Credit Card Scam

[PepperElf]

No link... just something mom told me....

She's received a couple of scam calls from some credit company saying that "if you don't take the call you won't be allowed to lower the interest on your card" etc...

She hangs up on them because the one time she took the call, they refused to say what bank they were associated with.

So obviously a scam but... is it legal for a valid credit company to refuse that information?

[Rebel1012]

short reply is NO


They HAVE to say where they are calling from

[Gerrinson]

Here's a longer answer:

Any company doing any sort of legal telemarketing call must identify not only who they are calling on behalf of (usually your credit card company) and who their company is (usually 3rd party telemarketing firm) and they must give you the contact information of their corporate HQ.

Any caller that refuses to give that information is either A) a scammer or B) breaking the law and thus so unethical that you don't want to do business with them anyway.

[PepperElf]

that's what i figured but i wasn't sure
thankfully they haven't been calling me yet

[sixums]

The newest thing that's been going around my area is those "Your car's warranty is about to expire. If you don't talk to us RIGHT NOW you might not be covered for any accidents you have!!!"

...I have insurance. I'm good.

The worst part is is that they have been HOUNDING me. I get at least one call from places like that a day. My phone number isn't listed anywhere on the internet except for Facebook, and I'm starting to think that's the cause. I really wish there was a way to ignore that crap. A fellow person in my major at university gets the same calls and she told me the other day that she only uses her phone for emergencies, so them calling every day is stressing her out. She thinks it's either her kids school, or her husbands work, or the hospital for her parents. I feel so bad for her.

[Broomjockey]

The newest thing that's been going around my area is those "Your car's warranty is about to expire. If you don't talk to us RIGHT NOW you might not be covered for any accidents you have!!!"

...I have insurance. I'm good.

I get those. I don't have a car.

[IT Grunt]

The newest thing that's been going around my area is those "Your car's warranty is about to expire. If you don't talk to us RIGHT NOW you might not be covered for any accidents you have!!!"

I get those constantly on my cell phone no less, and I have no idea where they got the number. "This is the 2nd notice that the factory warranty on your vehicle is about to expire." Uh huh. a) My car and my truck are both 10 years old... warranty on them has been LONG gone. b) It's been the 2nd notice IN ALL 50+ CALLS!!

I've also been getting those 'We have important information about your credit card' calls as well. I figure if there's news about my credit card, my bank would either a) email it to me or b) snail mail it, not leave a recorded message on my phone that doesn't identify who it's from.

[HawaiianShirts]

Ah, the credit card calls. I had one that was actually a live person. They wanted that security code (CVV?) from the back of my card, claiming that someone else had reported it as stolen but they wanted to ask me about it and try to prove that I still had the card.

I was suspicious, so I asked what bank they were calling from. I don't know if they really knew my bank or if they just had a lucky guess (I use three banks, but one is one of the largest in the country), but they got that right. Still a little unsure, I decided to play along and test them further, partly because at the time I don't think I had heard of these scams yet. The rest of the conversation went about like this...

Me: Oh, okay. I can get that number for you. Just let me dig out the card.
Them: I can hold.
Me: No need. It's here somewhere. While I've got you on the line, though, I'm wondering about the savings account I started for my son. It had $3000 in it last time I checked, but I just wanted to know if the interest for this month has been added yet or not.
Them: Uh, yes it looks like the interest has been added.
Me: I thought so. You lose. I don't have a son or a savings account with $3000 in it. *click*

I get those. I don't have a car.

My wife used to get them as well, and she doesn't have a car either (I do, but her name's not on the title, and she can't drive it anyway).

[KellyHabersham]

We occasionally get those calls at the church office.....usually I just hang up, but if I'm not busy, I'll do the "press 1 to speak to a representative", and put them on hold.

[Pagan]

The newest thing that's been going around my area is those "Your car's warranty is about to expire. If you don't talk to us RIGHT NOW you might not be covered for any accidents you have!!!"

...I have insurance. I'm good.

Those make me laugh. Mine expired in 1999.

I have also started getting calls from the local Saturn dealership about it's shutting down and where to go for warranty work.

[hecubus]

For a while about a year ago, I was getting calls that stated they were from "The Cable Company," "The Phone Company," and "The Satellite Company."

Gee, I wonder if they were legit?

[Taboo]

Lately I've been getting something similar - calls from a fake debt collection agency. They transfer you straight to a computer system that wants you to enter things like your credit card number, code on the back, etc 'before' speaking to anyone. Pretty bad job at a scam if you ask me.

There is absolutely nothing I would be in debt over. My family pays my college bills; the only things that I pay for are groceries and art materials. My rent, utilities, etc are payed through the summer. My online banking statements show that I still have a lot of money in there.

[Boredom]

The newest thing that's been going around my area is those "Your car's warranty is about to expire. If you don't talk to us RIGHT NOW you might not be covered for any accidents you have!!!"

...I have insurance. I'm good.

I used to get those calls too. I don't even have a car!



(and my number is not anywhere on the internet)

[Primer]

I used to repeatedly get a call about how I could lower my interest rate on a credit card, and if I pressed '1' I could speak to a representative about how to do that.

Anyhow, I had finally had enough of these stupid calls so I pressed '1' and waited for a live person. Somehow they had all my correct contact information and started going on about how I could save money blah blah blah. I told them that if they had so much information on me they would be able to see that I don't have ANY credit cards at all, and to take me off the list.

I keep pressing 1 hoping to get a live person to attempt to pump them for information so I can report them. I never even get a live person!

I do leave the line open as long as possible so they can waste their money on the call. I get them on my land line, so it doesn't cost me any extra.

[Munkie]

The newest thing that's been going around my area is those "Your car's warranty is about to expire. If you don't talk to us RIGHT NOW you might not be covered for any accidents you have!!!"

...I have insurance. I'm good.

I get those too... I have a car. Said car is a '95. Also, said car is languishing under a mountain of snow because i have no insurance and no registration. (i'm working on it!) Um... yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh I think the warranty has long since expired.