Card Services Scam

People of multiple ethnicities are part of this scam. I got this one call from a smooth taking African. He was good at acting. Then I got a call from a Spanish speaking person, bad at acting. Then I got a call from a South Asian guy that sounded like he was about to throw up, and then an American reading a script. Makes me wonder if these low lives are teaming up online. Most probably a ponzi scheme with a guy on the top and slaves on the bottom. Now the hard part is trying to find out who started it, and who is on the top. I want to know who controls these slaves and uses them to make money. They sure are getting paid by some guy who has enough money, or they are making a living by ripping off people, or they have a legit job and scam is their side business?

I agree, the calls can be traced back to its exact location. Every communication leaves a trail. They aren't invisible ghosts. They are live human beings.

The problem comes when they hop back and forth across national borders - some of them less than friendly to US law enforcement, hide behind hijacked systems - including compromised VOIP accounts, etc.,.  It isn't always as easy as you think.

Thats the hard part, and they are getting smarter as they are learning how to use updated technology.

I think my husband fell victim to this. he cancelled and had his cards sent with new numbers and we flagged his credit report with all 3 unions. He gave this lady all his information but did not proceed with the fee. I am just hoping that they stop at not getting the fee but Im freaking out!!

In the year 2012 we have wimps who threaten people through a phone. If you fall for their threats you give them what they want. If you control them, they lose. They might sound so hard and tough but inside them there's a little heart that beats in fear, fear of being caught even if they take drugs to act tough.

Just happened to me.  Of course they called at 9:45pm while I'm trying to go to sleep.  I knew it had to be a scam but when I pressed # 1, no one ever came online.  I did a search and found this attorney general's page. It had some good info.  Hope it helps someone else.  http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/Publications/CardServicesScams.

Desperation makes scammers become inquisitive and then they try to act like they are the good guys. They can't be trusted as long as they switch names, phone numbers and call random people. Their parents should be mighty proud of them.

Ok...I am now instructing everyone in my family to have fun with them. Today, I got another one, on a number that you cant redial, it has 3 zeros in the middle. Anyway, I listen to the recording, press 9 and then just let them ramble. I use a fake number for my debt, then today the obviously foreign guys asks if my debt is on a weeza or a mastercharge... I asked him what a weeza was. I told him I had a Visa, and he said, yeah, thats what I said, and I said no, you said weeza...he said yes. So I said, I don't have a Weeza, but have a mastercard, in which he asked me another question, then I said, I am sorry, I only speak english, and that he would need an interperator in which he hung up. The other day, I received one, and said that I wanted some more info on him before I proceeded, and he said F you, mother F'er..... LOL I have taken an annoyance and turned it into mid day fun. If I don't have time, I simply hang up, if I am feeling frisky, I actually play with them..... No harm, no foul. Waste their time, they will eventually stop.

All of these companies are run by Roy cox.  His primary business was Castle Rock Capital management.  Mr. Cox has been indicted for fraud and, to the best of my knowledge, those companies are no longer in operation.  I don't have the link handy, but it was recent - June? - when the Cox enterprises were shut down.  However, as we all know, the calls continue.  I continue to simply ignore the phone and, periodically, check out my CID list to file complaints.  You never know - that one complaint that you file might be the one that spurs the feds into action.  Complaints against Mr. Cox eventually added up enough to incite action.

Here's a link to a Roy Cox story:    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011 ... -companies.html

This one dated December 20,2011.

I have had several calls today.  "customer svc" 916-219-9223;  "phone sercices" 503-457-1829: "Financial Ctr " 503-457-1407: Internationall 425-658-8962; in the space of 3 hours!!  Needless to say, I quit answering my phone several months ago.

How it works:
http://onthespotblog.com/on-the-spot-blog-sti ... older-services/
http://onthespotblog.com/tag/cardholder-services/

People should continually file complaints with their Attorney Generals office and also file with:
http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
If enough people keep complaining then maybe something will get done.

The calls are being made from outside the US however most of the call centers (where you actually talk to someone after pressing 1) are in the US and the companies making the money from the scam are owned by people in the US.

