If you get a call asking for your credit card number to lower your interest rate, it is probably a scam.
Cheap long distance, the ability to spoof caller ID and the credit crisis are being used to facilitate a scam called vishing. Although telephone (telemarketing) scams are nothing new, the term vishing probably came about because advances in telephone technology are being used to depart unsuspecting people of their hard-earned money.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - Educated Country Boy
I just got another call from Card member services after I actually told a real person to put me on their do-not-call list.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT A COMPUTER CALL TODAY telling me saying that they did not have a stop call program11 oh Geez,,,,,,,,,,,,
77 - Scott
These people speak fast and imply they are from Equifax - not true. When I started asking questions the agent hung up on me. I already had thir number. I phoned and asked if he checked the Canadian do not call list and he talked over me. They are in Florida and I am looking for a good lawyer that will take a contingency case. The company in Spokane finally went broke when the true nature of their business was revealed.
78 - Larry
Get a coaches whistle and after you get someone on the line to talk to. Blow out their ear drum.
Maybe that might slow them down some.
79 - D
I've received the same call for days now. The first time I asked how they got my number and they hung up. The second day I pushed #1 and asked what process would need to take place in order for them to lower my interest rate? He replied that is a big question and it all depends on my situation where he explained that if I had greater than $4,000 in credit and was younger than 72 then I could lower it under 10%. I then told him I didn't think I qualified and preceded to ask him so what information do you need in order to lower it? He got very smart with me and became an idiot and started SINGING some song he said he wrote with a buddy, so I told him he should try out for America's got talent" that perhaps he would fit in there and he hung up. Now, I am continuing to receive these calls daily! WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP THEM???
80 - Joleen
There are a number things that bother me about people like the ones that gripe and moan about these kinds of situations.
1. They don't seem to realize that thousands, even millions of people rely on telemarketing jobs for their livelihood; it's how they pay their bills, feed their children and stay off of welfare. And God knows we need more jobs in this country not less!
2. The "Do Not Call" legislation is a misguided and short sighted attempt to pacify a few loud whiners in our society. Whiners that are too lazy or stupid to "Just Say NO!". If someone calls that you don't want to talk to, how difficult is it to say "No thank you" and hang up the @#@*&#! phone? DUH!!! Common sense says that if you have a phone in your home you are going to get calls and some of them will be calls that you don't want!! Grow up and deal with it! Do you have elderly loved ones that are not competent to handle their own affairs? Do NOT let them have access to their Credit Cards! This is NOT rocket science folks! Every reputable telemarketing firm in the United States take many measures to ensure that sales to this type of client is avoided. Obviously, 100% success is not possible.
3. Another thing that really stands out is that not one of you that are screaming SCAM have tried the service! Are you aware of what the word "SCAM" means? It means to "trick someone out of their money, to swindle" It does NOT mean "telemarketing"!!! The people that actually take advantage of these "Interest Rate Reduction Opportunities" are quite happy! Did it ever occur to any of you geniuses that IF it were a SCAM you would have hundreds of people on this website COMPLAINING about their experience with the service and not just the phone calls?! I don't see even one!
That being said, I am not assuming that everyone that calls you about lowering your credit card interest rate, or anything else, for that matter, is above board, but that is true of every type of business that is in existence! Anyone ever heard of the Enron scandal? And as you all know there are many, many more examples than I could cite here and these are companies with prestige and trust. Telemarketing is no different than any other business sector.
The people who post on these kinds of sites are, for the most part, people who are scared to death of their own shadows without a valid personal experience regarding the ACTUAL service itself. The real SCAM artists have them running around and scared to the point that when a genuine opportunity comes knocking they want to shoot the messenger! Sad. The really sad/amusing part is that they think they're being SO smart, and all they are really accomplishing is missing a real opportunity to pay off their credit card debt a lot sooner!
I challenge each of you to consider relative business models. YOUR objective is to save as much money as is possible each month, the BANKS job is to make as much money (off of YOU) as is possible each month...how is it that people trust the bank to do what is in their (YOUR) best interest (no pun intended)? I can't grasp it. These rate reduction companies CANNOT make money unless they save you money because the money they keep is out of the money that you are ALREADY set up to pay back in interest rates to your current lenders. They recover some of this money for you...and they get paid out of the money that you saved. Hmmmm...sounds familiar...is this not what attorney's tell clients...if you don't win...you owe us nothing...I do believe it is.
