I was called (at my work) to participate in a brief phone survey for the chance to win a free cruise. Reluctantly, I accepted and figured I could just hang up if it was too long. The survey was very random questions, asking me if I went to college, what degree I had, etc. It was very quick and at the end, I was transferred to a representative. The lady explained my name would be put in a free cruise draw and I had to provide them with a phone number. Since I was at work, I just said that number would be fine. Well, today, I get a call from Caribbean Cruise Line telling me I had won a free cruise.
The guy on the phone was more excited than me, because in the back of my mind, I had a bad feeling about it. He went on the discuss the details of the cruise and stated I had 18 months to plan my trip. I immediately said, "Is this a scam?" "Oh NOOOOO, of course not! This is a great opportunity!", replied the representative. He then went on to tell me everything was included except drinks on the cruise and a port fee of $118 for me and my other party. I told him I was not comfortable giving credit card information over the phone because I didn't beleive what he was telling me (I am a social worker in community mental health and have grown accustomed to second guessing everyone!) Perhaps my career has left me jaded, but there was just something about this that screamed, "DON'T DO IT!"
He knew I was skeptical and even sent me, via email, puictures of the cruise ship, the ammenities, and all the information that went along to try to convince me. It looked very legitimate. At the end, I told him I still don't believe you and need to think about it. He gave me a customer service number to contact when I made up my mind. I hung up with him and just entered "Caribbean Cruise" into the search engine online and thousands of scam reports came up. Upon reading through these reports, I noticed other peoples' numbers they provided were the same ones the representative gave to me! I was completely horrified, but so happy I listened to my gut intstinct. I normally don't even write on these kinds of websites, but after reading other's testimonies I thought we could all benefit from each other's experiences.
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