As those who know AJ are no doubt aware, these past several years have also been rough in other ways. In addition to losing Molly Mae, he has lost several human loved ones, had multiple knee surgeries due to injuries he originally sustained fighting for our country, and has suffered other numerous setbacks that, in my opinion, hardly seem very fair, considering how much of his life he has devoted to volunteering in his community and helping others. Because he is humble and does not like to draw attention to himself, he has largely suffered in silence, not asking for help. Well, as his friend, I’m not too proud to ask for help. Please help me find him a new animal companion to train as his next K9 partner. The lucky dog who goes to live with AJ will be incredibly loved, and will receive extensive training in Search and Rescue, Forensics, and more.

Here is what we need from you, the reader:

A Rough Coat Collie (basically, a lassie dog), pick of the litter, approximately 6mos – 1 year old – the dog must be FREE, as AJ cannot afford to buy a dog at the moment. However, the dog will receive excellent veterinary care, as we do have a veterinarian who generously volunteers their services to AJ / 911BC. AJ has 35 years of experience in SAR – All you will have to do is give AJ 15 minutes with the dog, in person, and he will be able to tell whether it is a suitable candidate for Forensics work. The dog must be healthy, well socialized, and not too afraid of new things, also must not be afraid of climbing, and other awkward activities.

Not only would you be doing a good deed, you would be bringing joy to a man who has selflessly volunteered for his community for decades, asking for nothing in return for his hard work. He does not accept payment for his volunteer work, and has found many missing persons both alive and dead, bringing their families help and closure that they otherwise might not have had, or may have had to wait a long time for otherwise. Please help him now.

Even though he is too shy and proud to ask for help, he does need your help, and yes, I am talking to you, specifically.

Please contact AJ@911bc.org or Jessica@greenwebdesign.com if you have a rough coat collie that you would be willing to give AJ, or if you know someone who has such a dog, and may be willing to help.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jessica

However, this number called several times in a few days without leaving a message, and I was curious to find out who it was, if for no other reason than to make them stop calling, because it was getting distracting.  The number was 773-000-0000 and the caller ID simply said “Out of area”.

It was an automated recording from “Account Services”, and it stated that the offer to lower my credit card interest rate was almost expiring, and to press 9 to continue.  “Account services” is pretty generic, which was my first tip-off that this was a scam.

My next clue? I have a few credit cards, and not one of them has ever called me about lowering my interest rate.  In fact,  I call all of my credit card companies like clockwork every 6 months, even if they don’t have a balance and are already really low, and ask them to lower the interest rate (which everyone should do).  However, in my 10+ years of credit card usage, I have never once had them call me and offer to lower my rate.

So, curious, I pressed 9 to see what they were going to say.  The way that these call centers usually work is that, once you press 9, the autodialer program that called you forwards you to a phone extension where a person is waiting.  On their caller ID, they will almost always see the dialer’s phone number, and not your number, since you did not call them directly.  For this reason, I felt pretty confident pressing 9 and knowing that he wouldn’t know who I was specifically.

The gentleman who answered sounded as though he was probably in India or Pakistan, and sounded as though he might have taken elocution lessons to speak like an American. For some reason, he was shouting rather than speaking.  Not shouting angrily, just shouting as though he was deaf or was in a very loud place, and it did sound as though he were in a huge call center with a cacophony of voices chattering in the background, so that was likely the reason.

I could not make out what company he said he was with.  I asked him to say it again. He spoke so quickly and so loudly, I couldn’t make it out at all.  I asked him to state his company name a 3rd time, and he said that he worked for “visa and mastercard”.

Here is a summary of his sales pitch:

He claimed to work for Visa, Mastercard, and Experian.  He said “they” did a survey and it showed that xx percent of people are hurting their credit by closing credit accounts instead of lowering their interest rates. (*note* it is technically true that closing credit card accounts hurts your credit, because it lowers your total available credit.  The more you know.)

