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'Would you like to cut your DirecTV bill by 50%?' Yes, but not this way!

The call sounds legit. The caller knows your name and address. But the tip-off is they ask for you to pay the change fee with a gift card.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — You WOULD like to cut your DirecTV bill in half. Of course. It’s a no brainer.

But the call going around about the discount is fake. It’s not new, but it seems to find new victims all the time.

Cindy sent me a Facebook message about calls she was getting from what sounded like a DirecTV worker. They caller claimed they could offer her a 50% reduction in cost. She called DirecTV and they confirmed to her it was a scam. Cindy was worried other people wouldn’t know it was a scam.

Here’s how it works:

The caller may have your name and address. They tell you there's an offer to get a discount or cut your bill in half.

To get the deal, you need to buy gift cards and tell them the numbers over the phone.

Why gift cards?

 Because they're untraceable. If they asked for your credit card or debit card, you could just cancel the payment. But once you read off the numbers on the gift card, the money (your money) is gone.

Credit: WFMY

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This is the real lesson here: ANYTIME you're asked to pay with a gift card---- it's a scam. Really. No matter if the caller says it's the IRS, the power company, whatever, gift cards as payment is always a scam.

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