| Telephone Credit Card Relief Scam |
| By Credit Federal |
Published
03/28/2010
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Fraud and Scams
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Telephone scam claims to lower credit card interest; or offers a new low interest card, and to improve credit scores
Scammers are very effective at creating a scheme that people will jump on. Right now; with the credit crisis, high credit card balances and bad credit scores, many Americans are looking for some form of debt relief. So that's why scammers are focusing on efforts to lure victims seeking credit card and credit report score help.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that Credit Restoration Brokers and Debt Negotiation Associates had agreed to settle FTC charges that the companies deceived consumers into paying thousands of dollars by falsely promising to remove foreclosures, tax liens, bankruptcies and child support delinquencies from credit reports. The FTC's complaint also alleged these companies falsely told consumer reporting agencies that consumers were identity theft victims in order to dispute negative items.Consumers were lured by promises of credit report improvement, yet the reality is that no one can legally remove accurate negative information from a credit report.The Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued alerts on several companies who made unsolicited phone calls to consumers claiming they can save them money on interest paid on their credit cards. Some of the most recent alerts centered around two businesses, Clear Your Debt and Swift Rock Financial Services, which offered consumers assistance in settling their debt in exchange for a monthly fee debited from their accounts."The truth is these companies don't provide any services that consumers can't obtain themselves for free," says Alison Southwick, media relations manager for the BBB. "Negotiating a lower interest rate is something consumers could negotiate on their own by simply calling their credit card company.""For a lot of consumers who are dealing with mounting debts, a caller claiming they can lower interest rates or erase debts seems like an answer to their prayers," Southwick says.Tips to protect against being a telemarketer scam victim:
*Never provide credit card (or other banking info) to unsolicited callers, even those with Names/Numbers that show up on your caller ID.
* Never give out personal information including Social Security, credit card and account numbers on the telephone unless you initiated the call to a company who's identity you were able to verify
* Even if a caller already has your credit card number, don't give them any further information. A financial institution will never call or email you to confirm or to verify your account informationThe Federal Trade Commission can be contacted at 877-FTC-HELP or via its Web site. The Better Business Bureau also reports on fraudulent companies and maintains a reliability report on companies at online. To avoid receiving incoming calls from telemarketers, consumers can also register their phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry.
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