How to avoid scams when activating a PBS membership

With the prevalence of digital scams these days, cyber safety is more important than ever, and Arizona PBS highly values your safety and privacy. To help keep your information safe, review the following details and tips which outline how to avoid scams related to PBS, the PBS app or Arizona PBS Passport.

PBS is in active works with Roku, Android/ Amazon and other supported smart TVs on messaging and language to prevent any confusion and avoid current scams.

The main thing to remember is this: The PBS App requires no fee to download or activate. PBS does not ask for any payment information to activate the app. Your PBS app will provide you with a short alphanumeric code which you can then enter at our site https://www.pbs.org/activate to activate it. 

We strongly recommend typing https://www.pbs.org/activate into your browser’s URL bar to directly navigate to the proper site. 

Attempting to perform a web search for these key terms or sites may return websites unaffiliated with PBS who are advertising assistance with activation for a fee. You may also encounter these sites if you use a third-party QR scanning app instead of your phone’s camera to scan the QR code. It’s worth noting scanning the QR code is not required to activate the PBS App, and remember, you can also type the website https://www.pbs.org/activate manually into a browser.

Here are some warning signs you are speaking with someone unaffiliated with PBS:

• You receive a message or speak to someone saying you need to pay a fee to activate.
• You are asked or advised to download an app onto your device to activate your account or view our programming. Only the PBS App is required to watch PBS content.
• The person you speak with does not actually identify themselves as working with PBS but rather a generic company name like “TV App Activation Company.”

PBS has no affiliation with these websites or companies. The official PBS Device Activation website will not ask you to enter any billing information or pay a fee to activate the PBS app.

In addition, PBS Help Desk agents will never ask for:

• Your personal password for your email or other login accounts you may own.
• Your billing information.
• A fee to activate the PBS App or create a PBS account.

If you have visited one of these websites and provided them with your billing information, we recommend you contact your bank and credit card company to report the issue. We also recommend changing any personal passwords you may have provided.

You can also find more tips and FAQs on avoiding scams on the main PBS.org website here.

About the author

Mike Maggio is a marketing and membership leader specializing in strategic marketing and membership operations grounded in analytics, audience engagement and process optimization.

Since joining Arizona PBS in 2012, Mike has held roles of Direct Marketing Manager, Database Manager and his current role as Membership Director, where he oversees a diverse portfolio of marketing channels including direct mail, telemarketing and digital engagement to strengthen relationships with over 70,000 members and more than 1 million viewers.

In addition to leading the membership marketing strategy, Mike manages the Member Services team, ensuring a high standard of customer care and engagement for Arizona PBS’s supporters. He also oversees the station’s CRM, leveraging data and analytics to inform fundraising strategies and deliver actionable insights through comprehensive reporting. His efforts help drive member acquisition, retention and revenue growth.

Before joining Arizona PBS, Mike served as Marketing Database Manager for Gannett, where he led multi-market direct marketing campaigns and managed two successful software conversions.

Throughout his career, Mike has consistently used data-driven strategies to deepen audience engagement and optimize marketing performance.