Let's assume that you have, oh say, $14,000 in credit card debt spread over 1 card; and that your rate is 17.99% (and this is because a change in terms and not because of a default on your loan/credit card); and that your payment on this card equals approximately $349 (minimum payment). Let's also assume that you are a responsible person and that you have managed, so far, to pay your payments up-to-date and on time; and also that you have not exceeded 75% of your credit lines (on revolving accounts). This ratio is seen on the credit report as the debt to credit ratio and corresponds to each type of credit. Understand that 30% of your credit score is determined by how much you owe in relation to how much credit has been extended to you. Also that 35% (YES ONLY 35%) is derived from on time payments (this means that on time payments, by themselves, do not mean that you have a good score).
A reputable "Interest Rate Reduction Program" would be able to reduce your payments because less of the money that is sent in for the payment will be allocated to the interest (finance charges)...meaning that more of the payment will be used toward principal, thereby reducing the amount of the principal balance...and the credit card company will be able to accrue less daily compounded interest because the balance is less. Also the minimum payment is derived from 1% of the balance + finance charges, or 2%, whichever is greater. So a lower rate means a lower payment; not to be confused that the lower payment is still paying the debt off just as, if not more, aggressively.
Current situation: Debt: $14,000
Pymt: $349
Rate: 17.99%
Debt free date: November 2042
Total months: 378
Total Interest: $20,543
Total Paid: $34,543
After situation: Debt: $14,000 + fee ($1,495) = $15,495
Pymt: $349 (keeping the same and constant)
Rate: 9.99%
Debt free date: Jan 2016
Total months: 56
Total Interest: $3,930
Total Paid: $19,425
Total savings: Before-After= total savings $34,543-19,425= $15,118!!!! and you wonder why the banks call these companies scam artists...they are robbing the banks of money that is rightfully YOURS! Silly people.
81 - Julie S
ANSWERS !!!! THESE PEOPLE can get fined up to $16,000 per incident~~The best recourse is to report the number to the FTC. First, register your number on the do not call list at Do Not Call. Once you have been registered for 31 days or more, report each and every call, the date and time of call. It takes 2 minutes to do it. This company uses numbers in many, many area codes. I've googled at least 10 or more. All the same scam. I pressed "1" today and talked to the guy today and told him to take me off the list and he said I had to call my bank to request that. THIS IS ILLEGAL, people. According to donotcall.gov, You may file a complaint if you received an unwanted call after your number was on the National Registry for 31 days. You may also file a complaint if you received a call that used a recorded message instead of a live person (whether or not your number was on the Registry). AND I FIND THIS INTERESTING... "A consumer who receives a telemarketing call despite being on the registry will be able to file a complaint with the FTC, either online or by calling a toll-free number. Violators could be fined up to $16,000 per incident. "
82 - Julie S
It is not a legitimate service when they have no street address or way to call THEM. TALK TO THEM YOURSELVES. They hang up if you ask. SCAM SCAM
83 - T
i have been getting many of these calls, some 2 years after others have posted about this exact scam "card member services" press 1.
capitalism sucks
84 - rick
I with Dennis, where is the government. They should be seizing these idiots accounts and using it to pay off our national debt.
85 - April
I receive at least one of these calls daily, all from different numbers. I did answer once and asked to be removed and was cursed at and hung up on. My answering machine now screens all my calls and it states that any and all unidentified calls will not be accepted. Most of the time the caller hangs up, but I have had recordings of cursing on my answering machine. Each and every call that has a number displayed is being reported to the do not call list, however a lot of the calls say unknown name, unknown number so what recourse do I have?
86 - Sam
I have started pressing 1 and getting them on the line letting them ask questions then tell htem I am just wasting thier time - they get pissed and hang up if everyone does this we can put them out of business. Dont give them any good info.
87 - Motherfukker Jones
They keep calling! Every day!
