(This thread will also serve as a catalogue of any and all T-Mobile numbers that the authors of this report may find in the coming days.)
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. T-Mobile is the second largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 127.5 million subscribers as of September 30, 2024.
Background:
Although T-Mobile is a wireless provider, there has been an increase of refund and technical support scams that are using phone numbers on the T-Mobile network. The majority of these tech support/refund scams originate and operate out of call centers in India.
While some of these numbers were confirmed to be prepaid numbers that the scammers acquired, the vast majority of the remaining numbers that the scammers are using originate from T-Mobile SIM cards.
The team responsible for this thread believes that there is a group of individuals who are acquiring legitimate T-Mobile SIMS from the United States with the sole intention of aiding scammers in India. This is done by configuring the SIMS/numbers up to a 3G/LTE cellular modem and then diverting/forwarding calls to another number. This is in turn hides the actual VOIP numbers that the scammers are using to receive the diverted calls on, preventing them from being reported for fraud. In short, this the newest method that scammers have adopted to keep their scam campaigns and numbers active for as long as possible.
Screenshots of refund scams using T-Mobile numbers.
T-Mobile’s Stance On Fraud:
Like many cell and wireless providers in the United States, T-Mobile does not have a dedicated email address for individuals outside of the T-Mobile network to report a number that is being used for fraud. Instead, T-Mobile recommends that their customers download and install the Scam Shield calling app respond by forwarding scam text messages to 611 or 7726. Customers are also advised to fill out a form for Improperly Identified Calls.
None of these methods actually stop the scammers from calling potential victims from outside of the T-Mobile network nor do these methods stop scammers from receiving calls from outside of the T-Mobile network as these methods do not shut off the phone number for violation of AUP policies. T-Mobile, like many wireless providers, care more about blocking spam calls than actually stopping them by shutting down the numbers on their network that are being used for fraud. T-Mobile also advises to report the phone number - that T-Mobile owns, to the FTC/FCC, which once again, does nothing to stop the scammers from using that phone number.
As stated earlier, the scams that are utilizing T-Mobile numbers are not robo-calls. Refund and pop up scams are designed to trick potential victims into calling the T-Mobile number for bogus technical support. Scammers are not making the calls, they are receiving them through deceptive practices, such as claiming that unauthorized charges were placed on one’s accounts or that one’s personal device has been infected with a virus.
Email Records:
As stated before, T-Mobile does not have a dedicated email address for reporting fraud although several abuse emails do exist. They are;
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
The team responsible for this thread have tried all of the aforementioned email addresses, none of which have produced any results. Only one email address has ever responded to the team; [email protected] In that case, T-Mobile asked for more evidence of fraud.
When additional evidence was provided to T-Mobile, no further updates were provided to the team on the status of their cases. Other times, a stock answer would be sent to the team. Other times, no responses are ever received, not even a confirmation email.
On that same email address, the team was told by T-Mobile to stop emailing them as the email address was for “business-related issue reporting” (see screenshots below)
T-Mobile tells the team that the email address; [email protected], is for “business-related issue reporting”
