What Can I Do About Telemarketing Fraud?
Because telemarketing, both legitimate and fraudulent, occurs on a daily basis with people throughout the United States and Canada, consumers need to think about how they ought to respond to the telemarketing calls they receive, or what they should do if they realize that they or someone they know may have been defrauded by a telemarketer. Some of the questions that consumers are most likely to ask are listed below:
How Can I Find Out Whether A Telemarketer Who Calls Me Is Legitimate Or Not?
The Department of Justice and the FBI do not maintain any list of "legitimate" or "fraudulent" telemarketers that consumers can consult. Such a list would be impossible for the Department to maintain in a current and accurate form, as many legitimate businesses and fraudulent schemes are beginning and ending operations throughout North America at any given time. As a general proposition, consumers should always take the time to investigate carefully any request or demand for money that any telemarketer makes, and should never be rushed or forced into making a hasty decision.
If, for example, someone one the telephone claims to be an FBI agent or Department of Justice attorney and insists that you send money, you should know that no federal law-enforcement agent or Department of Justice attorney is ever authorized or permitted to ask you for any "fees" or "taxes" if you have lost money to fraudulent telemarketers in the past. It is part of the Department's and the FBI's day-to-day responsibility, in investigating and prosecuting fraud, to try to recover victims' losses, but the Department and the FBI carry out those responsibilities with the funding that Congress provides through the appropriations process. You should therefore feel free to take the name and telephone number of the person who claims to be an agent, tell him that you will call him back after verifying his statement, and then contact the nearest FBI office or FBI headquarters (202-324-3000) or the Department of Justice (202-514-2000) and explain why you are calling.
One organization that consumers can contact to ask about telemarketing calls they receive is the National Fraud Information Center (NFIC). The NFIC maintains an "800" toll-free number that consumers can call if they have questions or want to report possible instances of telemarketing fraud. The NFIC number is 800-876-7060. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Response Center maintains numbers that consumers can call with questions or complaints about all types of consumer fraud, including telemarketing fraud. The Consumer Response Center numbers are 202-382-4357 and 202-326-3128.
How Can I Stop Getting Telemarketing Calls?
If you want to stop receiving calls from a particular telemarketer, whether or not you think the telemarketer is legitimate or fraudulent, federal law allows you to ask that telemarketer to put your name on his company's "do-not-call" list. The Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule requires the telemarketer to comply with your request. A telemarketer who fails to remove your name from any list that it uses to contact consumers by telephone, and who continues to contact you even after receiving your request, may be subject to civil litigation by the FTC or by a state attorney general to enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and could be given civil money penalties of as much as $11,000 per violation.
If you want to stop receiving telemarketing calls in general, you should contact the Direct Marketing Association, which represents many businesses that engage in telemarketing and other forms of direct sales, and request that your name be removed from lists that their members use. [Check] While many fraudulent telemarketers will not respect such a request, the DMA will comply with your request. The DMA's telephone numbers are 212-768-7277 [New York] and 202-955-5030 [Washington, D.C.].
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What Should I Do If I Think Someone I Know Is Being Defrauded By A Telemarketer?
If you think that you may have been defrauded by a telemarketer, you should report your information as soon as possible. Some people who have lost substantial amounts of money have refrained from reporting their losses, in part because they fear embarrassment and critical reaction from their family, friends, or the people to whom they would be reporting the fraud. Please note that fraudulent telemarketers count on that reaction: the longer that people refrain from reporting a fraudulent telemarketer's activities, the longer that telemarketer can continue to operate and the more people the telemarketer will try to defraud.
If you contact any of the following organizations with reports or suspicions about possible telemarketing fraud, you will be treated with respect and your report will be taken promptly and made available promptly to a number of federal, state, and local law-enforcement and regulatory agencies that may be in a position to act on your report:
If you know that someone in your family, such as a sibling or a parent, appears to have been defrauded by a telemarketer, you should avoid confronting that person directly and stating that he or she has been "duped" or "swindled." Particularly in cases where an older parent may be the victim of telemarketing fraud, the victim is likely to fear that others will try to take away his or her independence or to take over their affairs, and may become highly resistant to your efforts to address the situation. Unfortunately, a number of adult children of older parents who were victimized have reported that their efforts to try to confront the problem with their older parents resulted only in creating severe strains on, and even apparently irreparable damage to, their relationships with the victims. Some fraudulent telemarketers have been known to persuade victims that they are more concerned about the victims' welfare than the victims' own family, whom the telemarketers tries to portray as greedy.
A better tactic is to approach the matter indirectly and exercise patience in talking with the person about your concerns. It should not offend the person's dignity if you mention that people have to be careful about telemarketing scam artists, and suggest that it is wise to consult other sources of information about investment opportunities (or whatever the telemarketing scheme appears to be offering) before trusting your money to someone else. Before they have come to terms with the fact that they have been defrauded, telemarketing fraud victims are often reluctant to talk with others about their dealings with the telemarketer, or to admit how many transactions they have done with the telemarketer or how much money they have actually lost. Patience is therefore essential in establishing and maintaining a dialogue with the possible victim, and in trying to learn as much information as possible that could help in deciding whether the situation should be reported to the authorities. Again, statements that may sound judgmental or critical to telemarketing fraud victims are likely to stiffen the victims' resistance to talking about their dealings with the telemarketers, and to make them suspicious of your motives in raising the subject.
How Can I Report Possible Telemarketing Fraud?
Consumers anywhere is the United States or Canada who want to telephone in their reports of suspected telemarketing fraud should call the National Fraud Information Center (NFIC), toll-free, at 800-876-7060, or the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Response Center at 202-382-4357 and 202-326-3128. Consumers who want to file their reports or complaints on-line can contact the NFIC or the U.S. Consumer Gateway, which gives consumers access to several federal agencies. In addition, consumers within the United States can contact the nearest office of the FBI or FBI headquarters (202-324-3000).
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Where Can I Learn More About Telemarketing Fraud?
Many federal, state, and local government agencies and private-sector organizations are compiling and issuing information about telemarketing fraud on a regular basis, including information available through their Webpages. If you would like to visit some of these Webpages, please feel free to use the following list, which will give you a starting point for further information on telemarketing fraud and related subjects:
U.S. Agencies and Organizations
Canadian Agencies and Organizations
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