Bell. A reader emailed into me about a scam that they encountered that involves Bell that goes something like this:
What the scam is all about is that the threat actors are extracting enough information from you to order a new phone from Bell and ship it to you. That way you and Bell are out a new phone. Thus I will give you this advice:
If you have fallen for this scam and the phone shows up at your home, call Bell, explain the situation and follow their instructions to cancel the account that the threat actors created and to return the phone to Bell. This is what I told the person who reported this to me.
Clearly these threat actors are very active. That means that you need to have your thinking caps on to make sure that you aren’t scammed. And if you come across any more variants of this scam, please let me know so that I can get the word out.
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