For a few weeks now, TIM users have been the victim of an attempted scam. The company warns its customers with a warning in the bill
If you are a TIM customer for fixed line telephone or for ADSL or fiber for Internet, in the last bill you will have noticed a big notice: "TIM at your side. We protect you from possible scams by non-TIM operators". What does it refer to? To the latest scam against TIM fixed customers, that some call centers are trying since a few weeks to convince the user to change operator.
Call center operators who call every day to convince us to change contract, as we know, there are thousands of them. It is not an illegal thing, although sometimes it can be annoying. In this case, however, there is a scam: the operator, in fact, introduces himself as TIM and tells us that our current offer is expiring in September. Starting from that month, continues the fake TIM operator, we will see the cost of the subscription increase by 10 euros per month.
The fake operator, then, proposes two possible solutions: either close the line and then reopen it by another family member, or temporarily change operator and then return to TIM with the old rate "expiring". And this is where the scam starts.
How does the fake TIM operator scam work
Although the person we are talking to presents himself as a TIM operator, in reality he is calling from a call center on behalf of another telephone operator. The intent of the operator, therefore, is to make us cancel the TIM subscription to switch to the other operator: if we accept, in fact, we will soon be called by a second operator who will take us to enter into a new contract with the competitor of TIM.
What you risk with the scam of the fake TIM operator
You will say: one phone operator is worth the other and the costs of subscriptions are all similar. So even if we accept, the world doesn't fall apart. In reality, however, it may also be that our current "expiring" offer has a time constraint: many telephone operators, including TIM, link the most advantageous offers to a contract duration of at least 24 months. If we close the contract before the two years are up, therefore, we can incur heavy penalties that, by contract, TIM has every right to ask for.
How to defend yourself from the call center scam
All telephone operators rely on external call centers to call users and make offers to users. Tim included. There are, however, correct call centers and call centers incorrect and, even within a company that works "clean", there may be the operator rotten apple that just to make a contract is willing to tell anything and everything. To understand if a call center operator is trying to make fun of you just use a little logic. If it is a TIM operator, why does he propose to switch to another operator? If the promotion is about to expire, and therefore from September you are paying more for the same service, why should TIM have any interest in warning you?
And if you really can't dispel your doubts, call the operator's customer care number (in this case the TIM service center) and check what the status of your offer is and possibly ask them about new available rates.