FTC Cracking Down On Car Warranty Robocall Scammers

from the about-time dept

It was just last week that we questioned why the FTC hadn't been able to track down the scammers behind the "this is the 2nd notice that the warranty on your car is about to expire" robocalls. Apparently, we were just a little anxious. On Thursday, the FTC filed complaints against two of the companies involved in the scam, noting that they were apparently placing 1.8 million calls per day, with no regard for the Do Not Call List. Apparently, the scam has already brought in $10 million from people who were duped, though the FTC is trying to get all that money back.

Filed Under: car warranty, ftc, robocalls, scams

Reddit Community Discovers Phone Numbers To Reach Car Warranty Telemarketers...

from the poetic-justice? dept

Pretty much everyone is getting those telemarketing scam car warranty calls these days. They're the ones that start out "this is the second warning that the factory warranty on your car is about to expire...." Of course, it's not the second warning (in some cases it's the 100th) and it doesn't matter if your car warranty is about to expire or even if you own a car. They just call everyone. Last summer, the FTC announced that (partly in response to those calls), all prerecorded telemarketing calls were banned. But, considering these guys are scammers, that wasn't going to stop them. It looks like the folks over at Reddit got fed up and social engineered the phone numbers of the company out of a rep, and then the community just started calling repeatedly, overwhelming the company's phone lines. Of course, while it certainly has that poetic justice feel to it, it won't stop them. They'll change their phone number and get right back to it. What's not clear is why the Reddit folks could track down who was responsible while the FTC has been unable to do so...

Filed Under: car warranty, mob justice, scams, telemarketing