Sky has issued a warning to any of its customers who use an iPhone or Android about a recent scam doing the rounds by fraudsters posing as the provider.
Con artists have found a new way to trick people into parting with their cash, which involves using QR codes to take people to fake websites. Sky cautioned users over the scam, explaining that customers may be asked to scan a genuine QR code when signing up for a new app on Sky Q, Sky Glass or Sky Stream to help them get set up more quickly.
However, Sky said that it is currently seeing a problem where customers who are using third-party QR code scanner apps are being redirected to a fake website, where they have had their financial details stolen. The company has urged people to only use their phone camera to scan QR codes on Sky pages, BirminghamLive reports.
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"If your phone camera does not have a built-in scanner, carefully enter the URL provided next to the QR code into your phone’s browser," Sky advised. It has also provided further advice for customers over other types of dangerous scams that they may encounter, such as phone calls, emails or texts from fraudsters pretending to be legitimate companies.
The company warned that these con artists may attempt to get money or personal information from you, such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, or even your Sky viewing card number. They may also pose as a real company on a website or social media, and can often look or sound genuine.
"No matter how you're contacted, you should always be wary of anything you weren't expecting," Sky said. "Fraudsters are often able to spoof or fake the calling number or sending email address, so even if it looks like it is from a company or someone you recognise, treat unsolicited or out of the blue calls, texts and emails carefully and look for other clues that they might not be genuine."
Amazon alerted customers to a similar scam earlier this month which has seen a rise in fake emails, texts and calls purporting to be from the company designed to steal sensitive information from shoppers. The retail giant confirmed that it has taken down more than 20,000 phishing websites and 10,000 phone numbers that were being used by fraudsters to impersonate Amazon.
The company warned people to be wary of being installing any apps or software if asked to do so by phone, text or email. Amazon also confirmed that it will never ask customers to download anything in order to receive a refund or get help from customer service, nor will it ask people to provide payment information over the phone.
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