Who I have the same questioned this topic

Not a question but more of a beware, cautionary post. 

The other night at 10:30p (past my bedtime but I was up), I got a text from Asurion that said a claim was made to this Verizon number. They say reply no if you did not authorIze the claim. I had not so I replied “NO”. A follow up text came and said there was nothing further that needed to be done.

At 3p the next day, my husband said he got a notification from UPS that a package from Asurion was coming. I told him about the text so I immediately called their Asurion customer service. While on hold, I found the claim and it said my new iPhone 11 was on the way.

The lady at Asurion was nice and helpful. She said the claim went through and even though they see that I denied authorization, it was shipped. Because you know Asurion even advertises that claims in before 11p get to you next day. She told me that when UPS drops off the package, tell them we deny it and they will send it back to them. Or we can open, put the phone in the return envelope and mail back.

So then we waited. According to UPS, the phone was set to be delivered before 9p. 

At 8:25p I ask my husband, “any update?”. We look and there is a UPS delivery notification at 8:16p. But no one rang the door. No Ring event notification. We look on the porch. Nothing.

I step into the yard and the UPS driver is right next door. My husband rushes over says, “hey we have notification the package was delivered but it’s not here”. The driver said “I didn’t drop off anything at that house.”

My husband shows him the address and he says, “ oh that’s the address that the guy said he picked up the package for”. He was at the very end of our street, guy in a white Mercedes convertible stops the driver (who was pulled over changing the battery of his scanner), hands him an “ID” with my husband’s full name and address and then shows the tracking info. Asks the driver if he can just pick up his package since he’s here. Boom driver gives him the package.

Without my husband having a UPS account, we would have never known that the phone was even coming. I assumed my “NO” response to Asurion meant no further action was needed.

Asurion said the deductible was paid with a credit card NOT in our name. We confirmed no charge hit our account. The claim was for a stolen phone. 

I just wanted to share as a cautionary tale because after searching why Asurion sends a text about a claim you didn’t file, I see it happens a lot. 

According to Asurion, replying no will automatically flag the claim. In most instances it should stop it but this appears to be a coordinated attack. These fraudsters are submitting claims right before the 11pm deadline. I got my text at 10:30 and replied no. By 11:15p, a label was already made and the phone was shipped.

While I appreciate that Asurion wants to respond to claims fast, there has to be a better way to protect customers. Same from Verizon. More security should be in place to file a claim in the first place and it should involve more than only needing a phone number and last name, which all can easily be googled, and a 4 digit pin.