SmartChick
Homewood,#2
Wed, September 16, 2009
I, too, have been contacted - many times - by this company. Caller ID says 78600000000. As far as I know, in the US, this cannot be a real phone number - if it was it would be 7 (860) 000-0000. There are too many digits. This is your 1st big red flag. HANG UP!
2nd - NO telephone solicitor is going to call you and GIVE you anything for free, especially a web site. Don't fall for it.
3rd - their offer of a free TRIAL. Free trial means you try it for free, then you buy it. This is a ploy to get you to verbally commit to a purchase of some sort.
4th - anytime someone reviews your information with you, info they already have, they ARE baiting you into agreeing to BUY their service/product by saying the word 'Yes' while being recorded. Don't do it. Never say "yes". If you're this far into the conversation, just say "that's the correct phone number". Hopefully you have already said, "I don't want a website". If they already know your phone number and address they don't need you to confirm it. Be careful what you say to them.
5th - they don't have a good grasp on the English language. I hate to pre-judge people, but usually people who sound like they are calling from another country ARE. These are not companies you want to deal with anyway. Keep the jobs here, thank you! I'm NOT saying that people whose accents are different from yours are scam artists. Be aware of the words they say, for example: "I am call to you to make available a good deal that you think is good for you." If it sounds like they are reading from a script, stay away from that as well. If you ask a question and they repeat exactly what they said before, that's another clue.
When I got my first call from them, I went through a few questions before telling them I was a temp and could not authorize any purchases. They'd have to talk to my boss. Now we just ignore all their calls.
They tell you they are going to give you a free trial period of a website. If you are smart enough to ask how much it costs after the trial period, they WILL tell you it's $34.95/month. They have never lied to me or been dishonest because I did not give them that opportunity. They have not charged anything to my phone bill.
If someone has been scammed by someone like this, they weren't being careful. They cannot 'steal' your money if you mail them a check - you give it to them. Most companies won't give it back, so you have to settle for a credit. Usually you only get back the last payment, so if they're willing to credit you for all the charges you are truly LUCKY!
Discuss these types of scams with your employees who handle incoming calls. Tell them to NEVER verify any contact information over the phone. We tell solicitors to send mail and we'll mail the info back. They never take us up on that one. Telephone solicitors don't deal w/ you by email or faxes either. A reputable company who is worthy of your business will correspond with you by whatever method you prefer.
Check EVERY invoice you receive to make sure you are not being overbilled or billed for something you did not order, agree to, or receive. Blindly writing checks is not a good business practice - pay for what you get, not what your vendors ask you for. A good bookkeeper knows this. Humans aren't perfect and make mistakes - lots of them. Don't let them fall through the cracks and eat into your checkbook.