Early in February, I received a postcard saying that I had been approved for a $4,000.00 credit card. Since I have poor credit (because I have poor credit, I was the ideal target), I was interested. I called, and the woman made it sound like I would receive this card for a $199.95 fee that would be refunded in the form of a voucher for merchandise or payment toward the card itself. She also told me that there would be $99 charged to the card itself that was to be paid in three monthly installments.By making these payments, I was told, my credit would begin to improve. She assured me that the $200 voucher could be applied to these charges. After the $99 was paid, my credit card limit would be raised to $7500.
Since I thought a card with a high limit would be nice to have for emergencies, I eventually, after a little more salesmanship on her part, gave them permission to electronically deduct the money from my account. After having a couple of weeks to think about this, I remembered that she never said what kind of card it was (Visa, Mastercard, etc.). As if I wasn't suspicious already. I began to picture getting "Bob's Credit Card" usable "only in our catalog". I finally did some research, and wound up here. When realizing how right I actually was, I immediately went to my bank and discussed it with them. They said that they had numerous complaints about this kind of scam in recent weeks. They gave me a phone number to call, and told me that if my effort wasn't successful, which it wasn't, they would take matters into their own hands. I'll update everyone if my bank is successful.
In the meantime, I would suggest that anyone who has fallen victim recently to this scam to cancel the extra memberships (Hartford Auto Club) right away. Also I'd urge you to change your checking account so their company, not to mention the "Hartford Auto Club" cannot take any more money from you.
Nate
Iowa
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