Call Received offering $500 Gift Card to my Favorite Shopping Store
Complaint
Dawn
Country: United States
I just received a phone call offering me a $500 Gift Card from WalMart; Target; JCPenny's; Lowes Hardware; and a couple of others. The representative explained the program as a Marketing program and this was a promotional program where my phone number had been chosen as a participant. He went on to say he needed to give me a confirmation # or Password. He said I would receive the Visa Gift Card Voucher in the mail and to activate the card, I would need the confirmation #. However, he needed to confirm that I was actually the person chosen to participate, therefore, he needed my Visa number just for identity purposes only. Additionally, he said there would be a $2.95 handling fee, but I would NOT be charged this amt. This charge could be taken care of once I activated the gift card.
I stopped him long before the end of his little scam and starting asking questions. I told him that I have previously been a victim of SCAMS and this sounded like a scam as well. He replied..."This is no SCAM." I ask ed "what was the catch", he replied, "no catch...no strings attached". When I inquired further about why he needed my Visa Card number he seemed to get flustered and upset and stated "did I ever say that I was going to charge your account anything...NO I didn't"; "We will not charge your account for anything". I told him I was then confused as to why he needed my account number and he said it was to confirm my identity. I asked wasn't there some other way of confirming my identity? He asked did I have a MasterCard. I said, "NO, I don't have any card at all right now, because
I had to cancel my card and order a new one because I was recently a victim of a SCAM. He asked me when I receive my new card and I told him in ten days. He plans to call me back.
I asked what company he worked for and he said, "Central Reward". I immediately hung up the phone and googled them and they are all over the place. This looks like a big scam and they twist it a little...sometimes it is by phone...sometimes by text message...sometimes by email message.
The other compliants I have read indicate if you fall into the trap they hit your card monthly for $39.95 and there is no gift card. You do receive some documentation in the mail and somewhere in the small print there is the details which makes this seem all legal. However, they are totally misrepresenting themselves on the phone...obviously.
There has to be a way to SHUT DOWN THIS SCAM!!! It is costing consumers $$$ as well as the Banking/Insurance Industry.
I stopped him long before the end of his little scam and starting asking questions. I told him that I have previously been a victim of SCAMS and this sounded like a scam as well. He replied..."This is no SCAM." I ask ed "what was the catch", he replied, "no catch...no strings attached". When I inquired further about why he needed my Visa Card number he seemed to get flustered and upset and stated "did I ever say that I was going to charge your account anything...NO I didn't"; "We will not charge your account for anything". I told him I was then confused as to why he needed my account number and he said it was to confirm my identity. I asked wasn't there some other way of confirming my identity? He asked did I have a MasterCard. I said, "NO, I don't have any card at all right now, because
I had to cancel my card and order a new one because I was recently a victim of a SCAM. He asked me when I receive my new card and I told him in ten days. He plans to call me back.
I asked what company he worked for and he said, "Central Reward". I immediately hung up the phone and googled them and they are all over the place. This looks like a big scam and they twist it a little...sometimes it is by phone...sometimes by text message...sometimes by email message.
The other compliants I have read indicate if you fall into the trap they hit your card monthly for $39.95 and there is no gift card. You do receive some documentation in the mail and somewhere in the small print there is the details which makes this seem all legal. However, they are totally misrepresenting themselves on the phone...obviously.
There has to be a way to SHUT DOWN THIS SCAM!!! It is costing consumers $$$ as well as the Banking/Insurance Industry.
Comments
As you noted, they do charge your card monthly. When he said he wasn't going to charge it, it was a bald-faced lie.
They steal money entirely by lying.
On top of contacting victims by phone and email, it appears from several complaints that they have obtained some 800 numbers 1 digit different from several large U.S. company customer service numbers, and pretend to be making offers associated with "your bank" or "your insurance company", to people who misdial.
Scam from top to bottom, hiding overseas.