Hacked Video Rental Account

[utopia1]

My account has been hacked since April. I have been charged for movies that I haven't rented. Working with Verizon has been frustrating since they cannot seem to solve the issue. I have employed every defensive ploy suggested by tech support but the hacker has been able to circumnavigate each one. Can this problem be solved?

[drsunshine1]

Mr Lawrence -  I will proceed with your instructions above.  However, can you first tell me what happenned to my original post?  It appears that it has been removed as it no longer appears on the community discussion board.  It concerns me that my informaton was deleted from the public record.  Please advise. Thank you.   

[drsunshine1]

Mr Lawrence - MY SINCERE APOLOGIES!!  This appears to have been a dsplay problem with my laptop ... when I logged in a few minutes ago I was able to view my original post ... thank you for your help!!  

[LawrenceC]

Hi drsunshine,

Glad you were able to find your post. 

[drsunshine1]

Yes, I found it ... you've been very helpful ... thank you so much!  But like everything else in this whole process, the private message system doesn't seem to be working efficiently either.  I found the Support Rep's private message to me, attempted to click on the "chat link" he provided ... i tried multiple times ... it doesn't work.  No surprise.  I've now sent two messages to the Support rep asking for assistance ...  can't get the rep to respond to me. No surprise.  I'm no closer to where I started ...  

[LawrenceC]

I see that the agents have responded to your posts in your support case.

[Verizon_Support]

We have your closed your private support case. If you ever need help, feel free to make a new post.

- Jose_VZ

[drsunshine1]

My case was closed, but not to my satisfaction.  My simple request for clarification of a Fax # given to me by one of Verizon's own customer service representives was denied. Until I get the correct Fax #, I cannot get the requested documentation to the correct area.  I am pursuing this with both Verizon's Corporate Office in New York, as well as with the BBB.   

[logan81]

There are two ways programs may be rented. Either through a set top box or online by using your username and password at the verizon website. I am not a Verizon rep in this case but I would just recommend changing your online password. The next thing I would recommend is calling tech support and asking them to give you the serial numbers for all the boxes in your house. Once you have the serial numbers for the boxes go around and match them up to the boxes you have in the house. If you find that there is a serial number registered to your account that is not physically IN YOUR HOUSE then that could be an issue. Such a situation is very rare, but I have seen it before. Also in many cases a technical support agent can see which set top box did the renting of a VOD program. If that is the case then you can identify which box in your house is the problem child. If all else fails you can replace the problem box. Just ideas, not saying it has anything to do with your situation.

[drsunshine1]

Yes, thank you, but we've done all of that.   I've spent countless hours over a six month period trying to resolve the issue and to get Verizon to admit they have a security issue with their VOD service ... have had many Rep's and several Supv's come just shy of calling me a liar,  stating a set top box could never, ever be hacked, which is obviously not true ... all to no avail until just a week ago.  I was finally referred to an IT Tech who took the time to listen and researched the issue, we know all the serial #'s and yes, they all belong to us, we've identified the serials #'s where the movies were being accessed/hacked ( obviously the IT Tech woudn't,couldn't use that word ), and two set top boxes were subsequently replaced last week.  

It was in the midst of this last exchange when I first posted a message to this Community Forum.  In less than 24 hours I received a call from Verizon stating they were processing refunds for all of the items going back to the first one in April, as well as removing four months of late fees.  Coincidental??  or truly the result of the last IT Tech's research?   Your guess is as good as mine ...  

My last forum comment above regarding the issue not being solved to my satisfaction was due to something that occurred AFTER the Veriizon Forum Team moved my issue to a Private message.  I had requested their assistance with locating and confirming a Fax # that had been given to me by the Verizon representative who had called me to process the refunds. During our conversation I mentioned having sent in multiple letters back in June & July outllining the history of my attempts to dispute the charges ... the rep stated Verizon did not have the letters ( wrong again ... a Supv had called me  back in July to advise me she had rec'd one of my letters in error and was Fax'g it to the correct dept for review ) ... so the rep asked me to Fax copies of both letters to her Attn so that my file was completely documented in case the VOD issues happened again.  She gave me the Fax # along with her unique Verizon employee ZID # and the full name of her direct supervisor.  I attempted to Fax the info 5 or 6 times over two days, it didn't work, Fax message came back each time stated NO ANSWER.  I spent another hour on hold and being transferred three times, and was told by all three reps that there was no way to locate that particular rep and/or which dept she worked in, so there was no way to get the correct Fax #.  