Basically, his angle was that on behalf of Experian, Visa, and Mastercard, they would lower all of my credit card interest rates for free, “because you have such good credit and are still paying such high interest rates”.

It’s true, I do have excellent credit, but I think that was just a lucky guess on his part. The only high interest credit card I have is my business credit card, and it does not go any lower, for any reason, as part of the rewards program terms.  Believe me, I have asked every 6 months for 3 years as a matter of principle. So his information was pretty far off base in that regard.

So, anyways, supposedly, Experian had reviewed my account and decided that despite having good credit my credit card interest rates were “too high”.  He didn’t seem to know what those high numbers were, or the names of the credit card companies that were supposedly charging me too much interest.

It’s a good scheme when you think about it… no matter who you are or how good or bad your credit is, you will probably always consider the interest too high, and people’s eagerness to get a deal “before it expires very soon” may stop them from thinking about it too hard.  Whatever the reason, this scam has been around for several years, so it must be working for them!

I asked several questions, such as, “aren’t Visa and Mastercard and Experian three different companies, how could you work for all three?” and “Who is paying you, Visa, Mastercard, or Experian?”.  I got no satisfactory answer from him.  Most of his answers were just things he had already said, and it wasn’t any more convincing the the more I heard it.

He assured me it would cost me nothing. I asked if his company was a charity, that they could afford to randomly call and help consumers get lower interest rates.  In response, he again claimed that Experian picked me based on my excellent credit and that the reward is having lower interest rates.

He seemed to have a bunch of pat answers, but his responses were inappropriate – just a little off, like his english – none of his answers quite fit the questions that I asked, and no matter what I asked, I got one of 5 answers.   He never explained how his company got paid, or which company actually signed his check – but just kept assuring me that it would not cost me a single cent because he works for Visa, Mastercard, and Experian.

He, of course, needed my credit card numbers and other information in order to help me.  At this point, having listened to his grating voice blasting at top volume for several minutes straight, and having absolutely no intention of giving this obvious scammer any sensitive financial data, I hung up.

If anyone calls you and asks you to give them your credit card number, bank account number, social security number, mother’s maiden name, or any other sensitive financial data, NEVER give it to them.  A legitimate bank, credit card company, or other financial institution will send you an official letter in the mail on their stationary or with their logo on the documents.  Visa and Mastercard will never, ever, ever call you on the phone and ask you for any of this information.  The only time they do ask you for any information is when you call them.

Speaking of which, another good point to bring up would be to never call a phone number on your answering machine for a bank.  If someone leaves a message for you saying they’re from your bank, your credit card company, your credit union, or other financial institution that you do business with, and asks you to call them back, look at their official company website or in the phone book to be sure you are calling their phone number.  Anyone can call and pretend to be Mr. Smith from your bank and give you a phone number to call him back at, but that does not mean that he’s legitimate, or that his phone number is, or that it’s OK to give him your information on the phone.

On a related note, another thing that I have been telling people for years is that if you receive an email and it asks you to log into your bank account, PayPal account, email account, etc, NEVER click on the link given in the email.  If you get an email supposedly from PayPal then you should open a new browser window, and manually type in paypal.com into the address bar with your own fingers.  Otherwise, you may be clicking on a link to a site that has stolen paypal’s pictures and only *looks* like paypal.  In the address bar, it may even have the word paypal in the website address (such as http://paypal.fakescamsite.com or http://fakescamsite.com/paypal) but when you enter your login information, it steals it, giving the scammer (or Phisher) the ability to log into your account and steal your money, change your password, etc.

One other thing that people often fail to realize is that paying with a check is an easy way to become a victim of identity or other theft.  Your bank account number is on your check.  And if you’re like most people, so is your phone number, address, middle initial, and maybe even your drivers license number, as used to be the norm a mere 10 years ago or so.

My last tip for the day: using a credit card is much safer than using a debit card.  At least if someone steals your credit card number, they can’t suck all of the money out of your bank account and make your rent check bounce, just for example!

