We recently received a call from someone claiming to handle AT&T renewals. We initially assumed the caller was our new account representative because we had recently lost our longtime rep, but several details seemed wrong: they did not know our full account number or the email address associated with the account. When questioned, they admitted they were not directly employed by AT&T and identified themselves as a contractor from Link Bridge Networks, using an email address at fiber-retention.com. They asked us to sign a Letter of Authorization. Has anyone dealt with this company or a similar caller? Could they be a legitimate AT&T contractor, or is this likely a reseller trying to take control of our account and sell us the same service through another company?
4 Answers
This is usually a reseller or outside sales company. They might be a legitimate business partner, but that does not mean you should authorize them to make changes. Verify everything through a known AT&T representative and do not sign anything until you understand exactly what control the Letter of Authorization grants them.
A Letter of Authorization can allow a third party to manage or transfer services on your behalf. Treat an unsolicited request like this as suspicious, especially when the caller cannot verify basic account details. Contact AT&T using a trusted number or your existing account portal rather than using any contact information supplied by the caller.
Many companies have outside contractors making renewal or retention calls, so the caller may technically be authorized to sell AT&T services. Still, these firms often operate like resellers and may simply repackage the service you already have. Only deal with representatives whose names and contact details you can confirm through your established AT&T contacts.
Repeated calls from different numbers are another warning sign. We route unknown sales calls to voicemail and only return calls after confirming the company independently. If your staff receives these calls, have them escalate the caller to someone who knows your actual account team instead of sharing account information.
A similar caller eventually tried to convince us that AT&T was not a good fit and attempted to move us to another carrier. They had enough information to sound plausible, but our actual account representative was able to verify the account independently.