When an unknown caller starts asking you for private information, it’s a no-brainer. You hang up.
But when you are the one dialing, or to be more specific, misdialing, You may not expect this.
“I was calling my insurance company and it rang a couple times and it was answered kind of oddly, and the people on the other end said I won a vacation rental, and I was like, well I’m trying to reach my insurance company, and they agreed, they didn’t say I had reached them, but they said, that’s great, well we’ll help you out, what’s your concern,” said Jerry Wesley, in Greenville.
Coincidence? Not exactly. AARP’s Fraud Watch says marketers are acquiring numbers with same 7 digits of well known companies and government agencies. The only difference is the toll free prefix.
“There are these 1-866 number or 1-800 numbers that these folks are using to scam or victimize folks, buying these numbers up and people are calling,” warned Wallace Cunningham with AARP’s Fraud Watch.
So is this legal? The Federal Trade Commission says as long as these companies don’t claim they are, or are affiliated with the business you intended to call, it’s perfectly legitimate.
And yet, they can still do a number on you. Before Wesley realized he had misdialed, the bogus company asked for his number and address, and now he’s getting flooded with telemarketing calls saying.
“You know, you’re eligible for this and you’ve won this. And it’s getting kind of to the point where I may even change my number because I’m getting a lot of marketing calls,” said Wesley.
So whether they call you, or you call them, don’t be so quick to answer questions. Before you question whether you’re talking to the right person.
