Brand New Scam Involving Your Smart TV
If you’re like me and you are just sick and tired of the same old scammers trying the same old scams then this is great news. We are all thinking, “those scammers need to up their game, this is just too easy.”
If that’s your thinking then you’ll love the brand new con that they’ve conjured up to help them steal your personal information and even better, bilk you out of your hard-earned savings.
The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers of a fresh and hot new scam where criminals target unsuspecting victims through their smart TV.
Here’s how it works.
When you try to log in to any of your favorite streaming services or apps, instead of logging in you get a pop-up. This pop-up looks no different than any other pop-up you might find on your TV, laptop, or phone and prevents you from logging in or viewing the service.
So now you know, if you didn’t before reading this, yes, unsavory individuals can now access your smart TV.
The pop-up might say something like “there is an issue with your device” or “we found an error with your streaming service.” It then asks you to call a phone number or visit a website where the crooks are waiting to talk you into sending them money or sharing private and personal information. They may also ask you to click on something that allows them to gain control of your smart TV.
They may ask you to send an activation fee, which is a ruse to get your credit card or bank account number. The Better Business Bureau says that services like Roku and many others “never charge activation or registration fees.”
Here are some tips to prevent falling for one of these schemes.
Do a quick check to see if the service or app actually requires any fees. Websites are a threat even on Smart TVs, make sure a website is legit before clicking on it. Check any and all phone numbers before you call them, a simple Google search will reveal any red flags. Finally, never agree to give control of your device to anyone you don’t know.
A couple of important things you can do is to be suspicious of anything and everyone, and do some research before you share or do anything. There are new scams like this one literally popping up every day so it’s easy to be caught off guard.
If you spot a smart TV scam, report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker.
15 Things That Will Be Totally Obsolete in 10 Years
Key Fobs
It’s just a matter of time before we’ll use our phones exclusively to operate everything and cars are one of them. Get the car, get the app.
The Ford Motor Co. logo is displayed on a key fob for a vehicle at a car dealership in Orland Park, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. Auto sales in the U.S. probably took a big step back in September, setting the stage for hefty incentive spending by carmakers struggling to clear old models from dealers’ inventory. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
DVDs
While we’re pretty close right now, the day will come when they’ll only offer digital copies of movies.
Movie boxes at ‘Video-Film’ DVD and video rental store on Kalwaryjska Street, one of the last ones operating in Krakow as well in the country. Krakow, Poland on February 19, 2022. The company which was estabilished in 1991, has to close after 31 years at the market, due to high electricity and gas bills which increased with the beginning of the new year. Despite of the fading interest in movies’ rental since online streaming services business, the store managed to survive even during the coronavirus pandemic. However now with high inflation in Poland, in order to pay the bills, the owners started selling off their DVD, Blue-ray and video cassette collection, which lists more than twelve thousand titles. Customers started to help by buying films in the store or by ordering via the Internet. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Greeting Cards
I know it’s hard to imagine a world without cards for special occasions, but people are moving closer to a paperless world and it’s forecasted that birthday cards will eventually meet their demise.
Boston, MA – September 16: A collection of birthday cards with “over-the-hill” themes. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Credit Cards
We don’t really need them now with many of us using our smartphones to pay. I haven’t used a credit card to buy gas in over a year, you just activate the gas pump with the app.
CHINA – 2022/07/25: In this photo illustration, the mobile payment and digital wallet service by Apple, Apple Pay, logo is displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Passwords
Nobody will be sad to see these things go. Fingerprints, facial recognition, and other keyboardless ways to log in will be the only way to go.
Netflix sign in page displayed on a laptop sscreen and Netflix logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Keys
Much like the fob, the key will go away. We’ll be using our phone or watch to unlock doors.
(GERMANY OUT) Keys laying in grass (Photo by Mayall/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Eye Glasses
From glasses to contacts to laser surgery. In the near future, we’ll be able to use daily or weekly eye drops to correct our vision instantly.
03 June 2022, Hessen, Frankfurt/Main: A pair of reading glasses lies on a desk. Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa (Photo by Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Parking Meters
We’re already parking and paying at kiosks, but very soon, we’ll be able to just park and be charged automatically based on an account connected to our license plate.
Reading, PA – July 28: On the 200 block of North 9th Street in Reading, Pennsylvania where parking meters were recently installed Wednesday morning July 28, 2021. (Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Chargers
Our phones and laptops will be set up to automatically charge the same way a wifi signal is sent to our devices. Imagine that, your phone is constantly charging wherever you are, it’s coming.
04 June 2022, Berlin: Numerous cables and chargers are plugged into a power strip while three smartphones are charging in the background. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa (Photo by Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Hard drives
Actually, we’re already there, everything is stored in the cloud for a fee. It will take time, however, for people to fully trust not having a backup they can see or hold.
Seagate miniature external hard drive atop a computer in Lafayette, California, January 20, 2022. Photo courtesy Tech Trends. (Photo by Gado/Getty Images)
Remote Controls
There’s that phone again. Not only will you replace all of your remotes with your smartphone, but you’ll also be able to simply speak any command for anything you want to control. “Hey TV play Game of Thrones,” or “Hey blinds set to halfway,” or “Hey Thermostat set at 72 until 8 pm then change to 65”
17 January 2023, Saxony, Dresden: A woman changes the channel with the remote control while watching TV. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa (Photo by Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Checks
It’s hard to believe that we’re still writing checks. With apps like Venmo and many others there’s no reason to, and no worries about it getting lost in the mail.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 19: People walk by a check cashing store in the South Bronx on September 19, 2013 in New York City. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report, over a quarter-million people in the South Bronx are living in poverty, making the 16th Congressional District the poorest in the nation. New Census Bureau numbers for all of New York City show that the poverty rate has risen to 21.2 percent in 2012, from 20.9 percent the year before. As New Yorkers prepare to vote for their next mayor following Michael Bloomberg, the Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio has focused on the theme that New York has transformed into a “tale of two cities” under the Bloomberg administration. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Mail
Speaking of mail, the daily delivery of bills, and junk mail will cease to exist, unless it’s digitally. While packages will still be delivered, the mail carrier will no longer be driving down your street.
United States Postal Service mailbox in Streator, Illinois, United States, on October 15, 2022. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Cable TV
Many are already cutting cable, and eventually, each channel or streaming service will or already has its own app on your smart tv.
Randy Groves, a Comcast Corp. field service technician, works on an overhead cable box during a residential cable installation in Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. Comcast Corp.’s proposed merger with NBC Universal won approval from U.S. regulators, clearing the way for the largest U.S. cable company to combine with a national broadcaster. Photographer: Bradley C. Bower/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Purple Highlighters
Everyone has a preference when it comes to what color to use when highlighting words on paper. The purple highlighter is the least popular with dramatic declines in sales in recent years. With many complaining that its dark shade is too close to the ink of the printed words, experts predict that by the mid-2030’s purple highlighter manufacturing will cease.
ILLUSTRATION – 23 January 2023, Bavaria, Munich: The word “solidarity surcharge” can be seen next to a calculator and a highlighter on a tax notice. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa (Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images)
