Tips Spotting Phone Scams

Whether or not you’ve signed up for the Do Not Call Registry, there are companies/organizations that can still call you; like political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors. If you gave written permission for a company to contact you or have an existing relationship with a company, they may call. Scammers will often call posing as one of these. The FTC lists some important questions you should ask yourself the next time you get a sales call.
Who’s calling – and why? Telemarketers are supposed to inform that the call is a sales call, give the seller’s name and the product for sale before going into the sales pitch.
What’s their hurry? Most businesses will give you time and should be willing to provide written information about the offer before asking you to commit. Don’t let them rush you.
If it’s free, why are they asking me to pay? If you are asked to pay anything for something they are telling you is “free” then it’s not a prize or gift: it’s a purchase.
Why am I “confirming” my account information – or giving it out at all? Even if the business calling already has your account info, they may be trying to get you to say okay so they can charge you and claim you approved it.
Remember, sales calls may only be made between 8 am and 9 pm, and if you don’t want a business to call you again tell them. Pre-Paid Legal Members have the peace of mind in knowing that anytime they’re confronted by a possible scam or faced with harassment from debt collectors, they can call their provider attorney to look over documents and offer sound legal advice.