When paying with a debit or credit card, don’t let the card out of your sight.  A common scam in the last few years has been for Scammers to pay waitstaff and other cashier type workers to skim card numbers.  It takes a split second for them to scan the card a 2nd time into a handheld reader, and the numbers they collect are sold to the scammer who gave them the machine to use.  Then, they make a copy of the card and use it a month or two later and max it out quickly before you know what’s happening.

In 2009, the town where my parents live became victim to a similar scam, where someone tampered with the ATM machine at their bank, and was able to record the debit card numbers and pin numbers.  The bank caught it after only a few days, but it put thousands of debit card users at risk, who then had to get new cards “just in case”, since the bad guys weren’t actually caught, just their equipment was.

This concludes today’s informative rant about scams and keeping your financial information safe.  I hope you learned something, and that it helps keep you safe in the future.   Remember, a fool and their money are soon parted… be skeptical and be safe!

==

Jessica Franke is the owner of Green Web Design, a full service Website Design, Web Hosting, Domain Registrar, and Online Marketing firm.  She is also the owner of 50 States Classifieds, and has been providing Free Classifieds online since 2002.  For more articles written by Jessica Franke, visit her blog.

“FTC Cracks Down on Scammers” (07 Jul, 2009) http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/shortchange.shtm

FTC Cracks Down on Scammers Trying to Take Advantage of the Economic Downturn New Public Education Video Helps Consumers Steer Clear of Business Opportunity Fraud The Federal Trade Commission today announced a law enforcement crackdown on scammers trying to take advantage of the economic downturn to bilk vulnerable consumers through a variety of schemes, such as promising non-existent jobs; promoting overhyped get-rich-quick plans, bogus government grants, and phony debt-reduction services; or putting unauthorized charges on consumers’ credit or debit cards.

Dubbed “Operation Short Change,” the law enforcement sweep announced today includes 15 FTC cases, 44 law enforcement actions by the Department of Justice, and actions by at least 13 states and the District of Columbia. During a joint press conference today at the FTC, David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, was joined by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tony West; Roy Cooper, Attorney General of North Carolina; and a Washington, D.C. job seeker who was conned by a company that made false promises of maintenance and janitorial work.

“Rising unemployment, shrinking credit, record-setting foreclosures, and disappearing retirement accounts are causing consumers tremendous anxiety about making ends meet,” Vladeck said. “But to con artists, today’s challenging economy presents just another opportunity to play on consumers’ worry and bilk them out of money.”

“Thousands of people have been swindled out of millions of dollars by scammers who are exploiting the economic downturn,” Vladeck added. “Their scams may promise job placement, access to free government grant money, or the chance to work at home. In fact, the scams have one thing in common–they raise people’s hopes and then drive them deeper into a hole.”

To help consumers understand how easy it is to be conned–and how to avoid fraud–the FTC produced a new consumer education video featuring a former scammer who hawked phony business opportunities and ultimately served prison time for deceiving investors. To view the video, go to ftc.gov or YouTube.com/ftcvideos. In the video, the former scammer gives an insider account of how these operations use high-pressure tactics and celebrity endorsers to trick cash-strapped consumers, and how consumers can protect themselves by demanding written disclosures on earnings and other sales data.

Operation Short Change: FTC’s Law Enforcement Actions

The FTC today announced that it has brought eight new cases against companies that have conned consumers who are struggling to make a living and pay their bills during these difficult economic times. The Commission brought seven additional cases challenging similar conduct earlier this year.

