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Many legitimate companies do business by telephone. On the other hand, the
very friendly person making the convincing sales pitch may be an illegal
telemarketer. It's difficult to judge from the caller's voice whether he or
she is a good and sincere salesperson or if the sales pitch is a scam.
Illegal telemarketing is a serious crime. According to the National
Consumers League, the FBI estimates that more than 14,000 illegal
telemarketing operations target consumers every day, and as much as $40
billion per year is lost to fraudulent telemarketers. AARP indicates that
more than half of those victims are age 50 or older.
Here are some warning signs that a solicitation over the phone may
be a scam.
- The caller pressures you to act immediately. He or she doesn't give
you a chance to look at the deal. If you request information about the
opportunity in writing, the fraudulent telemarketer frequently will say you
must make the decision right away.
- Claims are made that enormous profits in an investment can be made
with no risk, or business opportunities are available with little or no
effort.
- The caller asks that you wire the money or make a payment in cash by
a private courier. Such a request makes it difficult to trace the
transaction, evades postal authorities and reduces the time you have to
change your mind.
- The caller asks for financial information and identification
documents, even when you are not using your credit card or bank account to
buy anything. Don't give your credit card number, bank account number or
social security number to anyone who initiates such a call with you.
- The caller continues to call you even when you request that he or
she not call you again. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing
Sales Rule, telemarketers must put you on their "do not call" lists if you
request it. The seller could face a $10,000 fine if you are called again.
Keep track of names and addresses of telemarketers, so you can report them
should they call again.
- At least a dozen states, including Colorado, Georgia, Idaho,
Missouri, New York and Tennessee, have passed laws creating statewide "no
call lists." Telemarketers are required to purchase the lists from state
government and face a penalty if they call residents on the lists. To find
out if your state maintains a do-not-call-list, contact your state's
attorney general.
- The company asks for payment in advance to get
money back that the consumer has lost in another scam or to get you a
loan, credit or to repair bad credit. You do not have to pay for credit
repair, recovery room or loan and credit services until these services
have been delivered. Bad credit cannot be repaired by anyone if the
information is accurate.
The Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule says that telemarketers can
call only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. They must tell you it's a
sales call, the name of the seller and what he is selling before he makes
his sales pitch. If it's a prize promotion, the telemarketer must tell you
that no purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win, and must tell you
any restrictions or conditions of receiving the prize. They must tell you in
writing the odds of winning. It's illegal for telemarketers to misrepresent
any information. Before you pay, telemarketers must tell you the total cost
of the goods and any restrictions in receiving or using them.
To get your name off marketing lists used by telemarketers, you can
write to the Telephone Preference Service, P. O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, New
York 11735-9014. Include your name, address and phone number with a letter
requesting your name be removed from marketing lists.
Call the credit reporting OPT OUT LINE at 1-888-567- 8688 to get off lists
for credit card offers. Ask companies and organization you deal with not to
share your information with others. The best practice is to not do business
over the phone with unknown callers.
Additional information about telemarketing fraud can be obtained
from the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or from the National
Consumers League at www.fraud.org and its National Consumer Information
Center.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office.
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Uploaded Tuesday, November 27, 2007
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