My wife works as a local web designer. Her computer is set up to use dual monitors which allows her to have several browser windows and applications running at one time. One evening, as she was shutting everything down, she found a pop up window. Assuming that it had loaded after visiting an ad-heavy website, she knew it was “phishy” and did some research on the Comcast survey scam. 
“Comcast” Survey Scam
The Comcast Survey Scam is NOT a legitimate survey from Comcast. Instead, it is a spammy way to get you to sign up for products and services you think may be free. In reality, the products and services you sign up for have monthly fees that will kick in after a “trial period” and are often difficult to cancel. Even the “free” products have shipping and handling costs that you have to pay for in order to get the “free” product.
One of the first tricks this scam uses is the name of your ISP
The pop up window starts with Dear Comcast User. In the body of the message and in the background, “Comcast” appears in a number of places. Most people think this is a legitimate message from Comcast. It’s not.
Most people think this is a legitimate message from Comcast. It’s not.
Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is public information and can be automatically pulled from the unique IP address of your computer. Computer scammers are able to write a program that looks to see what ISP you use. Then, your ISP name is inserted into the message automatically, making it appear legitimate.
The second trick is to promise financial rewards.
You know the old saying, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” The exclusive reward offers are nothing more than a sales pitch for products and services that bill you monthly and are hard to cancel.
Read the Fine Print
Here is the fine print explaining that the company marketing this survey has NO AFFILIATION TO COMCAST.
2016 All Rights Reserved. This is an independent survey and marketing website which is not affiliated with or endorsed by Comcast. This website does not claim to represent or own any of the trademarks, tradenames or rights associated with any of the offers which are the property of their respective owners who do not own, endorse, or promote this website. All images on this website are readily available in various places on the Internet and believed to be in public domain according to the U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act.
How the Scammers Get Your Money
These scams exist to get you to sign up for products & services that have monthly fees attached to them. The companies make it very hard for people to cancel. Often people don’t realize that they’ve signed up for these types of things until they see that money has been taken from their bank account or charged to their credit card.
We’ve made the “fine print” larger so you can see exactly what happens when you take the “survey”.
We’ve made the “fine print” larger so you can see exactly what happens.
“This website receives compensation in exchange for promoting third party offers and the free trial offers available on this page pay this website for orders placed.
Once you decide to select an offer, keep in mind you will be billed an amount described in the offer’s terms & conditions after the trial period ends unless you call to cancel.
Depending on the offer, you may also be billed every 30 days for a new delivery of the product (you may cancel any time by calling the merchant).
*Free trial offers require shipping and handling fees. See manufacturer’s site for details as terms vary with offers. See important terms and conditions regarding this survey, site, and advertisement here.”
Do yourself (and your bank account) a favor and don’t risk getting stuck paying for something you don’t need or want.
Protect Yourself
Keep yourself protected online by doing your research before participating in any sort of “request” to ensure it’s legitimacy. If you are reading this, it means that you already are, so “Well Done”! Be sure to share this information with co-workers, family & friends – especially those who may fall victim to this type of scam.
Important Note
It’s important to note that Comcast does not initiate this scam and may be unaware that their name is being used in an attempt to trick you.
I saw this scam warning page and immediately went into my history, found the offer page that I stupidly fell for and clicked on the “terms and conditions” link. It took me to a page with the company number and info on it, including their customer service phone number.
I called and the woman on the line cooperated and cancelled my order after just two days of me being uneasy about that offer. Luckily, I screencapped the order number on the receipt and gave it to her and she said I am getting my shipping and handling fee refunded and the trial and sign up are cancelled.
So, if you’ve fallen for this survey trap, don’t bother signing up for any offers. If you do, there is a trial for free, but it’s in the fine print that after it ends, you will be billed until it’s cancelled and you have to do it by phone. I almost panicked, but once I thought about my options I just backtracked to the site. Browser history is a great thing. 🙂
Glad to hear it worked out!
