On February 24th, at approximately 11:25 am, I received a phone call from a woman calling herself "Janet Murphy", representing Prime One Financial. She told me that I had been preapproved for an unsecured Mastercard, with a $1000 limit. She then explained that the credit check had already been done, and that all I needed to do was verify some information with her.
As a bride-to-be, and getting married in June, I have a lot of wedding expenses still to be handled, so this offer sounded a bit attractive. She continued to explain that the card had no annual fee, no membership fee, and a low APR, and a credit line increase after 6 months to $5000. I asked if there were any other fees involved. She said "No." I continued to listen.
My guard was raised a bit when she mentioned that a credit check had already been done (within the United States, it is illegal to perform a credit check without the person's prior knowledge and consent), and that my file had already been there for 6 months. Lo and Behold, she verified my current information, but then she asked to verify my savings account number!!! I asked why she needed that information, and she said that it was for security purposes and that a person from their security department would call back to re-verify information. I said that I would just wait for them to call me back. She said, "No, you will need to go ahead and verify that information before they will call back".
At this point, I was on the internet looking up information on the Better Business Bureau website, and doing searches on their company name. I explained that I was uncomfortable with giving that information out over the phone, and that I would research the company so that I could make a better decision. She said ok and gave me their phone number and her extension. The number she gave me was (416) 542-1611 ext 794.
After reviewing the information I found (including other reports from usacomplaints.com) I called back and got a customer care specialist. I asked if there were any fees involved, and the specialist said "OUR fees are $217..." Thank goodness I trusted my instinct! I promptly had them remove my name from their solicitation list.
Do not do business with this company. As a former bank employee, I am aware of many identity theft scams and fraud scams. This is as close as it gets to being a scam operation. Don't be fooled by them. They want your money and access to your bank account, and that is all. Be smart. If anyone begins asking you to verify bank account information, it is likely a rip off.
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