In each new case, the FTC alleged that the defendants’ practices were deceptive or unfair. In some of the cases, the FTC also charged the defendants with making illegal electronic funds transfers or violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

In the law enforcement actions announced today, the Commission charged:

John Beck/Mentoring of America, two principals, and three purported “inventors” marketed three get-rich-quick schemes, duping hundreds of thousands of consumers into paying approximately $300 million. The defendants marketed “John Beck’s Free & Clear Real Estate System,” “John Alexander’s Real Estate Riches in 14 Days,” and “Jeff Paul’s Shortcuts to Internet Millions.” The defendants allegedly made false and unsubstantiated claims about potential earnings for users of these systems. They used frequently aired infomercials to sell the systems for $39.95 and then contacted the purchasers via telemarketing to offer “personal coaching services,” which cost several thousand dollars and purportedly would enhance their ability to earn money quickly and easily using the systems. In addition, all purchasers were signed up for continuity programs that cost an additional $39.95 per month, but which were not adequately disclosed to consumers. Some consumers also continued receiving unwanted sales calls after they told the defendants’ telemarketers to stop calling. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Wagner Ramos Borges, through a host of front companies, including “Job Safety USA,” allegedly systematically targeted people seeking maintenance and cleaning work. Luring job seekers with print and online classified advertisements in newspapers throughout the country, Borges allegedly tricked them into paying $98 for a worthless and needless credential called a “certificate registration number” supposedly so that the consumers could get maintenance or cleaning jobs–jobs that Borges did not provide. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland Greenbelt Division.

Grants For You Now and its affiliates and principals operated Web sites such as grantsforyounow.com, grantoneday.org, and easygrantaccess.com that deceived consumers by promising them free government grant money to use for personal expenses or to pay off debt. According to the FTC complaint, after obtaining consumers’ credit or debit account information to process a $1.99 fee for grant information, the defendants failed to adequately disclose that consumers would be enrolled in a membership program that cost as much as $94.89 a month. Some consumers also were charged a one-time fee of $19.12 for a third-party “Google Profit” program. All the defendants’ Web sites falsely offered a “100% No Hassle Money Back Guarantee.” This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Cash Grant Institute and its principals allegedly waged an automated robocall campaign promoting bogus claims that consumers were qualified for grant money from the government, private foundations, and wealthy individuals that they could use to overcome their financial problems. They made similar misleading claims about “free grant money” on their Web sites, cashgrantsearch.com and requestagrant.com. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

Mutual Consolidated Savings, its affiliates, and principals used telemarketing robocalls and the Internet to push a phony “Rapid Debt Reduction” program to consumers in the United States and Canada, according to the FTC complaint. The defendants allegedly convinced consumers to pay them $690 to $899 for the program by misrepresenting that the program would reduce credit card interest rates, save thousands of dollars and enable consumers to pay off their debt three to five times faster than they could under their current payment schedule. The defendants also failed to make good on promises that they would refund the fees paid if consumers’ credit card interest rates were not reduced. Finally, they did not disclose to Canadian customers that the quoted price was in U.S. dollars. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma. In investigating Mutual Consolidated Savings, the FTC received assistance from the Canadian Competition Bureau. Both the Competition Bureau and the FTC are members of the Vancouver Strategic Alliance, a law enforcement task force located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In carrying out the terms of the court order in Mutual Consolidated Savings, the FTC received assistance from the Tacoma, WA Police Department.

Google Money Tree, its principals, and related entities allegedly misrepresented that they were affiliated with Google and lured consumers into divulging their financial account information by advertising a low-cost kit that they said would enable consumers to earn $100,000 in six months. They then failed to adequately disclose that the fee for the kit would trigger monthly charges of $72.21, the complaint states. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Penbrook Productions, run by Michael Allen Brooks, promoted a work-at-home scheme online that used spokesperson “Angela Penbrook,” and charged $197 for the opportunity to become a “certified” rebate processor, earning as much as $225 per hour. According to the FTC complaint, after purchasing, consumers discovered that the work-at-home “opportunity” had nothing to do with processing rebates, but merely instructed the consumers about becoming an affiliate marketer. Despite Penbrook’s “100% Ironclad, 3-month ‘Make Money Or It’s Free,’ Triple Satisfaction Guarantee,” consumers then found that they could not get a refund. The defendants thus misrepresented that consumers would be hired as rebate processors, made false earnings claims, and misrepresented the refund guarantee. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Southern Division.

