Characteristics of Telemarketing Fraud Schemes
Each year, fraudulent telemarketers make billions of dollars by scamming innocent people into buying poor quality products or items which they will only use once. They use convincing sales pitches, make false promises of free prizes, vacations and gifts and get richer by pocketing hundreds of dollars from naïve and trusting customers. Most of the time, these buyers are often the elderly who maybe more friendly and polite towards these cunning con artists. They may fall for their sly ways and their lies and may end up buying more products than what they need and what their budget allows.
So, how can you distinguish a fraud telemarketing call from a legitimate one?
In order to differentiate a fraud telemarketing call from a legitimate sales call, you need to know that scammers always make their offer sound like it's too good to be true. They will usually urge you to act now and refuse to take no for an answer. They will also request you to provide your credit card number or your bank account number and other personal information and later scam you by stealing hundreds of dollars. Therefore, it is important that you know the characteristics of a telemarketing scam. Below are a few tips, which will help you deal with a telemarketer next time. Read it carefully and remember it so that you are not the next victim of a telemarketing scam.
- Immediate decision- Most of the time, telemarketing scammers would want you to make a decision immediately. They may say something like, "The offer will expire soon" or "Do it right now or the offer won't be good later" or "You are the only person who is eligible for this offer". But, don't fall for these lines. This is just one of their ways to get to your money. So, if you hear the telemarketer say one of these dialogues, just say 'No. Thank you" and hang up the phone.
- Pressure - Most telemarketers will also take no for an answer and you may find it very hard to get them off the phone. They will have a lot of answers for your every hesitation or objection. But it's important for you to remember that these crooks are only after your money and not your satisfaction, so tell them you are not interested and hang up the phone.
- Credit card number for verification- Scammers will also ask you to provide your credit card, bank account and other personal information even if you are not given any detailed written information. If you encounter these situations, be skeptical and do not provide your credit card numbers even if you are asked to provide it for identification purposes. If you provide your credit card information, the scammer may make charges to your account even if you haven't purchased anything.
Credit card number for verification- Scammers will also ask you to provide your credit card, bank account and other personal information even if you are not given any detailed written information. If you encounter these situations, be skeptical and do not provide your credit card numbers even if you are asked to provide it for identification purposes. If you provide your credit card information, the scammer may make charges to your account even if you haven't purchased anything.
If you find that you are repeatedly receiving calls from the same unrecognized number and suspect that it might be a telemarketer, you can try to identify the person by looking up the phone number. Reverse phone lookup directories enable users to retrieve a phone owner's name in exchange for querying a 10-digit phone number.
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