JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A Jefferson County woman is sharing a warning about scammers offering to cut your satellite bill in half if you take advantage of the company’s special promotion. Once the con artist gets your attention, he then asks for money upfront on future bills and gives you a deadline to respond.

Sarah, a retired seamstress, has been a subscriber of DIRECTV for several years. She asked that we not say her last name. Right now, she pays $243 a month to bundle her service. It includes her telephone and internet plus her TV channels. She subscribes to basic satellite service. Last month, she answered an unsolicited call from a man claiming to be from her satellite company.

“He said he represented DIRECTV and he was offering half of my bill to be cut in half,” said Sarah. “He said I was also going to get. I said am I going to get the same channels? You are not going to take my channels? No, you get the same channels.”

But the guy on the phone, who really wasn’t from DIRECTV, offered to sweeten the deal—some free channels were throw-in.

“Eight channels of Cinemax, free for three years. I said, how can you do that? Well, he said, we are having a promotion. It’s because you have been a good customer and you have been here so long with us,” said Sarah.

The free channels were the bait and Sarah admitted she was excited. Then came the hook. She was told in order to get the deal, half off, she would have to pay an upfront fee, she wrote down the offer. FULL STORY HERE