Dish Network Western Union Green Dot Scam

Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,

Recently several DISH customers have reported that people claiming to be representatives of DISH have contacted them in an attempt to collect money for special promotions or upgrades. We have discovered that these callers are often asking for credit card numbers or requesting payments via Western Union or Green Dot.

This message is to remind you that DISH will never call you asking for this or any other personal information or information related to your DISH account. If you receive a call requesting a payment in exchange for a promotion or upgrade, we encourage you to disconnect the call and contact us directly at 800-333-DISH (800-333-3474).

As a reminder, the forms of payment that DISH accepts are:
Credit card
Debit card
Electronic funds transfer
Check by mail
Cash through any retail store that offers:
MoneyGram Express Payments
IPP (In Person Payments)
PreCash
CheckFreePay
ACE Cash Express
Western Union Prepaid Services*

*If you make a payment through Western Union, you will receive a 10-digit Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN). DISH will never ask for this number.

Thank you for being a valued DISH customer.

So, I am not sure how they found out I have Dish Network, but they did and gave me a call from this number:

1-800-233-1492

The name of the representative was "Lisa Howard."
ID Number is 6R1 and extension is 503 (not that any of those 3 details matter since its fake anyways... but I'll tell you anyways).

So the promotion, in short, is if you pay for 6 months of service, they will give you the hopper system, an iPad 2 (4 different color choices), and additional 6 months of service free (so total of 12 months for just $153.72). The thing that basically told me it was a scam was when she said the following...

(this isn't verbatim but it's close enough) "Sir, if you can pay $153.72 for this by tomorrow by using our promotion company, GreenDot MoneyPak, we will give you additional services for free. You have a few choices to pick from. First is you can pick one of the premium channel, such as HBO, Starz, Showtime, a sports package, etc. for 12 months. Second is you can get additional 150 channels. Or you can also get a choice of foreign channels." -- I left out some details, but trust me, it was very convincing and I wouldn't doubt they have made a SHIT TON of money by doing this.

She even helped me find a place near my house that sells "GreenDot MoneyPak" cards.

They also try to make it seem more valid by having another person "confirm the promotion details" by calling you after Lisa sets up the technician appointment.

To validate it even further, she asked me to write down this information with which she assured me that I may call her anytime during her work hours:
Name: Lisa Howard
ID #: 6R1
Work hours: 1pm-10pm
Extension #: 503
Order #: D0155341

Anyways, I hope the details in this post will help them scam less and less people.

Peace,
CntThnkO1

P.S.
What turned my suspicion into utter certainty was I Googled Dish Network to get their main customer service number. After which I pressed enough numbers to get to any random representative and just straight up asked them if this was a valid promotion. With little surprise, it was total non-sense.

Mod Note: Dish Network notified. (BW)