Many of these calls are coming from Costa Rica and India and they are using spoofed (false) numbers, which in itself is illegal. They do cold calling for or sell the leads to numerous companies in this country and they know that what they are doing is illegal. Tomorrow this same number may be selling Cruises, Timeshares or Security Systems but if you follow the money it usually ends up in the hands of an American LLC. Keep complaining to the FTC and FCC, and start bugging our politicians to pass laws to make it punishable in criminal court instead of handing out fines that they don't pay. Another course of action is to contact phone companies to find out why they won't block spoofed numbers. With today's technology that should be an easy thing to do, unless they are somehow profiting from the use of their systems.

For anyone thinking of using Special Information Tones (or as they're called in the industry SIT tones) to fake a non working phone number, they won't work. Since around 2001-2002, the costs of "digital" business lines have dropped dramatically, along with Voice over IP (Internet) telephone service. Neither of these use the SIT tones as the call information is carried separate from the audio.
This separate call information tells the calling party digitally if the call was answered, busy, voice mail, forwarded, rejected, etc. This renders SIT tones useless. Also the "TeleZapper" products that used to be on the market used this method as well, and were rendered ineffective for the same reasons.
It is also through this separate call information message that the spoofed caller ID information is transmitted.

Robocalls are illegal unless you have given them prior permission in writing (not worded into some small print contract from a 3rd party) and are absolutely illegal to a cell phone.  The Telephone Consumer Protection Act permits individuals who have received certain unlawful telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each violation.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/robocalls/  
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/07/robocall.shtm
http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/TCPA-Rules.pdf

Check here first to see if it is one of their phone numbers:
http://telemarketerspam.wordpress.com
Pacific Telecom Communications Group
Follow JD's recommendations in the blog and stop them at the source.

The majority of the disposable numbers come from Pacific Telecom Communications Group and they are currently under investigation and in the midst of various lawsuits. (The principles involved have been part of actions by the FCC under other business names). They have ripped people off for millions of dollars, yet have paid only a couple of thousand dollars in fines. The only way to stop them is to throw them in prison for a few years to make this criminal activity less attractive.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office filed lawsuits against:
Consumer Credit Group and Proactive Planning Solutions of Arizona for violating Indiana’s Do Not Call Law and Auto-Dialer Act known as the robo-call law. Both companies violated the Credit Service Organization Act and Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by not obtaining $25,000 surety bonds with the state and collecting money upfront without performing any services.
Debt Zero of California for collecting money up front, failing to provide services or a refund and operating without a $25,000 surety bond.
Clear One Advantage of Maryland and Credit Arbitrators of Texas for violating the Credit Service Organization Act and the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by not obtaining the required surety bonds.

Arkansas sues robocallers:
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/aug/0 ... arketing-firms/
Missouri sues robocallers:
http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/236974-kost ... nies-over-calls

Proof that current laws mean nothing to these scum suckers, these same people under different companies have been sued in the past. Here are just a few:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/12/roycox.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923193/111219roycoxcmpt.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/mediacenter.html
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/afl_financial.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/voiceblaze.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/03/voicetouch.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/robocall.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/09/twi.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/02/robocall.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls2.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/jpm.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/08/voicetouch.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/sonkei.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/05/ams.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/01/khalilian.shtm

Write our Congress and Senate. We need CRIMINAL penalties against the companies that are profiting from these calls. Follow the money, slap them in prison, no one left to outsource to overseas boiler rooms, problem solved. Since they are operating across borders it should become a federal felony and should be handled by the FBI under the RICO Act.

This was good.  I actually called a few of these companies and tried to waste the time of the receptionists as much as I could.

For anyone thinking of using Special Information Tones (or as they're called in the industry SIT tones) to fake a non working phone number, they won't work. Since around 2001-2002, the costs of "digital" business lines have dropped dramatically, along with Voice over IP (Internet) telephone service. Neither of these use the SIT tones as the call information is carried separate from the audio.
This separate call information tells the calling party digitally if the call was answered, busy, voice mail, forwarded, rejected, etc. This renders SIT tones useless. Also the "TeleZapper" products that used to be on the market used this method as well, and were rendered ineffective for the same reasons.
It is also through this separate call information message that the spoofed caller ID information is transmitted.

Roy Cox's businesses are now listed under Randy Cox Jr.
An alias or a relative but still in business after multiple FTC actions.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/12/roycox.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923193/111219roycoxcmpt.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/asiapacific.shtm