- Scammers trick Utahns into shipping iPhones by posing as carrier representatives.
- Victims receive phones, then return them using prepaid labels sent by scammers.
- Xfinity advises caution with payment requests and verifying suspicious activity.
OGDEN — Imagine getting billed month after month for a phone you never wanted and that you thought you had already sent back to the carrier. That's the situation Terry Caselli faces.
It started with a call last July. The caller claimed to be from Xfinity and offered Terry a lower bill and a free iPhone.
"I said, 'Well, I don't need a phone,'" Caselli recalled.
He declined the offer. But days later, the iPhone showed up anyway. Then, within minutes of delivery came another call from the same caller.
"They said that they mailed that to me by mistake," Caselli said.
The caller begged him to rush the phone back. So, he printed the prepaid return label and shipped it off.
Within weeks, new charges hit his cellphone bill. He immediately called Xfinity.
"So, what's this for?" he asked the customer service agent.
"Well, that's for the iPhone," the agent responded.
"I said, 'I don't have an iPhone,'" Caselli said.
That's when he realized he'd been scammed by someone pretending to be an Xfinity agent.
Here's how this phone return fraud works: A crook calls the customer, claiming to be from the carrier. They'll offer the customer a deal for the service or a free device like an iPhone. During the call, the crook tricks the customer into giving up account info. Once the call ends, they use that info to log into the customer's account with the carrier and order a phone. It'll be shipped to the customer's actual address. Within minutes of delivery, the crook, still pretending to be from the carrier, calls back with apologies for some sort of mistake. They send the customer a prepaid return label so the phone can be shipped back immediately. Except the address on that label really goes to the crook. They get the phone. The customer gets the bill.
It neatly sidesteps fraud protections because the carrier sees the device going to its legitimate customer.
Caselli said Xfinity removed the charge, but every month it comes back.
"The stress level is amazing with this Xfinity customer service," he said.
For nearly a year, he said he's had to call monthly and re-explain the whole story. Fed up, he called me.
The KSL Investigators reached out to Xfinity. A spokesperson didn't answer questions about Caselli's case, but said this scam impacts the customers of many other carriers besides Xfinity.
In a statement, the spokesperson also advised: "Customers should be cautious of requests for specific forms of payment, phone or device returns, or personal information," and that if a customer suspects fraud or suspicious activity, they should contact the carrier "to verify the legitimacy of any request."
As for Caselli, he said after we contacted Xfinity, the company told him the iPhone has now been permanently removed from his account.
"The level of stress that this thing has caused me is unbelievable," he said.
