Schemes & Rip Offs: Fake Cell Phone Bill - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

There's a new email scam targeting your cell phone bill.  We got a heads up about this scam from viewer and discovered it's been happening all over the country over the last few weeks.

The target in this case, Verizon Wireless customers.  Cybercrooks are sending out fake emails that look almost identical to the company's bill notification messages.

The first trick is the amount due.  It's much higher than normal and criminals are hoping that will drive people to click on the links without looking closely.  The links then take you to foreign websites that will upload a program to steal your bank account information.

The scammers have done a good job copying the normal layout, but there are 3 easy ways to spot the fake:

1.  On a real Verizon bill notification email the first line will include the end of your account number.  The fakes will just say the bill for "your" account is now available.

2.  The balance due is much higher.  If your bill is hundreds of dollars more than normal be wary of the email.

3.  Take a moment to hover over the links.  The fakes will be a website with an odd looking address that obviously doesn't belong to Verizon.

If you get one of these emails delete it right away and don't click on the links.  And if you have a scam question email me anytime kyleb@valleynewslive.com.

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