BBB warns of ‘housewarming gift’ scam in OK

MOORE, Okla. (KFOR) – An Oklahoma man has a warning about one thing displaying up in many mailboxes currently. It seems to be a suggestion for a free reward to those that simply moved into the neighborhood, nevertheless it’s actually extra of a trick as a substitute. 

People residing in a new neighborhood in Moore not too long ago obtained a small postcard welcoming them into the neighborhood, saying to name a quantity and use a code to obtain a housewarming reward – nevertheless it was too good to be true.

“I first Googled the number. And the number was actually associated with a news article from 2016 saying that it was a scam,” stated Skyler Tuter, who obtained the be aware.  

Tuter determined to present the quantity a name to ensure.  

“I called the number just out of morbid curiosity, and it rerouted – I saw it on my phone and rerouted away from the 405 number that it gave to a different area code and a person that was different than the name answered. And so, it very much seemed more of a call center or some sort of sale,” stated Tuter.

Tuter stated he obtained the letter in the mail which learn, “Welcome to the neighborhood. I have been unable to reach you by phone to present you with a housewarming gift. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience. If you are unable to reach me, leave your name and phone number and I will return your call. Ask for Michelle.”

Tuter additionally occurs to be a senior cybersecurity advisor for Trusted Security and instructed News 4 this can be a long-standing knowledge assortment tactic.

He stated by calling the quantity and utilizing the code, you give consent for firms to begin amassing knowledge about you.

“The code is actually an authorization for that person saying you can collect my data without the person knowing that that’s what it is. You might have seen or heard of a scam phone calls where they say it’s an automated voice message and it just says ‘Hello, hello.’ And that person, it’s ads trying to get the victim to give verbal cues to say yes or no. And that can legally be an authorization to collect data off of you,” stated Tuter.  

Kitt Letcher with Oklahoma’s Better Business Bureau stated the scam is extra widespread than you suppose. 

“It was like, ‘here’s a housewarming gift for you since you’re moving into a new home’ – that lingo is very familiar and something that we have definitely seen before,” stated Kitt Letcher, president and CEO of BBB Serving Central Oklahoma.

Tuter stated a number of individuals in his neighborhood and in surrounding neighborhoods have obtained the identical be aware.

“I instantly posted on our Nextdoor Neighborhood app and got a ton of responses saying that a bunch of people in other neighborhoods as well were getting things like this. And luckily, a lot of them said they were throwing it away and the rest of them were just, you know, thankful that somebody called it out,” said Tuter.

So, as the old adage says, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

The BBB Serving Central Oklahoma said you can always check for a scam or report a scam on their website here.