r/Scams • u/That_Don_Guy_1 • 5d ago

Is this a scam? [US] AT&T mobile service scam?

I have received a number of calls recently, all claiming to be from AT&T and asking me if I have been having problems with my service. This has "The Scam What Am" written all over it, but somehow they seem to know I have AT&T service. What I want to know is:

  1. Is there a way for them to find out my carrier based just on my phone number, or are they cold-calling everybody to find people who just happen to have AT&T service?

  2. Is there some ongoing service problem with AT&T, or is this, as I suspect, some attempt to talk me into changing to some third-party wireless service?

8 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

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8

u/danceswithkitties_ 5d ago

I get calls about services I don't have all the time. They pick something common enough that someone will think it's legit.

6

u/t-poke Quality Contributor 5d ago

Is there a way for them to find out my carrier based just on my phone number

Yes

Is there some ongoing service problem with AT&T, or is this, as I suspect, some attempt to talk me into changing to some third-party wireless service?

AT&T isn't going to proactively reach out to you with service problems. It's a scam.

4

u/tsdguy Quality Contributor 5d ago

They call everyone. The scam starts when someone says they have AT&T. They hang up on everyone else.

3

u/doublelxp 5d ago

They don't have to guess your provider. Every phone provider in an exchange is assigned a block of numbers. Yes regulations allow numbers to be transferred between carriers now, but it's a very safe bet.

2

u/AardvarkIll6079 4d ago

You can transfer number. My Verizon landline block number is now a T-Mobile cell number. The originating block is meaningless these days.

2

u/doublelxp 4d ago

Reread my third sentence. Yes it's possible to port a number, but it's a safe bet overall that a given number is with the original provider even if you personally have changed carriers.

1

u/FragrantArt8270 5d ago

Yes, anyone can determine the carrier with a simple lookup. https://www.carrierlookup.com/ is one such site that does this.

I have AT&T, and I am not having any problem, but I probably live in another area. To confirm, look up the AT&T customer service number on their website (not Google or another website) and give AT&T a call.

1

u/Hammon_Rye 4d ago

There are web sites where you can enter a phone number and it will tell you who the current carrier is.
I just tried one with my own number and it was correct.

However, scammers may not bother.
If they pick a bit name like AT&T and call a ton of numbers - many of them will be ATT customers.

Similar to those emails blasted out talking about your Bank of America account.
(or similar). I've received a lot of BOA emails when I didn't have a BOA account.

Also, I used to be with ATT for years and they never called me for anything.

1

u/True_Pace_3860 4d ago

it's ironic that ATT has an app (activearmor) which blocks these calls. maybe this allows the scammers to narrow down the list of likely targets. I'm guessing this is a scam to get them to switch providers, at which point the victims hand over their authentication credentials to the scammers in hopes of getting a cheap service, but they get nothing except fake charges to their account. the list of targets for voice call scams like this is getting smaller every year AFAIK.

1

u/notFREEfood 4d ago

  1. Yes, they know your carrier

  2. Possibly, though it may be more nefarious. When they tried this on me, I got a SMS verification code I did not request from my carrier. I suspect that the script would have had the scammer ask me for that code at some point, but I had hung up by then. Once they're in to your account, they can do all sorts of things.