88 - SCAMMERS
I love the fact there are those on here who vilify the scammers saying that they are doing a just service. Goodness gracious. I am sure their parents are proud of them.
ITS A SCAM. If they were a legitimate company, why would they call multiple times a day and multiple times a week? Becuase they are scammers. If you ask to be taken off the list, why do they still call? Scammers. The only people who can help you lower your interest rates are the credit card companies themselves. Why would these people use fake numbers? SCAM.
ALl the signs and post should tell yah. These people are up to no good. DONT GIVE ANY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION TO THESE CRIMINALS. AS LONG AS THEY SCAM, THEY MAKE MONEY TO STAY IN BUSINESS.
If you need to lower your credit card rate call your credit card company or seek debt consolidation program thats BBB certified and has a legitimate 1800 number and physical address.
REPORT REPORT REPORT STOP THIS NONSENSE>
89 - Wandaring
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone who has received such calls has been participating in any kind of online surveys.
The reason I ask this is because I also received such a call, but my # is private and unlisted. I received the same scam call less than 24hrs after completing some online surveys. Credit card company don't know how the scammers even come accross the partial card info. I shred everything with my name on it before throwing it out, so how? IP address?
This whole thing is just disgusting. About a week ago I received a call promising to lower my interest rate on my credit card. The person already knew my credit card account balance, the interest I was paying as well as my last credit card payment. They also called out the first 8 digits of my card and asked me to call out the last 8 digits for 'verification purposes'. I didn't want to, I felt like they should already know this.
So I was 'put through' to an 'associate', and it was while I was 'on hold' to speak with this other 'associate' I hung up.
The man had a light east-indian accent, he gave me a phone# where he could be reached. Said he was from LTA-Lindquist Tax and Accounting.
Of course the phone# he gave(214#) as well as the # appearing on my phone( a 1-877#), were both invalid.
They called back at least 8 times within the space of 1 hr, and then a couple more times after that, but I never picked up.
One message was left asking me what had happenened, in this pathetic desperate voice.
So after I hung up I notified my credit card, cancelled and called my local anti-fraud orginaztion, had identity on watch alert, because before I realized it was a definate scam I had confirmed my name, address and DOB.
I honestly don't know how these 'people' can even stomach themselves, doing what they do. They are pure scum, and may they all loose double-fold of what they took or tried to take in all aspects of their lives.
90 - Roger White
You would not give your house or car keys to someone to copy, so why do the same with your credit card details?
I think it is owning the card that makes people believe that it is safe to give the numbers on it away but at the end of the day, just like cash or your wallet, you really should not give it away just because someone requested it.
91 - Nell
I just got another call from them, I finally listened to the entire thing, pressed 1 and asked them politely to remove me from their list, before I could finish my polite sentence, the guy hung up on me.
92 - Susan
I get these calls from two different numbers multiple times per day on my cell phone. I usually hang up but twice I have asked them to remove my name from their call list and both times they hang up. I need my cell phone for work but these scam calls are driving me nuts. I have my cell number on the do not call list.
93 - chipmunk905
I got a call this morning from Credit Card Services and I pressed 1 to tell them to take my phone number off their list and the girl hung up on me. I then proceeded to call Verizon. They have a department for such things, so I told the woman about the call, and she told me there is nothing they can do about it. She said it was a scam and DO NOT ANSWER THE PHONE, because if you do they will keep calling. I get 2 or 3 calls like this a week. In the future I will do as she advised.
94 - Customer
Call from anonymous (201) 267-5646. Online research reveals complaints about this and similar. Automated. Phishing scam. Female voice: "About your credit card account...Lower your interest rate...Last Chance..." Violates several laws. Fake company. Do not answer, do not reply, do not push a button to talk or be "removed from list" -- it is an infamous trick. Never provide info. Search other reports and complaints online, confirm widespread telephone Phishing attacks. GoogleMap the area. Contact relevant enforcement authorities and their phone provider. Contact local TV News consumer help reporters & give them the story. Get on TV! There are also websites where you can report scams and ripoffs, make consumer complaints. EZ to find, and do. If you can not Block these crooks from calling your cell phone -- as most customers can not -- try assigning a personalized Ringtone to the incoming phone #, just choose the most quiet & non-annoying ring or alert. Keep a log of these thugs for future police, FBI, FTC and other actions.
