Features, settings & updates

[wlied3]

I received a Text message from (844) 734-0866 saying my Roku would be disabled if I did not call to get an upgrade.  Is this a scam or real?  Here is the text message:

Dear Customers,

Stay Home Stay Safe

This is to inform you that your Roku device will be deactivated shortly as we have noticed that the software on your device is not updated with the latest OS 9.4.0 version . To resume your services back you can reach our technical expert at 1-844-734-0866 OR
916-800-8699 / 916-352-8879 and get it upgraded now as new update of Roku OS.9.4.0 will block your device to work unless the software gets upgraded from the Roku OS.9.2.0 and OS.9.3.0 to the latest update.
Kindly grab your phone right away and avoid any sort of inconvenience and interruptions on your services.

[makaiguy]

This sounds like something from a scammer.  For one thing, Roku does not obtain your phone number when you register so they can't text you.

It's possible you reached a scammer's site instead of the legitimate Roku site when you initially registered and gave them your information then.  They could have gotten your Roku set up using the information obtained and you'd be none the wiser.  Any payment information given them may have been used to post bogus charges -- examine your statements carefully.  Note that spammers can call their charges anything they like, so just because it says it's a Roku charge doesn't necessarily mean it came from Roku.  Some scammers even collect bogus fees to register your unit -- something Roku does not charge for.

Check the Roku account listed, via Roku menu path Settings-System-About, and see what email address is listed.  While there it will also show you your current Roku software version number, to compare against the warnings in the text.

• If this is not your email address, the account has been set up under a scammer's control instead of yours.  If you do a Factory reset (Roku menu path Settings-System-Advanced system settings-Factory reset) you can set your Roku up anew, this time linking to your own account. (If you are prompted on-screen to go to roku.com/link enter this very carefully.  Make sure you end up at https://my.roku.com/link -- any other address is bogus, back out and start over.).
• If this IS your email address you may have given it to the scammer during setup and at least he did use it to set up your account.  Log into this account at https://my.roku.com, if you can, and change your password to prevent anyone else from logging into it.  If you can't log in, use the lost password option to reset the password - it will use your email so it will shut any scammer out.