Phone Scams

Thieves who use the telephone to commit crimes do not honor ... “do not call” requests, however. And it can be very difficult for you to tell when a telephone seller is legitimate or not. Telemarketing sales persons – and telephone crooks – often sound sincere, friendly, persuasive and convincing. To help protect you from “telecriminals,” District Attorney Conte offers the following:

IT IS PROBABLY A FRAUD OR SCAM WHEN:

• A caller makes you an offer that just seems too good to be true.
• A caller announces excitedly that you have won a substantial cash or merchandise price – and all you have to pay is a nominal fee for shipping, handling, taxes, import duty, etc. Your suspicions should be aroused whenever a telemarketer says that “free” doesn’t really mean, “free.”
• A caller wants you to wire them money, or give them your credit card or bank account information, to pay for a free “prize”.
• A caller offers to send someone (an agent, courier, messenger or delivery company) to your house “right away” to pickup your cash, check, or to process your credit payment.
• A caller says that he or she must have your answer “NOW, BEFORE YOU HANG UP THE PHONE!” Legitimate telemarketers might be disappointed that they can’t immediately close the deal – but they should not be unwilling to give you sufficient time to consider their offer, investigate their company or claims (with the Better Business Bureau, consumer agencies, etc.) – and they should be able to follow up their telephone offers with printed information.
• A caller knows that you have recently been a victim of telephone fraud – and offers, “for a small advance fee,” his or her professional services to help you recover the money you lost. Besides the police, the only ones likely to know that you were swindled were the thieves themselves – and the police do not charge fees to investigate crimes.
• A caller solicits contributions for a charity – even one with a familiar sounding name – but they won’t send you a copy of their annual report and information about how contributions are spent. Many con artists pretend to call on behalf of what sounds like a nationally known philanthropy – but listen carefully and you’ll be able to recognize the difference!
• A caller offers you – and only a select few others like you – the “golden investment opportunity of a lifetime.” Don’t be surprised – or fooled – when the next thing they tell is that time is too short to send you any written information, and that they must have your commitment (and money) now to enroll you in the program.
• A caller wants you to participate in a telephone survey or study that involves asking you personal information. Surveys and studies don’t need your date of birth, Social Security Number, or credit card account numbers!
• A caller wants you to send cash or a check to an address containing a pound sign (#). The pound sign indicates that this is a “commercial mail receiving agency” (CMRA), not a business address. Mail sent to CMRAs goes to non-U.S. Postal Service mail drops where it is deposited to private mailboxes.

REMEMBER:

Telephone scammers don’t want to answer your questions and send you information. They want your money or information now. By getting you excited – and not taking “no” for an answer – they exploit you and overcome your resistance. Legitimate charities and businesses, however, are not afraid to give you facts, figures, and time to think about and check out their offers. If you doubt the authenticity or validity of a telephone offer, you can always hang up without giving them any information.

[Source: Worchester County District Attorney's office: Protecting Yourself from Telephone Fraud