"Credit Card Services" is a total scam! (rates, accounts, business)

[magellan]

Beware of a company that is using the name "Credit Card Services". They are a total scam. Our local news reported on it last week and it seems to be hitting much of the Midwest (and perhaps other areas).

They call you or email you and say that they "work with over 200 or 500 banks such as Bank of America and Chase, and can offer you lower interest rates on your current accounts" (not with a new account). They ask similar questions:

1) Do you have current balances of at least $5000?
2) Are all your cards in good standing currently?

They have called me twice, and playing along, I went through the phone menu system.

They then proceed to ask you which card you would like to start with, to "see if you qualify". Nice way to make you feel like this is an exclusive offer for only the privileged few.

I asked them why they needed my account numbers, and if they are working
with banks like mine, why they didn't already have my information. Click, hang up.

They have also been circulating emails. Never give out your credit card account numbers unless you initiated the phone call and you know the business you are contacting. If your credit card company truly had an offer to give you lower interest rates (yeah right), they'd already know your account numbers.

Just FYI. It might be spreading to your area.

[Threestep]

Thank you for the heads up.

[GreenMachine]

Thanks, Magellan

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by picabotwo

I have been getting calls from them every day now. I even hit option 2 which says your number will be removed from the list. Has anyone found out there name or contact information? I would like to file a complaint!!!

Thanks,

Josh

Do you have caller ID? Just use that number (assuming they didn't block it - in which case I wouldn't answer the phone)

[StillwaterTownie]

And if they're calling from a foreign country they don't have to worry about our country's don't call list.

Interesting how they from the start sound like it's your actual credit card company who's calling. I've been hanging up on them.

[harry chickpea]

I've done some research into this after getting a number of automated phone calls from "Hi, this is Heather..." even though we are on the national do-not-call list.

Caller ID is useless. They are apparently using some sort of VOIP and are able to change or remove any traces of a legitimate number. If you google the number or try to call it, it will be disconnected or not in service. In searching the web, I found that they NEVER give out a legit number or follow through on getting taken off their "list" and they NEVER give out an address.

I was able to get out of one operator that she was in a call center in Atlanta, but I'm not sure I trust even that information. You can try to play along, but you have to act dumb and like you are up to your eyeballs in credit card debt to get past the first sentence or two. The people answering are trained to hang up if they sense even a trace amount of brains or suspicion.

Your local phone company won't do anything to stop the calls. I've been down that route. If you contact them, they will ask you to file a police report, and then do absolutely nothing. AT&T won't even activate a call trace on annoying telemarketers.

The FTC is supposed to go after this type of call but has not, judging from the many many unsolicited reports coming from the south and midwest. So much for that arm of consumer "protection."

What you can do, something that has at least a chance of being effective, is to log the exact time and date of one of the calls, hold on until you get the chance to speak with a live person , and start your request to be taken off the list (they'll probably hang up when you first start). If possible, write down the automated message, anything that shows on your caller ID, and the name of the representative along with that exact date and time. Then, the next time you get a call, (they WILL call again) log the date and time of that call, and go to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) website and file a complaint online there, stating that you think it is fraudulent and possibly a phishing scam. The FCC will actually send you a mailed confirmation of your complaint, and will add it to the investigation they are doing on this scam. If enough people make an effort to report it, it will get taken down.

[harry chickpea]

jamesjones, thank you. I suspected that the scam worked against not only the consumers but the agents. Can you provide any more information on the company?

[dynimagelv]

relax and enjoy them....they can be fun......especially if you have a small child around...[just learning to speak] or just say "one moment" and put the phone down.

My favorite is to continually interrupt with a question [usually makes them start the speal over again from the beginning].

[harry chickpea]

Good luck. Looks like their website has been shut down, which means they are out of business entirely, or have moved on to a new scam after erasing tracks. But yeah, go ahead and report it. Just don't expect any money back.

[zman0]

www.sunbiz.org - Document Searches

You can search by businesses name (e.g. Leverage Connections Inc) or registered agent name (e.g. Christopher Rubini) to see what other businesses this guy operates (make sure to verify it's the same guy).