Here’s a good rule of thumb: if a window pops up on your computer alerting you that your device has been compromised by a malware attack and offers to fix the problem by calling a toll-free number, there’s a good chance it’s a scam. To that end: federal regulators and the state of Florida have accused an international tech support operation of bilking millions of dollars from American consumers. [More]
telemarketers
Don’t Pay A Telemarketer $500 Up Front For A Discount Travel Club Membership
By 9.11.15
Everyone loves bargains, and there are some discount cards that are worthwhile. However, if someone calls you up and offers to sell you a discount travel card for only $500, save your money for your actual travel instead. One woman who purchased one of these cards wishes that she had saved her money instead: now that she’s bought the card, she can’t actually reserve any travel. [More]
Cemetery Workers Won’t Stop Calling And Asking For Man Whose Ashes Have Been Interred There For 4 Years
By 3.26.15
It’s one thing to be annoyed by telemarketers who just don’t know when to quit. But it’s a hassle that shouldn’t follow you (or your loved ones) into the afterlife. The longtime partner of a man who died of lung cancer in 2010 says though his loved one was cremated and interred at a local cemetery, workers from that same cemetery keep calling the house and asking for the dead man by name. [More]
Police: Telemarketer’s Phone Call Saved Woman 900 Miles Away From Violent Attack
By 1.30.15
Usually a telemarketer’s call is greeted with annoyance, disdain or even outright anger. But in one recent case, that unsolicited phone call has been credited with saving a woman’s life, from 900 miles away. [More]
Organization Promising Fraud Protection Scams $20 Million From Senior Citizens
By 3.31.14
Scamming people is wrong. Scamming senior citizens is immoral, disrespectful, and a number of other adjectives. Still, there are companies in the world that prey on the elderly. The Federal Trade Commission has put a stop to one such organizations that bilked more than $20 million from seniors. [More]
A Telemarketer Explains How To Banish Telemarketers
By 3.11.14
If you’ve signed up for the Do Not Call List, you shouldn’t get phone solicitations except from companies you do business with and charitable organizations. If you’re getting calls from a group you aren’t interested in sending money to, or you just don’t like making donations over the phone, they’re just as annoying as commercial calls. [More]
Scammy Precious Metal Marketers Banned From Selling Investments, Ordered To Repay Millions
By 3.5.14
Precious metals can be a great investment when handled properly by a respected and truthful organization, but that’s not always the case. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission put the brakes on three precious metal marketers in Florida after they allegedly scammed nearly $9 million from consumers. [More]
Telemarketers Must Pay $14.75 Million Judgment, Because Scamming People Is Wrong
By 2.3.14
When you’ve make a promise to no longer defraud consumers, you might want to stick to that promise. Otherwise, like two Florida businessmen, you could be on the hook for $14.75 million. [More]
That Pre-Recorded Voice Isn’t Really A Robot, But She’s Not A Live Telemarketer Either
By 1.13.14
Remember Samantha West? That was the name of the most definitely recorded voice insisting that she was a real person on a telemarketing call about buying health insurance. And while there probably is no Ms. West sitting by the phone dialing up potential customers, she’s not exactly a robot, either. [More]
What If Telemarketers Had To Pay You To Annoy You?
By 8.29.13
Imagine if, instead of just getting annoyed when the phone rings and it’s a telemarketer or robocaller, you were delighted. Not because you were eager to speak with them, but because you gave out a toll number instead of your real phone number, and telemarketers had to pay to call you. One man in Leeds, England is living that dream. [More]
B2B Telemarketer Rage: A Perspective From The Other End Of The Phone Line
By 1.29.13
Usually, the people who write to us are besieged with calls from telemarketers or companies they’ve done business with, and want us to help make it stop. Brett is on the other side of the phone line. He’s not the traditional telemarketer you might think of, calling ordinary citizens during dinner: his company is just business-to-business, and he was doing some cold calling to drum up business. The person who answered the phone was anything but businesslike. [More]
If Your Company Runs The Do Not Call List, Make Sure The Telemarketing Department Checks It
By 1.8.13
One might think that if you’re a company that runs both the Do Not Call registry for a country as well as a telemarketing division, the two departments might compare notes once in a while. Because how embarrassing would it be if the company’s telemarketers called people on that Do Not Call list? So embarrassing, and worth a $110,000 fine. [More]
These Workers Know Their Jobs Make The World A Worse Place But A Job Is A Job, Right?
By 10.18.12
In these trying economic times, we’re not about to begrudge anyone a job. Heck, we’ve all got bills to pay. But some workers are willing to point the finger at themselves and admit that what they do for a living is maybe kind of sort of making the world a worse place. A new survey asked a variety of workers if their jobs do good things for the world, and plenty of those polled replied, “Nope.” [More]
Does Uptick In Telemarketing Complaints Mean "Do-Not-Call" Registry Isn't Really Working?
By 9.17.12
Ah, the cherished dinner hour. Peace, quiet and if that stupid telemarketer doesn’t stop calling I am seriously going to throw my fork really violently at something. If that sounds like you, you aren’t alone. Even with the “Do Not Call” registry, there’s been a spike in complaints against telemarketers, especially those pre-recorded phone calls that always seem to come when you don’t want them to. Although, does anyone ever really welcome a telemarketer’s call? Doubt it. [More]
Telemarketer Just Cannot Handle Being Hung Up On Again, Calls Back With Bomb Threat
By 9.4.12
We all likely know at least a few people who have endured being a telemarketer, and while it sounds like an awful, horrible no-good very bad gig, hey, it’s a job. But one telemarketer had simply had it up to here with people hanging up on him. And so he did something a bit extreme to express that frustration — he called back and told the homeowner there was a bomb in the house. [More]
FTC Charges Telemarketers With Scamming Elderly People Out Of At Least $10 Million
By 6.20.12
In a day when the stock market is unpredictable and huge financial institutions sometimes appear to be built out of nothing but smoke and mirrors, it can be tempting to want to invest your nest egg in something more concrete, especially something like “precious metals,” a phrase that, to some, exudes wealth and security. [More]
How Did Telemarketers End Up With Number That Was Changed To Avoid Telemarketers?
By 4.10.12
A man in California was so fed up with unwanted telemarketing calls (which may be a redundancy) that he finally gave in and changed his number to one that was completely unlisted. Little did he know his actions would only lead to end up on a list of newly changed numbers that was sold to telemarketers. [More]
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By 9.28.11
Your cellphone rings from a number you don’t recognize. You pick it up. At first there’s silence. Then the sound of a call center kicks in and a person asks, “Hello, can I speak to Karen?” It’s a telemarketer, or a debt collector, using an autodialer. And they just broke the law. And just for funsies, you can collect $500 or $1500 with just a few hours of work if you go after them. [More]
