No, phone calls offering a 50% Spectrum discount through Target are not legit

Spectrum is a communications company that provides internet, telephone and television services to people across the country.

A VERIFY reader reached out to ask about a phone call they received claiming to be from Spectrum. The caller claims that Spectrum is partnering with Target for a promotion offering a 50% discount on a customer’s monthly bill. To participate in the promotion, customers are asked to use a Target gift card or prepaid gift card to pay their bill for the next six months. 

THE QUESTION

Are the Spectrum 50% off discount phone calls legit?

THE SOURCES

• Patti Braskie Michel, senior director of regional communications at Spectrum

• Spectrum 

• Target

• Federal Trade Commission

THE ANSWER

No, the Spectrum 50% off discount phone calls are not legit.

WHAT WE FOUND

There’s no current Spectrum promotion that offers a 50% discount on customer bills, Patti Braskie Michel, senior director of regional communications at Spectrum confirmed to VERIFY. These phone calls are scams. 

Both Spectrum and Target have alerts on their websites regarding the phone calls.

“Spectrum will never ask you to pay your bill by gift cards (e.g. Target gift card), wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment apps (Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, Paypal), or offer a discounted rate for a fee,” the Spectrum warning says.

Target also includes the discount phone call scam on its “Popular Fraud Tactics & Scams” webpage.

Spectrum will never call you asking for personal banking information, Michel added.

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission posted a Consumer Alert warning of the phone call scam impacting customers of Spectrum or other providers. The alert provides key tips to avoiding this type of scam:

• Don’t give out personal information to an unknown caller out of the blue

• Caller ID is not trustworthy. Scammers can make it look like a call is coming from someone you know.

• Don’t make payments with a gift card. This is a typical method for scammers to steal money from you.

If you receive one of these scam phone calls, you can report it to the FTC on their website.