Monday @ 10…we featured an automated phone message that’s circulating the metro...talk about odd! It asks you to take a survey…answer a few questions…something like this: ‘Do you own a small dog? Please press 1 for No or 2 for Yes.’ Our intended victim pressed 1 for No and then hung up. The mysterious 208-758-0218 number appears to originate from Idaho, but it's likely the scammers just high jacked that number and are hiding out somewhere in Canada or overseas.
The worst thing you can do is play along with an automated message you're not familiar with. Should you answer 'yes' to a question even as innocent as something like, 'do you own a small dog'...scammers could then tape record your answer and fraudulently use it as proof that you agreed to buy a new service. What could potentially happen is you might be giving permission to a charge being placed on your phone bill. You think you’re pressing 1 because you have a small dog. What you’re actually doing is giving an authorization to put some kind of charge on your phone bill.
Should you receive a suspicious call, immediately hang up and contact your phone company to find out whether or not the call is legitimate. You can also contact the Attorney General and Oklahoma Corporation Commission with questions. One more thing...it's also a smart idea to check your monthly phone bill on a regular basis for any unscrupulous charges.
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I think I may have found the person who has been at the root of this. His Name is Mike Chase, owner of a Database Marketing, Inc. Give him a call for yourself....this is his personal home phone number and address: (208) 772-8293 7512 N 4th St, Dalton Gardens, ID 83815-8737. I'm sure he'll appreciate a call at his house. Here's his business line...might as well leave a message there as well.(208) 667-6887
ReplyDeleteAfter much sleuthing...I believe we have our man. All it really took was knowing that this was a little common sense. Telemarketing companies deal in databases all the time. Coeur D Alene, Idaho couldn't have that many. A few phone calls and a couple of other tricks and voila...
All's fair in love and spam marketing.