Scammers Pose as YouTube TV Support, Steal Thousands
A North Carolina resident lost thousands of dollars after calling a fraudulent customer service number found through an online search.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Financial Crime
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A North Carolina resident received a message on YouTube TV saying debit card information needed updating and searched Google for a customer service number. The first result connected them to a scammer posing as a support representative, who persuaded them to buy several thousand dollars in Lowe's gift cards.
Why it matters
Impersonation scams targeting streaming and service customers exploit urgent billing alerts and misleading search results. Whether the original billing message was legitimate remains unclear.
The victim reported the loss through a county sheriff's office scam advisory, and the case details, including the exact amount lost, were not specified in the source. No suspect information or charges were provided.
The players
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live television streaming service owned by Google and widely used by subscribers across the United States.
McDowell County Sheriff's Office
The McDowell County Sheriff's Office is the local law enforcement agency in McDowell County, North Carolina, which publicized the scam.
The details
The resident searched Google for a YouTube TV customer service number and called the first result, which connected them to a scammer. The scammer instructed the resident to buy Lowe's gift cards and share the card numbers and PINs.
Timeline
The incident occurred on an unspecified recent date.
Fraud Pattern
This case follows the impersonation-scam pattern documented in Federal Trade Commission consumer reports, in which fraudsters pose as trusted companies and request payment in gift cards. Gift cards are favored because they are difficult to trace or reverse once the numbers are shared.
Consumers should contact companies only through official websites or numbers printed on their accounts, not numbers from search results. Anyone asked to buy gift cards to resolve a billing problem should treat the request as a likely scam.
The takeaway
Legitimate companies will not ask customers to pay bills with gift cards. Verifying billing alerts directly through an official app or account page protects against this type of impersonation fraud.
Further reading
Learn more about Financial Crime and how scammers exploit trusted brands to target consumers across North Carolina.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WYFF4.
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