I had just received this scam today , as a text message . It starts out as a $2.00 fee then goes up to $19.73
Thank you for being so helpful! I have had this happen recently. Seems like the pop up comes from an infected page and not my computer. Looked suspicious right away! Keep up the good work of keeping people safe online!
Thank you, Barbara!
Does anyone know how to block this? The latest version of it that I’m getting has an audio file that plays. It pops up when no websites are open. It’s getting very annoying. I can’t find any malware–scanned whole computer through an anti-malware program and AVG.
Hi David, Thanks for commenting. It sounds like your computer does have some type of infection, since it is not normal behavior for popups like that to occur. One tool we use frequently in our shop is Malwarebytes. It comes in two versions, a free version and a Premium, which is what I would recommend. This has real-time protection (detects malware before it can infect) and is an inexpensive solution to help protect against malware. Of course, nothing is 100% effective but you can learn more by visiting their website. If you are located near us, we’d be happy to take a look for you. We offer a Computer Diagnostic Service that will remove any malware and get Malwarebytes installed for you. Please feel free to contact us if we can help in any way!
I tried to describe this scam, and all the details, which I experienced, to a Comcast Rep.
The response was ” Comcast does not Phish”.
She had no clue of your August posting.
Hope she finds a new job in 2017.
I warned that many Comcast customers were at risk, perhaps losing $ 100’s .
Some much for warnings.
Rich Geissinger
Mr. Rich Geissinger, how can I get out of this nightmare? I don’t even have the company name or their contact information!. Will appreciate any help.
While looking at a post on Face Book on June 2, 2017, a pop up appeared asking for satisfaction survey for Comcast in return for men’s or women’s watch as a reward. At the end of survey they asked for information for shipping address, which I supplied (foolishly, no credit card information was supplied) and read their conditions which included the mention of their Auto list which would charge $99.00 for some product after paying $6.99 for S&H for the watch. I attempted to cancel the order but it disappeared without leaving any trace of surveying outfit’s name or contact. If some of you have any suggestions as to what actions I should take to resolve this likely problem, your help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Survey was OK. I was not interested in ANY of the rewards. Get real. This survey has made me change my mind, about the survey. It has made me change my mind about Comcast. They are part on a SCAM.
Well, unfortunately I fell for it! I thought I was diligent in looking it over for an automatic shipment/charge for not cancelling. Didn’t see anything anywhere! Selected the “Nature Boost” free gift and paid the $4.95 S&H with my debit card. Received two emails thanking me for the order and confirming shipment. NEITHER the two emails nor within the shipment itself was there any indication my account would be charged $94.97 dollars 14 days later.
The only reason I found out is because my credit union called me as the charge triggered their fraud alert system.
Long story short…I called the customer service number on my receipt. Call center gal was doing her job in trying to convince me I knowingly agreed to the membership, apologized for the confusion and said that the best she could do was to cancel my account and refund me 31%. Of course I was not allowed to speak to anyone really involved with the scam, but eventually I agreed to a $71.24 refund, forfeiting $$23.73 to “TruPro” aka “Nature Boost.”
I tried several numbers to Comcast to make them aware that they are being used to defraud their customers, but after several attempts I was finally able to speak with “Joe” in the Phillipines and he of course doesn’t give a tinker’s dam nor does the company he works for.
That wasn’t so short.
I just received a message from “Comcast” offering an iPhone 11 for doing a satisfaction survey and 1 dollar for shipping. I have yet to call Comcast but will call during regular business hours, so I can talk to someone here in the states. And not the Philippines where their 1 language is not English and never understand what you are trying to tell and/or ask them.
I clicked on the “gift card”, but then thought better of it. I didn’t order any thing. I didn’t confirm my email address, give them my address or give them any financial information. am i safe? Thanks
I received a text from “Comcast” saying for being such a great customer we are sending you a iPhone 11 at no cost to you just pay for shipping and handling $19.95
I called Comcast asked if they were having a survey offering a free iphone l
but she didn’t know what the prize was. Well I paid the 19.95 and have not received the phone and there has been no unusual activity on my checking account.