Most people assume that their Internet service provider isn't going to behave in a similar manner to the very shadiest of computer malware and virus mongers. Apparently, they shouldn't, especially if they are customers of Comcast. Consumer reporter Bob Sullivan and one of his readers both clicked one link to trigger the shipment of a new piece of equipment that neither of them wanted.
Both customers claim that all they did was click on a link that promised more information about the proposed router/modem upgrade. (Don't worry. Clicking on that link will just take you to the original article, and will not order any cable boxes.) Heck, who hasn't even clicked on a link accidentally while fumbling with a touchscreen device?
Now, you may be familiar with Comcast's plan to turn their customers' homes into wi-fi hotspots for their fellow customers who happen to be within range. Many of their customers are not happy with this plan, but at least they could just choose not to upgrade to the newer, fancier router with hotspot superpowers. Right? Um, not so fast.
Both customers report receiving an e-mail that looked like this:
Is there anything there that says, "Click this link to automatically order new devices with no confirmation?" Maybe there should be, because that's what happened.
While the e-mail says that there would be no cost to the customer, the reader who complained about this says that he was charged a $160 installation fee and $8 per month. That's silly if you own a modem or router already.
After clicking on the link and seeing the thank-you message, reporter Sullivan called up Comcast to make sure that he hadn't ordered a new box. He didn't need one. "Also I have double checked that no pending shipment of any modems will be sent to you Robert," a chat representative typed back to him. "I assure you that. With this, I highly recommend you to disregard on any email you received about this please."
You can probably guess what showed up on his doorstep a few days later. A Comcast representative apologized for the drive-by modeming and explained that it is a very limited issue.
Maybe so. Let's be sure to keep it even more limited by making sure that as many Comcast customers as possible know not to click on any links in e-mails from their cable company until this gets straightened out.
‘This has gone beyond being funny’ — Drive-by orders, and how Comcast made me an offer I just couldn’t refuse [Bob Sullivan]
Comcast modem upgrade acts like a computer virus email; some complain about surprise fees [Bob Sullivan]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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