When cleaning out my Grandfather’s home after he passed away, my mother found stacks and stacks of unopened Timelife videos and Golden Oldies cassettes tapes. It was clear he had agreed at some point to let these be sent to him. The problem is, he did not have a VCR or a tape player.
Every year thousands of elderly consumers lose money through scams, like my Grandfather did in this case. According to the American Association of Retired Persons, people over 50 years of age are especially vulnerable and account for about 56% of all victims. This is why the Federal Trade Commission encourages seniors to be skeptical when they receive an unsolicited phone call from a salesperson.
Unlike most other crimes, telemarketing fraud requires the victim to participate. This means you can choose not to participate. This is not always easy, however.
Well-trained telemarketers are experts in coaxing, promising, pressuring, cajoling, laying guilt or doing whatever it takes to make you part with your money. To hook you, many scams involve bogus prize offers, fake charities, phony travel packages, and get-rich-quick investments.
If you receive an unsolicited phone call from a sales person, do not let yourself be pressured to make an immediate decision. Remember, you can always call them back later. Most of all, never, never, never give your credit card number, checking account number, or social security number to an unknown caller.
When you receive a call from a person trying to sell you something, listen for these – or similar – buzz phases:
- You have been specially selected to hear this offer.
- You have won one of five valuable prizes.
- You must send money right away.
- We will just put the shipping and handling charges on your credit card.
Good responses to these unwanted callers include:
- I do not do business with people I do not know.
- Please put me on your “Do-Not-Call” list.
- I need to see written information on your offer before I can consider giving you money.
- I am not interested. Thank you. Goodbye.
Under federal law, it is illegal for a telemarketer to call you if you have asked not to be called. Calling times are restricted to the hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and telemarketers must tell you it is a sales call, the seller’s name, and what product they are selling before they can make their pitch. Additionally, telemarketers may not lie about any information, including any facts about their goods, such as services, profitability, the nature of a prize in a prize-promotion scheme.
To stop the telephone sales calls from many legitimate national marketers, send your name, address and telephone number to: Telephone Preference Service P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, New York 11735-9014 or Preference Service Manager, Direct Marketing Association, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036-6700.
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