Major scam-Read my experience! You'll get a kick out of this!
Complaint
Amanda
Country: United States
So I received several phone calls and voicemails at all hours of the day and night telling me that so and so from Reading America had great news for me and to call them back at 877.855.4549. I decided to google this company before calling back and all I came across were reports that this was a scam! I decided to call them back, knowing I was NOT going to give them any personal information just to see what they had to say. I first called the number they left on my voicemail but it was consistently busy so then I tried the number that they called me from, it was still listed in my missed calls. The gentleman answered the phone saying "Amanda Crump?!" I said "yes" and he went in to congratulate me on winning several $250 gift cards to high end products including Gucci, and Versace. My first question was "how did you know it was me when you answered the phone, that was really weird?" he told me that he had all of my information, and I'm assuming they have caller ID?! So then he asks me my age and what year I graduated, I felt these were harmless questions so I answered them but I asked why he needed to know these things. His tone immediately changed and He started to get annoyed with me and said something about the necessary information if I wanted the gifts cards. He then listed the major types of credits cards that exist (visa, MasterCard, etc) and asked me which one I owned. I said I do not own one. He then told me to look at my personal debit card and to tell him what logo was on it, this is when I decided to tell him I didn't have one of those either. He became angry and told me I needed to have a debit/credit card in order to qualify for the gift cards and hung up on me!!! MAJOR SCAM!!! If they call you just call them back and mess with them for a little while! They deserve it!!
Comments
Call center PBX systems have ANI, which is equivalent to caller id. When you call an 800 number, they get your number even if you have it blocked.
He is also establishing himself in a dominant relationship to fit the next phase of the con, to first get your "agreement" on ANY "offer", then twist it into a trumpted up "verbal contract", then use intimidation through implied threats to coerce you to go along with taking your money.
"So then he asks me my age and what year I graduated, I felt these were harmless questions so I answered them but I asked why he needed to know these things. His tone immediately changed and He started to get annoyed with me and said something about the necessary information if I wanted the gifts cards. "
They are looking for naive suckers or marks, and use a scripted mix of flattery, deception, denigration, and intimidation to coerce disclosure of credit card information without full disclosure of the "terms" of the "free gift card". In the end, once they get your account information up front, regardless of what they promise they then claim you "agreed" to what will now become some multi-year "subscription contract", that they will then cram on all up front in a couple months.
The "contract terms" are only disclosed in dribs and drabs, AFTER they first get your information through the lure of the "gift card".
"He became angry and told me I needed to have a debit/credit card in order to qualify for the gift cards"
Feigned annoyance or even anger is part of the manipulation and intimidation. If you can be manipulated by that, they can intimidate you with they later ploy of inflating the "verbal contract" way above any disclosed "offer". They are looking for someone who can be intimidated with veiled threats into not disputing and just paying them off. That is the goal.
"he went in to congratulate me on winning several $250 gift cards to high end products including Gucci, and Versace"
Hope you don't beleive that. They are looking for gullible marks.
Now that you called them, you can expect additional calls, progressing to harassment, as they no longer have to watch out about violating the Do Not Call law.
They may even fraudulently claim you "agreed" to a "contract" even though you know you didn't. They might make this claim, then try to steer you to some "settlement" payoff, either paying them off to drop their "contract claim, or offering some different subscription offer to "settle", which they can again trump up. They might even send you some magazines, claiming you "ordered" them, as part of pretending you "agreed" to the bogus "contract".
It's a shakedown racket. The "free card" isn't free.
Check your credit card statements. Although you didn't disclose account information, this type of operation commonly uses a list broker to find likely marks, and there are some indications in other copmplaints that similar operations have illegally bought account or card information as well.
If you have problems, just hang up and file fraud complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, and the Georgia Attorney General.
https://complaintwire.org/complaint/45ABAAAAAAA/reading-america