Verizon, T-Mobile, and its reps reportedly get hit with this scam several times each week
Most reps in the U.S. have become quite adept at sniffing out this scam even though some managers turn a blind eye to it.
Verizon, T-Mobile are vctims of customer fraud. | Image by PhoneArena
Yes, when there is a story about a scam, it is usually the customer that is the victim. But there are times when the carrier itself is the victim of a crime, and it would be fair to point this out. There seems to be a specific scam making its way through Verizon stores lately according to a retail employee of the wireless provider.
These fraudsters tip off the reps they are about to rip off
This employee says that he knows that a person walking into his store is working the scam because of several things that they say and do. The list includes:
- The customer does not have a number they want to port.
- Payments will be made in cash, or through the Chime banking app.
- Customer claims they first visited an authorized retailer and was told that the corporate store they are visiting can help.
- Agreeing to a $200 monthly phone bill for only one line.
- Customer says that he wants to see how many phones he can get.
Even though reps can smell these guys a mile away, some managers order them to take the sale
These scammers would pay whatever they needed to pay to get the maximum amount of phones and then turn around and sell them for a huge profit. Verizon wasn't the only victim here because the person buying a phone from the scammer would not be able to use it since it would be reported stolen.
Do you feel bad for the carriers?
One former Verizon rep said that a few years ago he had a customer come in and open a 100 line business account that turned out to be a fraud. The rep wrote that the customer seemed "so legit" and the chargebacks made him want to quit. "Good thing I got laid off this fall," he joked.
The phone most requested by these rip-off artists is the iPhone 17 Pro Max for valuation reasons
Other Verizon reps chimed in with variations of the scheme including one rep who explained that the typical scam involved someone in their early twenties trying to buy four Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max units for their siblings. Because of its valuation, the phone these scammers ask for the most is the latest version of the iPhone Pro Max.
There are two kinds of frauds. The first type, which I absolutely just hate, are these MFs who steal people’s identity/business identity with fake IDs and paperwork and try to see what they get approved for and try to max out the financing on the account. The first question is always, what do I approve for? How many can I get? The second ones are the people who are luring these young kids to run their credit for quick bucks and telling them you walk out of this bad credit in 7 years. I make sure their accounts get flagged so they don’t get anything. Dealing with fraud departments and straightening out your credit after these attempts is a mess and takes months if not years to build that credit back up, especially for the elderly who do not understand all of that. Handing out phones to these MFs for a quick sale makes me sick to my stomach.
Reddit subscriber Pretend-Body6570
It's not just Verizon getting hit with this scam. One current T-Mobile rep says he sees this type of fraud weekly. When he was working for an authorized retailer, he had a customer that came in every week with a different Uncle!
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the phone used the most in this scam because of its value.| Image by PhoneArena
So what is the bottom line in this scam? As one Redditor points out, "The fraudster takes the five iPhones to their contact who pays them probably $100 per device, and ships them overseas." In the end, the devices are gone, the sales rep and the store get nothing. The store then becomes the target of other scammers in the area.
A T-Mobile rep had an interesting comment. He says that even knowing that certain customers are fraudsters, his manager has been pushing him to open up fraud accounts, most likely because it makes the store look good with its metrics. Of course, the chargebacks don't help.
All U.S. Big 3 carriers are victims of this fraud
Another T-Mobile rep says that the fraudsters come into the store and say, "I want an iPhone 17 Pro Max, I don't care what color." Yet, when asked, they cannot articulate one reason why they want this particular phone.
This is an issue that the carriers will need to look at because they still have to pay taxes on the sale. Yet, there are still those managers, as we already noted, that turn the other cheek in order to make the sale.
This scam, we're sure, also affects AT&T stores even though the above examples focused on Verizon and T-Mobile. Hopefully the executives at the very top of these companies have some ideas how to put an end to it.
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