95 - Curt G.
I've been getting this call for about two weeks now, always from area code 720. Today I finally took the call and listened to the voice msg. Although I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to avoiding fraud, I pressed the #1 key anyway and immediately regretted it when no one ever picked up and I was cut off. I speculated, at first, that by letting the phone ring till disconnect as I did, that it was like giving some super computer permission to extract data from my phone. I immediately called the number back and got a "voice mailbox is full" msg which only heightened my anxiety. I'm glad that I found this thread and know that just pressing the numb 1 key didn't compromise my personal info. Still, I agree with other posters here, something needs to be done.
96 - T
I pressed "1" because I wanted them to stop calling my mobile number. When I asked who she worked for, she said Visa and Mastercard, and when I pressed for more identification, she hung up. Now that I see they are not legit, I'm sad that I can't make them stop calling.
97 - Lori
I keep getting these darn calls i have contacted the attourney general I am keeping a record of the numbers and date and time. I will continue to give this info to the attourney general. 512-*247-8202 971-217-9515 253-246-8570 i told the lady i turned them into the attourney general and she said wow I am sooo scared and hung up
98 - Mike
Here's a novel idea. Call your credit card company yourself and lower your own interest rate for free. Why pay a middle man to do it for you?
99 - jskruse
Thanks for blogging this under cardmember services. I have been receiving the same calls and today decided to "press one". I told the lady that I felt uncomfortable releasing the information and she told me that I was protected under some consumer organization. I asked her for the website so that I could read up more on her company. She said she didn't know it but the financial advisor could give it to me. But before I spoke to the financial advisor, she had to check to see if I was eligible for the low interest offer...Therefore I would have to provide her with confidential information...Asked her again for the website, and she said she didn't have it and that she couldn't take the time to look it up because they were swamped with calls from those that actually wanted to lower their interest rate. WHAT A SCAM!
100 - Lindsey in Arizona
Like with most if not all of you, I to, have had similar negative experiences with these calls from this "company". I've added them as a contact in my phone and just continue to add their numbers to the existing contact every time I receive a call(all are different numbers). I've gathered the contact information for Arizona Attorney General's Crime, Fraud & Victim Resource Center also. I hope this is of some use to you, I will also repost my comment to other sites that are trying to address this issue as well. Thanks!
"Card Member Services":
313-204-1037
503-457-1085
305-587-2091
920-602-0879
484-489-0922
Arizona Attorney General(Tom Horne):
-Office line: 602-542-5025
-Crime, Fraud & Victim Resource line:
602-542-2123 (Phoenix Office)
http://www.azag.gov/contact.html
101 - Bob
I would not be surprised that some of the posts defending these scams are from the scammers themselves. DO NOT respond in any way other than filing a complaint with the National Do Not Call Center. The number that called today is 503-902-8477.
102 - Dr Dreadful
I never answer calls from an unfamiliar number or area code, unless they're expected. If someone wants to get hold of me badly enough, they can leave a message. They never do.
We no longer have a land line but when we did, we would just let everything go straight to voicemail. Genuine callers were aware that we were screening and knew to either call us on our cells, or wait for the machine to kick in and alert us to who they were so that we would pick up.
The junk and scam callers give up eventually, though it can take time.
103 - barb
I just got one of these annoying calls about 15 min. ago. Pressed one and when the girl answered I asked very politely if she could do me a big favor....she hung up on me. That is what I usually do when the call comes in. That by the way was the second call today!
104 - Chris in Calgary
I've tried almost everything to get these credit card scammers to stop calling.
I've pressed 9 to go on the do not call list and they still phone every single day.
I've tried pressing 1 to speak to a representative and then I don't respond hoping they'll get mad and not call anymore. But they hang up as soon as you don't answer them (usually within 2 seconds).
I've tried pressing 1 and telling them to stop calling. But as soon as they know you're not interested, they just hang up.
What I'd like to do is find out where their office is, fly there and beat the living crap out of the head of the company. In fact, if you could find out where it is, wouldn't it be fun to organize a multitude of people to storm their office and completely tear it apart and beat the hell out of anyone in there that got in the way? Now that would be sweet justice. Oh it's nice to dream!
