I received two phone calls from these scammers.
During both phone calls, I was told I was updating my free listing for the Yellow Pages and would not, absolutely was not, buying anything or paying for anything. Since they didn't want any credit card information and insisted that I wasn't buying anything after I asked them two or three times, I was satisfied that it really was for the "annual update" for my Yellow Pages free listing.
Yeah, right.
The first guy who called me plugged me into an "automated system" that would record my information for my "Yellow Pages update". He talked over the recorded message (so that there was no way I could hear what they were actually saying) and told me what I needed to say after the beep. He told me I'd receive my Yellow Pages update confirmation in the mail and that was that.
Well, thank goodness that the second guy called, because otherwise I never would have been the wiser that I had been scammed.
This second guy also said he was updating my free Yellow Pages listing. I protested, saying someone had already called me and I'd already gotten everything updated. He said that a mistake had been made so he was calling me back to fix it. This time, he didn't talk over the recorded message when he plugged me into the automated system, so I was able to listen to what was being said. This time it was different — while I couldn't hear everything, there was something about a website and a service and a free trial period. This of course set off alarm bells.
Both callers told me that I would receive an "invitation" or an "advertisement" to sign up for something, but that if I wasn't interested, I could just throw it away. Again:
Yeah, right.
So when I got a piece of mail from the Internet Business Association yesterday, and I knew I hadn't signed up for anything with them, I opened it and read it carefully. It said I had gotten a new website and the charged would show up automatically on my phone service. I had one week to cancel my free trial before I would be charged.
I immediately called the 888 number and canceled the service... I have a confirmation number (the bored-sounding customer service rep didn't sound at all surprised to hear I was canceling) so I hope they won't get away with charging me anything.
These guys aren't just bending the truth, they are outright lying.
Lie #1: "Am I buying anything?" Lie: "No, this is absolutely free." (Truth: a free trial followed by $29.95 per month!)
Lie #2: "So this is for a free listing in the Yellow Pages?" Lie: "Yes." (Truth: as far as I can tell, it doesn't have the first thing to do with the Yellow Pages!)
Lie #3: Lie: "... And if you don't want to purchase anything, just rip it up and throw it in the trashbin." (Truth: If you throw it away without calling, you are automatically charged after seven days!)
I hope the long arm of the law reaches these guys.
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