Fraud Tip of the Day - September 2

Telemarketing Scam warning signs

To avoid being conned by a telemarketing scam, it helps to be able to recognize the warning signs. Here's a few of the things to look for:

• Watch out for high pressure sales tactics. Even scammers will start out nice to try to "make a sale." What separates scammers from legitimate telemarketers is that scammers will resort to abusive tactics.
• Legitimate telemarketers will take no for an answer when trying to make a sale. After all, they want to call you again sometime with another product. Thieves will, after you tell them "no thanks", resort to hard selling, insults, and even vague threats if they aren't successful in convincing you to open your wallet.
• Scammers will require you to "act now" or lose the opportunity forever. Few, if any, legitimate offers require an immediate decision. If somebody really wants your business they will be happy to extend the same offer in the future. Rare is the business that has all the customers they want.
• People who ask for your credit card number when you have not agreed to a sale yet are most likely big-time scammers. There are other ways to verify people's identity. Your credit card and social security numbers should be protected like the gold at Fort Knox. Know exactly whom you are dealing with before ever divulging this vital information.
• If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This outstanding advice will never become obsolete. Crooks will make any kind of promise they can to swindle you. Don't fall for it. Greed is not good. Being greedy makes you more susceptible to fraud.
• Do not, under any circumstances, ever allow somebody to come to your home to pick up money for a telephone purchase. Not only is this a sure sign of a scam, but it could possible put you in danger.
• Avoid any telemarketer that wants to give you something for free but only after you pay an up front fee. Free is free. Anything else is fraud.
• Any business, telemarketing or otherwise, that cannot provide basic reference information about their business are likely to be crooks. This basic information includes, but is not limited to; address, phone number, place where they are licensed, or confirmation that they are registered with a direct marketing regulatory agency, are likely illegitimate.
  
  The scammers will offer many excuses for why this information is not available. If the information is not available, then neither should be your business.
• Beware of any promises of risk-free investments. In my years of learning about investments, I have never found any that are risk-free. Okay, maybe government bonds are risk-free, but I have never heard of any government agency having telemarketers on their staff to sell such bonds.

It is our belief at FraudGuides, and we think that most everybody will agree, that 100% risk-free investments assuming there are any, don't require the aid of telemarketers to sell them. There would be more investors than opportunities for such a venture.