That's when I went back to the Verizon Forum Team, in a private message, to request their assistance in obtaining or clarifying the correct Fax # so I could provide the information that the VERIZON REP REQUESTED.  There were many private messages back and forth ... there appeared to be no serious attempt to locate the Fax # ... they actually mentioned that the fact the refunds had already been issued may/might hinder their ability to provide me with the Fax #.  ????  Yes, really.  Obviously, if you have the Confirmation/Order # for the phone call, the employee's ID #, and their Supv's full name, it would not be difficult to locate a corresponding Fax #.  IF you cared enough about your customer to do so.  The Forum Agents were very professional, so it was very apparent to me that their superiors wouldn't give them the time and/or the resources to research it. 

So, bottom line, my response here is in no way meant to be disrepectful or unappreciative of your suggestions. I truly appreciate them.  They could have been something we hadn't tried yet, etc... and you had no way of knowing what had transpired in the private messages to have prompted my "not to my satisfaction"  statement.  

So, I will be pursuing this. Their Corporate Office needs to know how their customers are being treated at the local level.  It won't change anything, of course, but I'll know I've pursued every option available to me.   Hopefully your suggestions will be helpful to other folks using this Forum so they won't have the experience that I've had.   Thanks ... 

[logan81]

I know you have been through everything and understand your frustration. I am outside the situation obviously but I was just curious about something, do you use Verizon provided remotes or do you use a universal remote like a logitech remote? Only reason why I ask that is because I have seen situations where a remote with control two boxes in the house at the same time. One person I was helping had a logitech remote that was purchasing programs on her other STB. I am not representing Verizon and I am not a Verizon employee. Just trying to help because it is highly unlikely that your STB's are hacked. Even if somebody could do that remotely they wouldn't have a way to view those programs so there would be no point to them doing it.

[drsunshine1]

I appreciate your comments about our level of frustration.  It's been a very long six months of unnecessary effort and time. I've handled every customer service issue for our family for 30+ years ... I was a customer service supervisor for a very large corporation for 20+ years ... and I have never experienced such an ineffective process or had such a negative experience as I've had trying to resolve this issue with Verizon.  To your question ... we've never used a global remote.  We have always used a Verizon-provided remote for each TV in the house.  I'm not versed in the technical aspects, so I have no way of knowing how or why these items were charged to our account.  All I know is that we did not order them. Also, I've had multiple conversations with multiple Verizon IT Support tech's ... and each of them confirmed that EVEN IF ( I apologize for the caps ) someone accidentally ordered a movie, that they would ALWAYS receive a "Do you really want to order this?" message that would then have to be clicked YES in order for the item to be ordered/rented.  This never happened on any of the many movies charged in error on our account.  And it never happened for the sports package that appeared in error on our account.  And it also never happened for the 4 months of Spanish Language feature that just appeared on our account. All I know is that we didn't order a single one of these items ... and that it started occurring in April when the Promotional Ad Screens started popping up automatically.  I have been researching this for quite a few months and have found many, many other people ( on Verizon's own website as well as on many other consumer complaint sites ) who are experiencing the identical issue.  For Verizon Rep's to state each time I called with a new issue  "We've never heard of this happening before ... SOMEONE in your home must be ordering these items! ... may I help you with parental controls?" proves they are not being forthright ... perhaps not with their own rep's ... definitely not with their own customers. At this point, I'm just glad the charges have been refunded, but am holding my breath for next month's bill.  Again, I truly appreciate your questions re: the remotes .. if that had been the case, it would certainly have saved me a lot of time.  I hope your post will help other customers. 🙂  

[logan81]

Sounds like you did your due diligence for sure. Glad they refunded you. One quick thought. If you wanted to avoid all future problems you could have Verizon remove the VOD service from your account. I don't know if you use VOD very often but if you don't use VOD you could have it completely removed from your account. it wouldn't save you money on your bill. But that is just a last ditch thing I can think of to fix the problem if it keeps happening. Hopefully it doesn't keep happening. I do not work for Verizon but I work closely with there tech support agents and I have asked them they seem genuinely unaware of any kind of VOD hacking going on. Again I don't see how such hacking would benefit a hacker.

