How to Report Credit Card Telemarketing Fraud
Credit card companies often target customers through telemarketing for other financial products unless you opt out. These offers may be annoying, but they are not fraudulent. Unrelated companies may call you, pretending to be affiliated with your credit card issuer or seeking your account number for worthless products or services. Some even commit identity theft if they get your number. You can help shut down these fraudulent telemarketers by reporting their solicitations to the proper authorities.
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Instructions
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Gather as much information as possible from the telemarketer without revealing your own personal information. Note the telephone number if you have caller ID. Request a callback number in case the telemarketer is transmitting a phony number. Ask for a company name and address. Fraudulent callers usually hang up if you ask too many questions, but any information you can get will be valuable when you report the problem.
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Look up the telephone number on your caller ID and the callback number if one was provided. You can put the numbers in a search engine like Google or use a telemarketing report site such as 800notes.com. Make a note of any additional information you find, like company owner names, addresses and additional contact numbers.
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Report the fraudulent credit card telemarketing call to the Federal Communications Commission if you are on the National Do-Not-Call Registry. This is done by calling 888-225-5322 or filling out a form on the government agency's website (see Resources).
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Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to report the fraudulent telemarketer. Provide as much information as possible if the BBB doesn't already have a record of the company.
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Report the fraudulent credit card telemarketing call to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC explains that it does not handle individual problems, but it will investigate the company making the calls and possibly take legal action if it gets a high volume of complaints.
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Warn your credit card issuer about the telemarketing fraud if the caller claimed to be from that company. Some scammers imply they are working with your bank and ask you to "verify" your account number, pretending they already have it. The company can close your account and issue a new number if you inadvertently gave it out during the call.
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Tips & Warnings
Place a fraud alert on your TransUnion, Experian and Equifax credit reports if you believe you gave too much information to a fraudulent credit card telemarketer, the FTC warns. Scammers may talk you into revealing account numbers, your Social Security number and other sensitive information before you realize what they are doing. They may then use it for identity theft. The fraud alert tells creditors to take extra verification steps before opening new accounts in your name.
References
Resources
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