Today, October 22 at 3:45pm I received a phone call from Advantage America claiming to have $12,500 worth of US Government grant money for me. I said great, who is this?"Lisa John" said the woman in very broken english. I thought this was odd because someone with such a common name should have strong ties to the english language, therefore be able to speak it better. She explained the program as needing my bank info in order to deposit the money into my account. SHE SAID "we will record you giving us your account info, and we"ll send it to the Bank for them to verify it's you". All i heard was, they were recording me giving them my account info, presumably to be used against me later. I asked "How would the Bank verify that its me, undoutedly the person that ends up with the recording is not from my local branch, therefore would have no clue what I sound like." She said "With the recording they will send all documentaion about the company to the Back for verification as well". That triggered every bell in my head. Banks don't care where the transfer of money comes from, as long as the amount going or coming isn't going to make the balance go below ZERO. Also, every Bank would know about large Govermant Grant program, as they would all be trying to get a piece of it. I asked for the info on the company and the above info is what I got, I had her spell the entire address for me. Her name (supposedly) was Lisa John Id # 222. Being in the financial services industry, I'm in a little better position to handle this call than the average person. I asked for a web address and she said it was in the packet they were mailing to me, I asked, "If I give you all my info today, what do I need to sign a letter for?" NO ANSWER. I happen to be sitting at my pc and went to the Better Business Bureau web site @ www.bbb.com and searched for Advantage America. Guess what, no listing. I said to Lisa that certainly a company that was contracted to handle Government grants would be listed on the BBB web site, her reply was "Thank you for your time..."CLICK! She hung up on me, I hit *69 to retrieve the number but it said it was an unlisted number.
So I say this, If anybody ever tries to solicit anythiny to you and has an unlisted # hang up quick. My caller ID is in the other room, or that would have tipped me off first.
Next, if it's to good to be true (The US Government giving out $12,500 for nothing. You gotta be nuts just to believe that) (No offense to the people that got ripped off, I understand that emotions play a big part in what just happened) It probably is.
Next, If someone wants to charge you money to give you money, you need to be skeptacle. Why bill me for processing a grant? If it's granted then it should be free. Oh thats right she did say it was interest free and I didn't have to pay it back.
Lastly, as everone knows, you never give your personal info to a stranger, NO MATTER WHAT!
The name is very appropriate, Adavntage America, as in LETS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AMERICA. Please stop looking for the quick answer, we need to be taught how to better manage the money we earn to avoid things like this. I cannot list my company info here, and wouldn't as I don't want it associated with this scam in any way.
I wish everyone luck in settling their respective cases and wish these scum are brought to justice for praying on helpless peaple and destroying their lives. Taking $500 or $10,000 will hurt any family, and it needs to stop.
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