[drsunshine1]

Yes, we do use the VOD feature and have paid for every single item we've ordered.  And yes, having VOD removed was one of the only two options Verizon offered ( that and replacing the two "offending" set-top boxes ).  Sad state of affairs when a company is suggesting the removal of one of their own features.  If the issue continues to occur, I seriously doubt I'd remove VOD ... I'd more likely cancel Verizon and move my business elsewhere.  Too bad, because we really enjoy the actual Verizon FIOS service itself.  Billng and Customer Service, not so much.  🙂   So, once again I thank you for this last-ditch suggestion.  You seem very sincere.  Verizon is lucky to have you as a supporter ... I'm sure there are many customers you've helped.  Take care ...

[akent1]

I was truly disappointed as a long standing Verizon customer with the poor support service I received this afternoon. Upon reviewing my bill, I noticed two charges for PPV on my bill that I know I had not ordered. I verified on my set-top box that the PPV ordering code was still in place and confirmed with my wife that she had not ordered either item. The first support rep on the phone said she looked in the system and it showed the PPV were ordered from my set top box and that nothing could be done. A 45-minute wait for a billing supervisor resulted in the same answer. It was only after I let him know that I would pay my bill minus the PPV charges that he offered to open a investigation. Why wasn't that offered by the first representative? I would hate to leave for a different service, but I will not be bullied into paying for charges for something I did not order and did not watch.

[Jayde1498]

So I checked my bill recently and saw that it had gone up quite a bit than what it normally is. I called customer service and spoke to Heather {edited for privacy}. She basically started aruging with me and calling me a LIAR when I told her that it was impossible for anyone to have ordered that charge when no one was home. I could even provide our timesheets to show we were at work. I was getting so frustrated with her attitude that I asked to speak with a supervisor. Pat came on the line {edited for privacy} and he stated there was nothing he could do because their system shows that we ordered and watched the TNA Sacrifice (whatever the heck that even is) for the full two and a half hours. I explained that he could look at my entire history of the past 4 years of my service with them and they would see that we NEVER order stuff like this. He said there was still ntohing he could do. I am so **bleep**.Then I go on this forum and see that I'm NOT the only one this is happening to. There is a probelm with their systems.

[LawrenceC]

Hi Jayde1498,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you. Please go to your profile page for the forum and look at the top of the middle column where you will find an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name beside your post, or at the top left of this page underneath the title of the board.

Under "My Support Cases" you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. This should be checked on a frequent basis, as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions. To ensure you know when they have responded to you, at the top of your support case there is a drop down menu for support case options. Open that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.

[Verizon_Support]

Jayde1498,

Since we have not heard back from you we are closing out your private support case. If you still require assistance please feel free to create a new thread.

-Amanda_M

[AndrewK1484]

Just found a $49 VOD charge for some wrestling event that I did not order or view.  Just like everyone else that has posted, I called customer service and they would not remove the charge.  I have never experienced such poor customer service.  Verizon must know that there is a security vulnerability and instead of addressing the problem they are penalizing their customers.  I am on auto payment through a credit card so I initiated a chargeback for the $49 and now I am getting notices that my payment was returned by the bank.  I've never had to do a charge back before - thanks Verizon.  After I finish this note I will lodge a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

[Hacked1]

The same thing happened to me. The first time it was a payperview $54.99 for a WWWfight!  thankfully I didn’t set up the autopay because I’m always concer with the possibility of charges not related to my account and it happened.  Verizon said the same thing this has never happened and it’s impossible. I asked them to disable payperview. My main thing was that if I made the purchase usually I would get a email notification but I never got anything. The next month I was alone at my place watching a movie at 2 am when I got a notification via email that a movie was purchased for $14.99. Thankfully I was able to contact someone using the “live chat” via text and no matter how many time i told him that I was alone at home and I didn’t make the purchase he kept saying that’s imposible. He agreed to remove the charge and told me to do the parental control too. He said it was impossible for anybody to hacked a smart TV and remote controls to order movies but as I explained to him  I’m alone there is nobody here and also I already watched that movie why would I rent that.  I’m not sure what’s going on but I can see this is a problem as I read other chats from different customers with similar problems. Also my first change has not been resolved after 2 months 

[LawrenceC]

Hi Hacked,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please check your Private Message Inbox for a message from Verizon_Support. You can find your Inbox by clicking on your username at the top right corner of this page. Please direct all correspondence concerning your issue to the agents who will be assisting you privately.

[LawrenceC]

As this thread is now over two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.