Senior Targets: Phishing scam for bank info
Complaint
Suzanna
Country: United States
I've seen this on the web before, but my mother was also scammed by an unsolicited phone call. Thinking she was dealing with her medical benefits providers, she, regrettably, gave out bank routing numbers to these crooks, who then deducted $448.74 from her account in March 2012. They pray upon the trusting elderly. Please make it clear to the elderly in your family not to give out ANY personal information over the phone. After calling the number on the electronic check, I found that they are just a third-party involved in this operation of bogus better rates for medical services. We are working on getting the charges reversed, even though they have a recording of mom giving out her routing number. Very conveniently, they do not have recorded what transpired prior to this scam. BEWARE.
Comments
They call and defraud the elderly, pretending to be "with your pharmacy", connected to "your insurance", or even "with Medicare", sometimes even scaring the elderly into disclosing account information, "or your Medicare benefits will be cut off".
It's a phone fraud and extortion racket. The alleged "medical discount plan" is worthless.
The charges are typically run through using "remotely created checks", which bypasses the fraud monitoring systems of VISA, MasterCard, or ACH (NACHA) that might flag and shut down their merchant account due to high chargeback ratios..
Canadian telemarketers frequently used clipped, doctored, or misrepresented phone recordings in these scams, to intimidate victims and fool their bankers into believing the charges were "authorized". This fabrication is routine with Canadian fraudulent "business directory" scammers (often also in the Montreal area), and is also routinely reported with these "medical discount" scammers. They have the capability to take excerpts of some phone recording, and edit them ito a different script so that it sounds like the consumer was "authorizing" charges for some offer.
With these scams, no recordings can be trusted. They would not be playing these "recordings" if they did not already know that it was effective at pulling off the scheme.
They are a bunch of liars, and your banker should be aware that these "recordings" are aimed at convincing them to not push a fraud dispute through the system, defrauding the bank and their "customer". They are working with a payment processor apparently aware of the scheme, and assisting them with it, using the barrier of a cross border transaction to further impede lawsuits or prosecution.
BBB NY (try Buffalo, near Champlain) has information on them, although it might not be under this name. For example, search on "Discount Medical Services".
http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business- ... in-ny-165454830
Or Google "complaintwire medical discount scam", or similar.
Here is an FTC warning on this fraud, but it is not adequate to fully warn of these cross-border scams.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/phonefraud/medical.shtml
Your mother should immediately file a fraud dispute with her bank, and shut down the account to prevent future fraud. Her bank can reverse fraudulent charges if she disputes promptly. She should follow up with a written fraud affidavit.
Also file fraud complaints with FTC, her state Attorney General, and BBB.
This name may be a new one. Any phone numbers, or information from the fraudulent charge on her bank statement?
This type of scam is known for fabricating and doctoring phone recordings, falsely claiming people "agreed" to their charges, calling pretending to be "Medicare" to scare seniors into disclosing account information "or your benefits will be cut off", and calling pretending to be "your pharmacy".
On top of that, any "medical discount plan" is worthless.
File fraud disputes with her bank, and close the account to prevent further fraud.
Your bank can reverse the fraudulent charges if you dispute them within 60 days of the statement date of the statement showing them.
In addition, file fraud and theft complaints with your local police department, state Attorney General, and with FTC.
Medical discount services is true and really benefiaciary
It's always fun talking with shills. Where are you operating out of, Montreal? And thank you for confirming that "Secure Medical Group" is connected to the earlier scam name, "Medical Discount Services". Once a scam, always a scam.
If you find one of these fraudulent charges, immediately file fraud disputes with your bank, and close the account or block the card number to prevent additional fraud. Follow up with your bank dispute by filing a written fraud affidavit with your bank, and also file a theft and fraud complaint with your local police department.
File fraud complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General and insurance commissioner, and at www.ic3.gov.
In addition, contact BBB in NY to file fraud complaints against this new name they are using.
http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business- ... in-ny-235965526
Discount Services
Phone: (866) 304-2401
25 Locust Street #304,
Champlain , NY 12919
...
Alternate Business Names
American Benefit Plan
Secure Medical Group
Reason for Rating
BBB rating is based on 16 factors.
Factors that lowered the rating for Discount Services include:
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating
30 complaints filed against business
Failure to respond to 13 complaints filed against business
14 serious complaints filed against business
Advertising issue(s) found by BBB
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business
Additional Information
top
BBB file opened: July 26, 2011
.."
Address is a mail forwarder in Champlain NY.
http://www.bordermailservices.com/faq.php
BBB warning on fraudulent Canadian companies using mail forwarders in Champlain NY.
http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business- ... in-ny-scams-207
Complaints against 866-304-2401
Numerous complaints of fraudulent charges, both with and without prior deceptive phone calls.
