866-364-7099

“Free” gifts for answering survey questions posed after shopping Amazon.  But agreed ‘shipping charge’ turned out to be purchase price.

Got credit card bill showing a strange charge to "Cygnus Media Partners" along with this phone number.  We called and a woman answered "Customer Service" and I inquired, "Who are you and what is this charge for?".   My wife and I thought it might have been a legitimate charge but wanted to make sure it was legitimate.  Female asked my last name and my zip code.  After many holds, female came back and said account was for a Nancy Vargo.  There is no "Nancy in my immediate or extended family nor do we know a "NancyVargo".  She asked for the first six digits of my credit card which request was refused by me (they obviously had it since they charged my card).  I asked how did "Nancy" get my credit card number to make this charge?  Ultimately I hung up because the female said she did not recognize “Cygnus Media Partners” and could give me no information about what the charge was for or who she worked for other than they are a third party customer service call center.

On that same credit card bill was another strange charge by "Flshlightsk" (I will be filing another item on 800notes for their phone# 888 316-7502) for $49.99.)  They answered, "Customer Care".   This "Customer Care" center was able to identify the basis for the charge, a "free" flashlight for answering a survey on Amazon.  My wife recalls that following the survey, they asked for a credit card number to charge the shipping charge.  It was given.

After these two conversations, my wife (67 years "young") told me she was answering survey questions posed to her after shopping online at Amazon on two occasions.  A “Pop up”came up asking if you would respond to a survey and get a free gift (turns out there were four choices but three of them were unavailable, leaving only the flashlight option).

It started to all come together:  These companies (names still unknown to us) purport to give "free" gifts for answering survey questions but expect the "customer" (sap, mark, or sucker are probably more apt descriptions of their relationship to these scammers) to pay for shipping charges by getting credit card information.  The "Flhlightsk"  "Customer Care" person could at least connect the "free" flashlight we received with the survey and told my wife the details:  The flashlight was given for "approval" and, if not approved, to be sent back in its original container.  All of the latter caveats were, per the Customer Care person , in small print at the end of the survey “free” flashlight scheme.

We had previously received a watch in the mail - also labeled as a “free gift” for answering survey questions.  A month later, we received another watch which was  unsolicited, again with no documentation accompanying the watch.  Is this the connection to Cygnus Media Partners? The “real deal” (as opposed to “free gift”) presumably was given in the Cygnus survey situation that no reasonable person would understand, given the overwhelming “FREE GIFT” introduction.

Mr Vargas:

Your experience mirrors ours - wife answered survey, watches in the mail etc.  And the remedy is?

Rgds

DS
Winter Haven FL