scam!
Complaint
Patrick Jernigan
Country: United States
I recently received a phone call from 1-888-279-9221 and also 1-877-855-4547 that told me I had won a $1000 online shopping spree. All I had to do was answer a few questions; little did I know the questions were about my bank account information. Beware, everyone, if you get a phone call from this number(s). It is a scam. After doing some research on the company, I discovered that they use your bank account information to rob you. The report I read was written by a woman who had the same experience with this company. She was told that she would receive magazines in the mail. She received no magazines but money was still withdrawn from her account.
For those that get a phone call from this number, DO NOT answer.
For those that get a phone call from this number, DO NOT answer.
Comments
The usual fraudulent script calls for getting your account information by various deceptive offers that sound good, sometimes with offers of a "shopping spree" or "gift card", then deliberately confusing the offer so they can trump up the amounts and claiming you "agreed" to the new higher charges. Those are then all demanded up front, and they now claim you agreed to a multiyear "contract".
Some of these scams are actually aimed at creating the appearance that you have "agreed" to some multiyear contract, and "owe" around $1200, but they may not even send the magazines you supposedly ordered, or might even send some others entirely. The goal in these cases is to con you into paying $300 to $400 to "cancel" what you never agreed to, basically a "shakedown" racket.
They don't need the 3 digit CCV numbers to charge your card. It only makes it easier for them to refute a consumer fraud dispute. It implies (but doesn't prove) the card was in your possession when they got your information, but proves nothing about what the offer terms were, or any of the deceptive changes made to them after getting your information.
Creating confusion over who you are dealing with helps in evading any attempt to cancel, allowing them to run through charges for whatever they want. If they can delay your bank dispute with confusion or promises, or by putting barriers in the way of getting a response, they can run out the 60 day FRB Reg. E or FCBA dispute window, within which your bank could reverse the charges.
Confusion is a form of deception, as much as false statements or lies.
If you didn't agree to their offer, or they are charging you amounts different from what they offered, immediately file a fraud dispute with your bank, and close the account or block the card number to prevent additional fraud.
In addition, file fraud disputes with FTC and your state Attorney General.
That usually indicates they are also likely getting lots of complaints with FTC, making them particularly vulnerable to FTC scrutiny, and makes this an ideal time for filing additional FTC complaints.
Although they tend to avoid Do Not Call violations by their tactic of deceptive offers used to entice consumers to call, the construction and wording of the offer pop-ups is also easily captured and analyzed by any investigator. It would be trivial for an investigator to set them up with calls and record their scripts, including the "switcheroo" step.
I got some of the magazines and it ended but I was still paying for it. I also got the 1000 online shopping but it's things that look second hand, cheap and useless. They also called to "renew" my account with them which I did but what they did was made another account and was charging me TWICE a month for the same magazines.
I called my bank and cut them off.
Then they are misrepresenting that you are even "subscribing", since no publisher is going to send some magazine only every 3 months.