|
Recommended:
books
Recommended
AV product:
| |
Characteristics of Telemarketing Scams and Fraud
Do you receive phone calls from telemarketers? Or calls
from a fax machine? Or odd calls in which no one answers on the other end?
Or perhaps a recorded voice tells you to hold on the line? Or perhaps a postcard
in your mail box telling you to call? Do you know how to recognize a
telemarketing scam?
A telemarketing fraud scheme often begins when you receive
a postcard or letter in the mail describing an appealing offer. To take
advantage of the offer, you're told to call a 900 number or a toll-free 800
number. When you call, the telemarketer has a convincing sales pitch.
Protect yourself from becoming the victim of such fraud by remembering the
following tip-offs, which will help you decide whether to deal with the
promoter. And see this page
for How to Block Phone and Fax Telemarketers.
- The offer sounds too good to be true. An unbelievable-sounding
deal probably is not true.
- High-pressure sales tactics. A swindler often refuses to take no
for an answer; he has a sensible-sounding answer for your every hesitation,
inquiry, or objection.
- Insistence on an immediate decision. Swindlers often say you must
make a decision "right now," and they usually give a reason, like, "The
offer will expire soon."
- You are one of just a few people eligible for the offer. Don't
believe it. Swindlers often send out hundreds of thousands--and sometimes
millions--of solicitations to consumers across the nation.
- Your credit card number is requested for verification. Do not
provide your credit card number (or even just its expiration date) if you
are not making a purchase, even if you are asked for it for "identification"
or "verification" purposes, or to prove "eligibility" for the offer. If you
give your card number, the swindler may make unauthorized charges to your
account, even if you decide not to buy anything. Once that is done, it may
be very hard to get your money back.
- You are urged to provide money quickly. A crook may try to
impress upon you the urgency of making an immediate decision by offering to
send a delivery service to your home or office to pick up your check. This
may be to get your money before you have a chance to think carefully about
the offer and change your mind, or to avoid the possibility of mail fraud
charges in the future.
- There is no risk. All investments have some risk, except for U.S.
Government obligations. And if you are dealing with a swindler, any
"money-back guarantee" he makes will simply not be honored.
- You are given no detailed written information. If you must send
money or provide a credit card number before the telemarketer gives you the
details in writing, be skeptical. Do not accept excuses such as, "It's such
a new offer we don't have any written materials yet," or "You'll get written
information after you pay."
- You are asked to trust the telemarketer. A swindler, unable to
get you to take the bait with all of his other gimmicks, may ask you to
"trust" him. Be careful about trusting a stranger you talk to on the phone.
- You are told you have won a prize, but you must pay for something
before you can receive it. This payment can either be a requirement to
purchase a minimum order of cleaning supplies or vitamins, or it can be a
shipping/handling charge or a processing fee. Do not deal with a promoter
who uses this tactic.
If you have been bilked in a telemarketing scheme in which the U.S. Mail was
used, or if you know about a scheme that should be investigated, inform your
local postmaster or nearest Postal Inspector.
More questions?
See this list of frequently
asked questions, direct from the FTC.
|