Uses multiple aliases.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-304-2401
"SUREBEN"
"SASMED"
"D BEN Discount Medical Benefits"
"IBEN"
"Nationwide Security"
"Fammed"
"my ben"
Verification that phone number connects to earlier "Discount Medical Benefits" scam.
https://complaintwire.org/complaint/6aYBAAAAAAA/discount-medical-services
"///
Mary Fell For This Scam
23 May 2011
On May 18th my account showed a pre-authorized check in the amount of $447.35, payable to DBEN. I called the number on the check 866-304-2401 they are 3rd Party Customer Company said I purchased Medical Package from Discount Medical Benefits, 1176 A Main Street, Champlain, New York. Would not give me there telephone number. I never purchased no such package. Said I would receive a refund within 21 days I'm presently at my Bank freezing my account opening a new account and reporting to the Fraud Department. I'd like to personally find these scam artists and cut off there BALLS. I am also reporting them to the Attorney General. They should go to Jail. Said they were Medicare verifying information
..."
Same old fraudulent telemarketing scam, just another new name.
number. Reported to Trusted ID Fraud, and to police. Notified bank and changed bank account.
name Secure Medical Group. What will it take for the proper authorities to take action??? Why isn't
there more publicity out there warning seniors and the general public re this scam?? That 3rd party
company in N.J. is also leading people on.
"For Release: 05/21/2013
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Ban Payment Methods Favored in Fraudulent Telemarketing Transactions
In an ongoing effort to protect consumers from deceptive telemarketing, the Federal Trade Commission seeks public comment on proposed amendments to strengthen the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s protections against bogus charges and services.
The Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announced today would curtail the use of four payment methods favored by con artists and scammers. The proposed changes would:
Stop telemarketers from dipping directly into consumer bank accounts by using unsigned checks and “payment orders” that have been “remotely created.” These instruments can make it easy for unscrupulous telemarketers to debit bank accounts without permission, according to the FTC.
Bar telemarketers from getting paid with traditional “cash-to-cash” money transfers, as well as “cash reload” mechanisms, that scammers rely on to get money quickly and anonymously from consumer victims.
The FTC has found that unscrupulous telemarketers rely on these payment methods because they are largely unmonitored and provide consumers with fewer protections against fraud. The FTC’s proposed changes to the TSR would make it a violation for telemarketers and sellers to accept any of these payment methods in any telemarketing transaction.
The proposed changes also would expand the TSR’s ban on telemarketing “recovery services” in exchange for an advance fee. In the Commission’s experience, telemarketers who call consumers offering to help recover losses they suffered through an earlier fraud are often engaged in deceptive practices. Currently limited to offers to recoup losses suffered in a prior telemarketing transaction, the existing ban would be expanded to include offers to recoup losses suffered in any prior transaction.Reply !
This "medical discount" scam, targetting the elderly, has shown a consistent pattern of several types of deceptive or fraudulent tactics.
1) Targetting the elderly with deceptive "sales" calls
2) Using leading threatening "sales" pitches to obtain account information, including pretending to be calling "from Medicare", "from your pharmacy", or claiming that "your Medicare benefits will be cut off" if you do not disclose your account information. Callers have deliberately targetted the elderly to take advantage of their fear, possibly weakened capacity or fading memory, etc.
3) Some complaints are consistent with buying or otherwise obtaining account information without any call at all, indicating they are tapping into illegal trade in "elder sucker lists" that include bank account information.
4) Use of faked or doctored "recordings" is similar to other telemarketing fraud tactics used by Montreal area fraudulent telemarketers in small business fraudulent billing shakedown scams.
5) Evading prosecution by operating from across the border in Canada. Many of their mail drops have been mail forwarders in Champlain NY, commonly used by Canadian scam businesses attempting to appear to be "in the US".
6) Use of "remotely created checks" to bypass the normal bank payment system fraud protections and monitoring systems present in ACH, credit, or debit card systems. Many times this, or the faked "recordings" even fools bank employees into thinking the charges were "approved", even though it's all a fabrication. This leads to dismissing the credibility of their own customers.
File a fraud complaint with FTC even though you got your money back, to report all the fraudulent details of this episode.
FTC is in the process of rule making to revise the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to make illegal the use of "remotely created checks" by this type of outbound telemarketer, as it has created this opportunity for fraud and theft.
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There has been a pattern of complaints associated with these apparently Canadian phone scammers, where a fraudulent charge shows up for one of these "medical discount" scams, and shortly after the victim is called, or even just charged, by some "fraud protection" scam. It appears that there is a connection between the two, either they are the same scammers, operating out of the same call centers, or using or trading "sucker lists" to target the same elderly..
'
This is also consistent with the existence of trading and sale of "elder sucker lists" that include bank account information among this group of fraudulent telemarketing rings.