At any rate, my next effort is to be a time waster. The only thing these people hate more than not being able to close the deal is someone who purposely wastes their time and keeps them from talking to someone they could actually scam. I will waste their time on every instance they call in hopes that they will come to know that my number will keep them from making money.
And if anyone wants to organize that march on their headquarters, let me know. I'd waste a couple vacation days for that kind of fun.
105 - D. Raymond
I am constantly getting these calls. Multiple times a day from
(303) 249-9700 in Denver, CO and (785) 207-6317
Topeka, KS. I am so sick of this and they are rude too!
106 - Diana
I have also received many of these calls over the past month. The last one was 10 minutes ago. I have also pressed '1' and told them to stop calling me because I am on the no call list. I have had a 0% for the last 8 years and haven't paid a bit of finance charge since. I don't know if this is a scam or not, but if I wanted to do something about any interest rate I may have, I am certainly intelligent enough to find a solution on my own...
107 - Kathy
You are lucky, I was threatened with murder and threatened to be sexually assaulted by the man that I talked to. He got angry when I asked them to take me off their calling list or I would report them. I have been getting these calls for over a month now.
108 - Kathy
BTW, Joleen is obviously a part of the scam.
109 - BS1500
I pressed "1" and a guy answered with "How can I lower your interest rate?" I asked for the name of his company and he said "Go Fuck Yourself Incorparated" Where's the Goverment to protect us from this ABUSE?
110 - Em
I've been getting these calls for a long time and I decided to have fun with these Bozos. When they ask me for any personal information, I in turn ask them for their personal information, which always ends up with them hanging up on me. They get the point.
111 - twrakes
received call from card members services. Know it's scam so i always press 1 and when live person come on asking if i want to lower interest rate. I say yes.. when she or he ask for credit card number, I tell the person this call is being recorded. and they no problem. always they hand up. they do get . never let them off so easy.. tell to hold on and never come back or inform you are recording for legal purposes to be turned over to . the attorney general for telmarketing. tw
112 - Deb
I have had these for months and today I told the guy on the telephone that I didn't want their service and that jerk starting screaming at me to 'Enjoy my high interest rates' Blocking the number is no help-they have too many. Now if I don't know who is calling I don't answer. And I block all out of my state calls.
113 - km
Next time they call, we should all come up with some bogus names, acct numbers, etc and let them spend their time trying to figure that out.
114 - JSR
I asked them what their company name was, he said "Cardmember Services". I asked their address, he said, Atlanta, Georgia. When I asked for the street address, he said he is "not allowed" to tell me." I told him what he was doing was against the law and he hung up on me. I am WORRIED about elderly people getting taken in on this!!!!!
115 - Brad
I just received the call and I asked what company they represented after pressing "1". All the man would say was "card member services" and he then asked if I wanted to lower my interest rates. When I told him I actually just wanted to be removed from his calling list, he immediately hung up on me.
116 - Glostersomerset
Thought is was a scam, but went along with it anyway. Want to lower your interest rates which are now 22% or higher due to no fault of my own. Someone with 750 credit score. Verified my name ect. Got to the supervisor where he explained there wouldn't be any out of pocket costs, but there would be a one time fee assessed to one of my credit cards. Ah! Hello. No cost to me? SCAM!!
117 - STM
My most recent call:
Woman with an Indian accent: "Hello, Mr ******?"
"Yes".
"I'm from the Australian Banking Association [what, have they moved to Delhi???], are you happy with your bank and your interest rate?"
"Yes, I am," I said. "What about you, are you happy with yours?"
At which point she thanked me and hung up.
Almost as good as the ones from India last year and the year before, who rang at least once a month, telling me they were from Windows Global Computer Services, and my computer was spreading viruses all over the internet and would totally crash within a day or two, thus rendering my computer useless. Of course, then they wanted to access it remotely so they could "clean it" for me - for a fee. Such kindness.
Right - I'm going to let some bloke from India remotely access my computer - and pay them for it as well AND give them a credit number. Don't think so, but I can't help feeling some people fall for these scams or they wouldn't be putting so much time, effort and money into it.
