Complaint Review: Distinct Advantage

I had been getting several calls from area code 727 over the past few weeks, but never answered the phone because I did not recognize the number. They never left a voicemail, but today I decided to answer the phone. The person on the other line, who identified himself as Roy Gonzales, asked for me by my first and last name. I told him he was talking to the right person.

He then proceeded to tell me that I was eligible to receive a $100 gas voucher and $400 airline voucher because of something I had purchased through my checking account. I was skeptical, but went along with things. He told me I needed a paassword, then asked what city I was born in, and he told me that would be my password. He seemed very nice and made a comment about the NBA team that was from that city. He then told me he needed to verify my bank. I told him what it was, but was not about to give him any more information.

He knew my address and told me that in several days I would be receiving my vouchers in the mail and that they were good for one year. This is when he gave me his operator ID, which he said was #101, and his station #23. He also gave me the internet address (WWW.DISTINCT-ADVANTAGE-NET), so I could check it out.

He then told me that last thing he needed was to verify my checking account number and routing number. This was when I really became skeptical. I told him I did not have it on me, and he proceeded to tell me what numbers he had on record. I did have my checkbook on hand, however, but did not tell him that. The numbers were not correct, by the way. He gave me an 800 number (800-853-9982), to call back when I could verify my checking account info, so that they could send me the vouchers. I decided I wanted to do some investigation before I believed him and would call him back. That's when I stumbled on this website and realized it was a scam. I hope that this website will do the same for anyone else who is skeptical.

Barbara
Palo Alto, California
U.S.A.