Action 9: Phone scam masquerades as Verizon tech support

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new phone scam is targeting Verizon customers called the "54 Scam" and the phone number that shows up on the phone looks like one Verizon uses.
 
The call comes in as technical support, 1-800-922-0204, which is the real number for Verizon customer support.
 
Once the phone is answered, a recording says, "Simply log into your account to redeem your $54. At Verizon we care about you," according to reports from tech blogs.

It asks customers to visit www.verizon54.com and that they will get $54 and give a prompt to log into the website using account log-in information.

The scammers will then steal the victim's Verizon username and password after they log into verizon54.com.
 
 "(There) is no end to ways that con artists try to cheat you out of your money and your personal information," North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said.
 
Verizon is telling customers like Adam Poch "to be very aware of any third parties using variations of the official Verizon wireless website address or requesting personal information via text, email or phone."
 
They should only share usernames or passwords on one website: www.verizonwireless.com.
 
"I know that there are scams every day going on so I'm always very careful and if anybody ever asks for my information and I don't know who they are, they don't get it," Poch said.
 
He said if he doesn't recognize a number, he searches it on the web and if it seems legit, he still plays it safe and calls back from a phone not attached to his name.

If you've been ripped off, overbilled or misled; or if you see something that is hurting all consumers, contact Action 9.

WSOC