I received a phone call that was a recording telling me that I have a credit card that has been past due three times. I do not have any cards that are past due.
Because they were wrong about my accounts, I think it is quite possible that they may have been PRETENDING to know that my account is past due. If they are pretending like that, it is a DECEPTIVE practice. It did not deceive me because I don't have any past due accounts, but this recording might be used to deceive people who do have a past due account.
I asked them where they were located and they said "nationwide". My caller ID says "Maryland Call" in the description box. I asked for the company name and they told me it was Debt Professionals. This is not a company that I do business with. (Which is further reason to consider that they may have been attempting to deceive me in the event that I did have some past due account). I might have written this off as a mistake call, but there was something else about this call that I felt was strange:
I asked for a number to call them back at and the person on the phone was NOT forthcoming with that information! Instead he answered my question with a question and asked me if I wanted to speak with an agent. When I said "I want the number" he deterred me again and wanted to know why I wanted the number. I explained to him that I did not have a past due account.
He sent me immediately to a recording asking me if I wanted my number removed from the list - before I could ask any more questions. This instantaneous deflection to a recording looked like it could be a tactic to reduce the risk of anyone asking these representatives enough questions to figure out who these guys are. It might be a way to prevent people from getting enough information to investigate whether there is a scam going on.
Real businesses are very open about their phone numbers, addresses, etc. - they WANT people to contact them. They WANT as many people as possible calling! On the other hand, disreputable people tend to be secretive. So, this deflection of my questions about their phone number seems very weird!
Telemarketers are legally obligated to give the phone numbers of the businesses they work for. I have done a lot of legitimate telemarketing, myself, so I know this!
Be wary of any telemarketers that use any sort of tactics or excuses to avoid giving you their phone number!
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