Usually I just said "bullshit" and hung up, but on the last call I played along. I did stuff to keep the guy waiting, like went to the kitchen and made a coffee, went out on the verandah and had a smoke, went to the bathroom, and eventually got to the point where the guy wanted access the computer.
It was then that I told him that I'd love to use his service, but unfortunately I didn't have a computer.
To say he wasn't a happy chappy would be an understatement, but I never got another call frfom these fuckwits.
And don't think they're just innocent call-centre workers recruited by criminal business enterprises. These are big, well staffed businesses that feed off the wealth of those of us lucky to live in first-world developed nations. I guess they think we won't miss the money.
But they all speak pretty good English and they all know that what they are doing is a scam that will hurt people.
And they don't care.
So don't give 'em the time of day.
Also, I hope the Indian government realises how much damage this kind of thing is doing to the country's reputation - and especially to its call centres, which depend on business from countries like the US and Australia.
Recently, a number of companies I do business with have switched to call centres in the Philippines, from where you can a) understand the operators perfectly and b) feel like they actually care about what they are doing.
I really hope the Indian authrorities move to crack down on the call-centre scammers, and soon, before they start to lose zillions in foreign revenue because of the widely held belief in the west that there's a corruption factor, whether that's real or perceived.
118 - Jim
Hello, I received a phone call offer for the same credit card scam. I asked the caller to take my name off their calling list and to stop calling. The male, French accent, swore at me. What the heck I thought and asked for his manager, of course there wasn't one. He began yelling into the phone and then uttered treats against me, my family, and home with disgusting language.
I called the RCMP and they could do nothing as this is a hijacked number from a discontinued cell phone account. There were other complaints filed prior to my call. However, because of the threats the complaint was to be escalated for further pursuit with new technology. We shall see.
119 - Jim
Further to my comment 118.
If you get this call again and have access to a cell try and keep them on the home phone and call the police emergency and inform them of any perceived threat. The officer will direct you but keep them online so they can try a trace. Long enough and they can narrow the location and may be able to act.
120 - Scott
Just off phone - same SCAM - want to lower my interest rates - when I asked to speak to supervisor he said the next person would be the credit card companies... LOL He would not give me a call back number and the caller ID is NOT a working number...
121 - Fed Up
This is to (linda) ,post something after you have had a phone call like the one I just had. The man( Indian) told me my credit report was very good and I could lower my rates and I said to remove my number and he said He needed more info from me and I of course refused to give it. He then said he could not help me and to enjoy getting calls for the rest of my life..... Ok, now tell me it legit. I then ask to speak to a supervisor and he refused to put one on, I was call a whore and that was only the beginning of a five minute yelling match and he wouldn't stop.
122 - Harley
The FCC rep told me not to press any number; but to press # 3 or 4 times and hang up. It will take several calls, but you will get removed from the scammers list that way.
123 - Anne Bright
I have been getting these calls for years and have tried pretending I had a stroke, that I was nuts, that I was ill, that I was a lawyer taking care of things as I had DIED, every kind of idiot I could think of being. Finally I said that the State Police had a tap on my phone and they hang up, BUT THEY KEEP CALLING ME, SOMETIMES SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. This article lets me know there is NO hope for getting rid of these scammers because Caller ID is useless and I do some shopping on line. I do NOT have an unlisted land line number because I am in animal rescue and WANT the calls from the people who need help with their pets or stray cats or dogs. I do NOT like cell phones, and want my land line. Guess I am SOL! However, I have known from the beginning they were scammers and they will never take me in!
124 - Tony
Why doesn't the govt just make it mandatory that phone service providers both from the initiating end and the recieving end have technology that shows the actual # that the call is being made from? If it doesn't come through properly then the call is dennied
125 - honeybee
Ok, so this is a scam, I had that figured out months ago when the calls began. How do we get them to STOP calling? I am getting tired of running to the phone thinking it is someone important....friend, child, etc and it's these creeps. I've reported them to the Do Not Call List and to the FCC but it doesn't seem like anything gets done. All they do is use a different phone number the next time they bother me. What does one do?