Phone Thieves: Watch out for Telemarketers

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Has your evening been interrupted by a telemarketer before? Usually they call while you’re eating dinner or watching your favorite T.V. show. At best, telemarketers are a nuisance but typically work for legitimate businesses. Yet, there are many criminals who masquerade as telemarketers to steal your personal information and your identity. Here are some very simple tips to help you protect your identity.

Identify the Business or Charity

Make sure you know who you are dealing with before giving out any information. If you have questions or doubt about the legitimacy of the business or charity, call the Better Business Bureau and verify who they say they are. Also check to see if they have had any complaints made against them and ask for advice about the offer or pitch they made.

Blatant Scams

Some telemarketers will ask for upfront fees to ensure you get a credit card, loan, repair your credit, or increase your chances of winning a prize. These types of claims are all illegal and obvious scams. It’s also illegal to buy & sell foreign lottery tickets so watch out for telemarketers trying to push these on you.

High Pressure

Pay attention to scare tactics and high pressure demands from telemarketers. Often times they demand wire transfers or want you to pay taxes or customs fees in order to claim a prize. Also beware of requests for account information when you’re not making a purchase. Lastly watch out for claims to make lots of money while working from home.

Verify Identity

Pay attention to what business telemarketers claim to be representing. Identity thieves often times pretend to represent well known companies. Just to be safe call the company’s main phone number and verify who the telemarketer is working for.

Credit Cards are Safer

Paying by credit card is safer than cash, check, or money order. By the time you realize there is a problem you have lost the money if you paid by cash, check, or money order. If you use a credit card you can dispute the charges with the bank. If you pay using debit cards or direct bank draft you lose the right to dispute with the bank. Always use credit cards when making purchases over the phone.

Location, Location, Location

Location is everything. If you are suspicious about an offer a telemarketer is making find out where the company is located. If they are located outside of the U.S. it is difficult to for law enforcement to pursue them. Be very careful when dealing with an unknown company because thieves sometimes have U.S. address that forward out of the country. They even have U.S. phone numbers that forward to an international number. These tricks make it difficult to find out where the company is located so be cautious.

Know Your Rights

Watch your caller ID and screen your phone calls because the FCC requires that the business name and number be shown on the caller ID by all telemarketers. Beware of calls with “private”, “out of area”, or “unavailable” displayed. Lastly make sure your number is on the do not call registry and know your consumer rights.

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