We all know that streaming app screens pop up on our smart TVs when we are ready to watch a new movie.
Maybe it is an activation screen for a streaming app. Maybe it is the prompt that lets you know the app has internet connection issues. We all agree that the screens are annoying. They are also turning out to be quite lucrative for scam artists.
The Amazon TV prompt that appeared for the victim in our report. Credit: Mashable
A victim of this scheme was recently cheated out of $700. The individual was simply trying to get Amazon Prime Video service to load on their smart TV when they received a prompt about an internet problem.
If you get a message like this on your smart TV, and you restart your modem, you should go to www.amazon.com/videohelp for more help. If the user inputs that URL directly into their browser, they are forwarded to an official Amazon support page.
Not all users do that. Many people input URLs as a search query, which opens the door to scam artists. The only thing that bad actors can do is create a fake web page that looks like Amazon and its Prime Video service, so that they appear high in search engine results pages. They are ready to get money from their targets.
In this example, the victim who contacted us explained that they input the real Amazon URL into a search and then clicked on a page on the main website. The one URL found in the search results looks different from the rest of the website.
The scammer's fake Prime Video activation page. Credit: Mashable Screenshot
The page says to register your compatible TV or devices with your Prime account.
There are two possible routes where users could be tricked.
There is a 1-888 number at the top of the page that is supposed to be an Amazon support contact. Users would be forwarded to a page if you continued to input a code. The page uses Amazon graphics, but if you looked at the URL, you would see that the user was forwarded to another website.
The prompt on the fake Amazon Prime Video page when inputting your code. Credit: Mashable Screenshot
Clicking "Activate Prime" forwards the user to a request to call another 1-888 number labeled "Prime Support" for account validation.
In both scenarios, the user is told to call a toll-free number in order to get Amazon Prime support. The victim was told to subscribe to a new plan after they called the support number. Amazon does not offer a $699 lifetime plan that the scam artist convinces the victim to subscribe to. The victim makes a payment via the internet. The email attached to the scam is from Amazon, according to the victim.
The final request from the scammer's page: call them. Credit: Mashable Screenshot
Once the victim sees that their payment doesn't fix their issue, they call the credit card company and ask for help. The scam called the victim back and tried to convince them that their service was legit. It is not.
The scam that was targeting YouTube users was covered by Mashable. The fake pages were spoofed by the scammers. Many times, they would use the company's own free website creator, Google Sites, as these often rank well in the search engine and appear legitimate to victims as they appear in the web address.
An example of a page made with Google Sites being used in this scam. Credit: Mashable Screenshot
A scam website spoofing Amazon was found after a quick search using the same words as the customer service URL. The website also asks a user to input a TV activation code, but this time they use the forms on the internet. The user is locked out of their account and need to call a toll-free number to contact Amazon after they submit the TV activation code.
Scammer's are even using Google Forms to carry out their fraud. Credit: Mashable Screenshot
If you fell for this scam, you don't have to worry. There is nothing they can do with that information. The part where they ask for your code is just an effort to get people to visit their website. You need to call the number if the website tells you that there's been an error, no matter what code you give.
The scam artists use social engineering to trick their victims into paying them to fix their account.
The clear fraudsters are branching out to bring in more platforms to their scheme. If you want to call the company, be sure to input the URL directly into the web browser. The scam requires a potential victim to pick up the phone and call the person on the other end. You will become immune to this particular scam by following these simple best practices.
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