I was called by some sales person from Reader's Direct in Atlanta. She congratulated me saying that since I was a Visa cardholder, my name was selected in some sweepstakes and that I had been chosen to receive 400$ worth of gas cards which I could redeem by mailing in my receipts to them every month, and also avail of subscriptions to certain magazines (34 in all) for 60 months and that I could have this all for 3$ change per week. She also said that my name was entered in a 1 million dollar sweepstake. She took my name, phone number and address and asked me for my debit/credit card number. I gave her my name, phone and address but was uncomfortable giving out my credit card number to some random caller. So I told her I'd have to think about it, and then she said OK and hung up. So I guess I was lucky in this regard.
Next time, such people call you, first ask them for the name of the company on whose behalf they are calling, and also ask them for their full name. Note both these down so you know who to follow up with, when you have problems later.
Better still go to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) website and sign up for the National DO-NOT-CALL Registry (www.donotcall. Gov), so you will not receive such offers in the future. If you do, you'll have legal recourse.
The link to the FTC Consumer Protection service is:
Http://www.ftc. Gov/bcp/index. Shtml
Also write to your local person in charge of Consumer Affairs and complain about these people.
Bottomline: If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Don't get carried away with the promises of money/gifts. NEVER EVER give out your debit/credit card information over the phone to some random caller from some unheard of company, unless you want it to be charged, and unless you are dealing with a very reputed organization.
If you are asked to sign up for something, then ask them back if you'll still get all the free stuff they promised, if you do not sign up or do not provide your credit card number. If they say no, then it's most likely a scam. There's no Free Lunch!
Good Luck and take care!
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