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putz4582
Binge Watcher
‎11-26-2023 09:39 AM

TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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I know and realize that Roku never charges for activation, etc. but my TV's were dead in the water.

Also got an email that looked like it came from Roku with instructions to call a toll free number.

Yes, I believe this is a part of the Amazon scam. 

Scammers somehow connected 9 devices to my Amazon Prime video account, exceeding max users and locking me out.  A screen came up to call Amazon support and listed a number, and like an idiot, I did.

It took a while but I figured out I was not talking with Amazon support.  

I managed  to get my tv's up and running but it happened again today. TV's locked up again, and I have to go through the whole process of resetting the Roku back to factory settings.

So how do I stop this from continuing to lock up my tv's? 

 

 

 

 

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putz4582
Binge Watcher
‎11-28-2023 03:35 PM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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Your narrative is positively frightening and yes, I can certainly see how even tech savy folks might fall for this kind of scam. It sounds like you've been in the security business for a while, and have seen a lot of these scams. I did get a call back from Roku security and they said for me to start changing my password on a regular basis. I suggested that Roku add two step authentication to their logon process like banks and Amazon have. So I still have no idea how they figured out my password, it is not one that I used on other apps. I dunno ...  So where do you want me to send aid to get that cosmonaut guy back to earth??  I promise I will be extra super suspicious of everything from now on....  lesson learned!!!

Again, thank you for helping a complete stranger. 

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AvsGunnar
Community Streaming Expert
4 weeks ago

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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@Jack80 and @Jack801 

Good to hear you are back up and running, even if you had to create new account.

You can try contacting Roku at https://support.roku.com/contactus and selecting Accounts Payments Subscriptions category and see if they can help you out.

Unfortunately, you should be prepared to lose them, but certainly doesn't hurt to ask and hopefully they can do something for you.

---

It is generally advisable to have your subscriptions directly with the provider.  Although you lose convenience of having them all in one place, much easier to transfer them to different accounts and also allows you to view them anywhere (on Roku devices,  other streaming devices platforms, your PC/laptop, etc).

----

Going forward, just be careful with sharing account with others as a lot of scammers out there.  Make sure you are on official Roku website and Roku Support (here) forum.

Feel free to come back if you you need further help. 👍

 

Roku Community Streaming Expert
Just another Roku user... I am not a Roku employee.
Insignia RokuTV, Ultra 4660, Premiere+ 3921, Express 4k+ 3941, Streambar 9102

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36 REPLIES 36
Strega2
Roku Guru
‎11-26-2023 09:54 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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I think your description kind of starts from the middle.  Ie: you say “Yes, I believe this is a part of the Amazon scam.” But I don’t know what that is/was.

Did you call “some guy” (a scammer) to set up your Roku? If so, is your Roku connected to your own account or one he created?

I’m assuming you are in guest mode.  If the roku account is your own, then you should be able to see that the TV is in guest mode in your account at roku.com, and I believe you can take it out of guest mode there as well.  Of course, all this would imply that the scammer has your account password, so you should definitely change that as well.  At the least!  Can you remember any other information that you gave him?  Some people get talked into revealing a lot of data on a phone call.

I would assume factory reset takes you out of guest mode, but if you immediately reconnect it to an account that a scammer has access to, then he can just put it back into guest mode.

Did you let any of this guy/these guys access your computer?  Did you give them any other passwords like Amazon?

Banned but back. Because why not?
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putz4582
Binge Watcher
‎11-26-2023 10:36 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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I did not ask anybody to set up my Roku. 

I  have never used guest mode.

Roku acct password changed already.

I really do not want to document any sensitive information here on a public forum.

I need to know how to stop them from locking up my tv's. They could do this all day!!!

Should I change my modem and wifi passwords?? I don't know how they are getting into my

tv's so don't know what entry point needs more protection... 

I opened a tech support ticket with Roku a few minutes ago also, asking for a call back.

 

 

 

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Strega2
Roku Guru
‎11-26-2023 12:59 PM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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Please come back and tell us what you/they find.  Usually scams like this have been due to having account access and putting the TV in guest mode at roku.com. So, if there are other ways, I'm sure many Roku owners would like to know.

Banned but back. Because why not?
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makaiguy
Community Streaming Expert
‎11-27-2023 05:15 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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@putz4582-

From your Roku TV home screen:  Settings / System / About

Does this show your email address or some other?

If it is your email, can you log into https://my.roku.com using that email?

Roku Community Streaming Expert
I am not a Roku employee, only a user like you.  Please, no support questions via private message -- post them publicly to the Community where others may benefit as well.
If this post solves your problem please help others find this answer by clicking "Accept as Solution.".

Ultra 4800 | Streaming Stick 4K+ 3821 | TCL Roku TV 43S245/C107X
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putz4582
Binge Watcher
‎11-27-2023 07:41 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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yes shows my correct email address 

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makaiguy
Community Streaming Expert
‎11-27-2023 08:05 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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@makaiguy wrote:

@putz4582-

If it is your email, can you log into https://my.roku.com using that email?

If you can log in, try changing your Roku account password.  You might also try changing the email address associated with this account to a different email address, if you have one, in case the current email has somehow been compromised.

Roku Community Streaming Expert
I am not a Roku employee, only a user like you.  Please, no support questions via private message -- post them publicly to the Community where others may benefit as well.
If this post solves your problem please help others find this answer by clicking "Accept as Solution.".

Ultra 4800 | Streaming Stick 4K+ 3821 | TCL Roku TV 43S245/C107X
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putz4582
Binge Watcher
‎11-27-2023 08:29 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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yes I am able to log in and it displayed my first name 

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putz4582
Binge Watcher
‎11-27-2023 08:55 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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I did change my Roku password, my email passwords, cancelled my credit card, changed all my online banking information, etc. The scammers can keep locking my tv's all day long apparently. I can reset the device to factory settings, go in and set up my Netflix account again, etc. and the scammers can lock the tv up again in no time. C'mon Roku!  How about some support here!  I have a problem ticket opened with Roku Customer Support but I'm guessing that means absolutely squat, since I have no response yet. 

 

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RokuEuniceL
Community Moderator
Community Moderator
‎11-28-2023 06:58 AM

Re: TV's locked up, screen message says my Roku acct expired and listed a phone number to call

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Hi @putz4582,

Thanks for posting here in the Roku Community!

We regret to hear about the inconvenience that it has caused you. Please be advised that we have passed your information on to our Roku support team to assist you further.

In the meantime, please check out this support article on turning Guest Mode on and off your Roku streaming device and ensure you have turned off Guest Mode and updated login credentials.
We hope this helps.
All the best,

Eunice

Eunice L.
Roku Community Moderator
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