Beware: Massachusetts Folks Should be Cautious of Smart TV Scam

Whether you live in Massachusetts or another state, scams are constantly taking place. Whether the scam occurs via phone, text, email, etc., con artists are always looking for ways to trick you into giving up your personal and financial information which in turn benefits them but makes your life a world of misery. With technology becoming more sophisticated each and every day, scams are becoming more difficult to identify as con artists are able to make their scams look legitimate.

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One scam that the Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently reported that you'll want to watch out for is the Smart TV Scam. This scam involves pop messages appearing on your screen when you go to watch a program on one of your favorite streaming apps. You are unable to log in and the message directs you to call a phone number or visit a website in order to fix the issue with your streaming device. This of course is all bogus and is a way for you to give personal information and permission to a fake representative who then will access your device, install malware, gain personal information, and make your life a living H-E double hockey stick.

A similar thing happened to my wife and me recently as we tried to log into Hulu but we received a message indicating the service was down and to call the number that was on the screen. We didn't call the number. Instead, ended up watching another streaming service and checked back a day later to see if Hulu was still down. Luckily for us, we were able to log in without contacting anyone. I think my years of writing about scams are paying off in my personal life.

Some of the tips that the BBB recommends you should follow in order to avoid becoming a victim of the Smart TV scam include double-checking any fees you have to pay, keeping a sharp eye on fake websites, double-checking any customer service numbers that may pop up on your device and never allowing anyone to control your device remotely. You can get more information about this scam by going here. Remember, if something seems off, it probably is. You can never be too safe in this day and age.