Classic Closeouts, illegally made unauthorized charges and debits to the consumers’ accounts months or years after they bought low-cost clothing or household goods from classiccloseouts.com, the FTC charged. The charges usually ranged from $59.99 to $79.99, and Classic Closeouts charged some consumers’ accounts multiple times. Consumers’ efforts to contact the defendants to contest the charges were unsuccessful. Many consumers also disputed the charges with their financial institutions. After the financial institutions reversed the unauthorized charges, the defendants contested these disputes, falsely claiming that consumers had chosen to join the Classic Closeouts “frequent shopper club.” This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The Commission vote to issue each complaint was 4-0. The Commission has obtained temporary restraining orders barring further illegal conduct and freezing the assets in these cases: FTC v. Wagner Ramos Borges d/b/a Job Safety USA, FTC v. In Deep Services, Inc. d/b/a Grants For You Now, FTC v. Cash Grant Institute, FTC v. Mutual Consolidated Savings, FTC v. Google Money Tree, and FTC v. Classic Closeouts, LLC. The agency is asking the courts for permanent injunctions that would provide for possible consumer redress in each of the cases announced today.

The FTC would like to acknowledge the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Better Business Bureau of Southland, Inc., Colton, California, in connection with FTC v. In Deep Services, Inc.; and the Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection and the Draper Police Department in connection with FTC v. Google Money Tree.

In addition, the FTC initiated, settled or otherwise resolved seven law enforcement actions earlier this year in similar types of cases:

Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services, http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/06/freedom.shtm, an alleged employment and foreclosure-rescue scam.

Medical Billers Network Inc., http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/mbn.shtm, an alleged work-at-home scam involving medical billing work.

Network Services Depot, http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/04/nsd.shtm, an alleged Ponzi scheme involving an “Internet kiosk” business opportunity scam.

United Credit Adjusters, Inc., http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/03/unitedcredit.shtm, an alleged credit repair operation that made false and deceptive claims to consumers.

Group One Networks, Inc., http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/03/groupone.shtm, an alleged telemarketing scam offering consumers with poor or no credit a general-use credit card for an up-front fee of as much as $250.

Global Marketing Group, http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/02/gmg.shtm, an alleged payment-processing scam involving fictitious credit cards and unauthorized debits made to consumers’ bank accounts.

Market Development Specialists, http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/01/mds.shtm, an alleged scam involving rebates for computer equipment and other electronics.

The enforcement actions announced today named the following defendants:

Mentoring of America – Gary Hewitt; Douglas Gravink; John Beck; John Alexander; Jeff Paul; Family Products, LLC; John Beck Amazing Profits, LLC; John Alexander, LLC; and Jeff Paul, LLC, doing business as Shortcuts to Millions, LLC. Wagner Ramos Borges – d/b/a, Job Safety USA, Sparkle Industrial, Sparkle Maintenance, Star Maintenance, Aim Janitorial & Flooring, and United Maintenance. Grants for You Now – Ryan Champion and Joseph C.

Fleming IV. Cash Grant Institute – Paul Navestad aka Paul Richard; Global Ad Agency, Domain Leasing Company, and/or Global Advertising Agency; and Chintana Maspakorn aka Christina Maspakorn. Mutual Consolidated Savings – Paul Morris Thompson and Miranda Cavender. Google Money Tree – Infusion Media, Inc.; West Coast Internet Media, Inc.; 2 Two Warnings, LLC; Two Par Investments, LLC; Platinum Teleservices, Inc.; Jonathan Eborn; Stephanie Burnside; Michael McLain Miler; and Tony Norton. Penbrook Productions – Make You Famous Consulting; Process from Home; and Michael Allen Brooks. Classic Closeouts – classiccloseouts.com; ThirdFree.com; and Daniel Greenberg.

NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of complaints when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. A complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law.