Phone phishing scam of the day

By | October 18, 2011

I got a call on my cell phone at about 2:20pm (US/Eastern) today whose caller ID claimed to be from 406-623-3644 and “Hardin, MT”. Here’s the transcript of the voicemail message that the caller left:

Hey guys this is Sara Ellis here.

Hey we spoke on the phone last week [lie!] about possibly trying to lower your interest rates and reducing your monthly payments on your credit card.

So I wanted to let you know that I did find a solution.

Um we’ve got a program that can lower those interest rates to as low as 1.5% and possibly cut your monthly payments in half.

And since you were only making the minimum payments [lie!] this would be a great opportunity for you.

This will be my last courtesy call so please give me a ring today.

You can reach me here at 1-877-723-1419.

Again, my number is 1-877-723-1419.

If you Google 406-623-3644 or 877-723-1419 you will see that a bunch of people are getting this call. It looks like it may be a new scam that just started up.

I’ve filed complaints with the FCC, the FTC and the Massachusetts attorney general’s office.

Beware of unsolicited calls about consolidating credit card debt! At best, it’s a slimy debt consolidation service looking to charge you ridiculous fees for their service. At worst, it’s criminals looking to get their hands on your credit card numbers so they can then use them to make fraudulent purchases.

 

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9 thoughts on “Phone phishing scam of the day

  1. James Brown

    What we need is a DMCA for telephones. It would be great if I could contact the phone company and issue a “take down notice” for a bogus robocall!

    Reply
  2. Brian

    I got the call at work just now. I spoke with a Christy who, when I told her that I sure never recieved any mail, like the message said, told me to F***k off. When I told her I was going to complain to the FCC she told me that she didn’t give a s**t and to go for it.

    Reply
  3. Chris

    I also got a call from this number at my office and the robocall had the same script. It is crazy because I have only one credit card and it does not have a balance on it. I thank eveyone for posting information on
    sites like this. Each time I get a call from a number I do not recognize I get on this site as well as others, search the number and find out that I should steer clear of that call. Let’s all keep up the work to get the word out on these scammer scums.

    Reply
  4. Tim

    I got a call on my Dallas, TX cell phone number this morning at 9:30am central, except it came from 971-277-8004 (OR, USA). The voicemail was exactly the same as you list, word for word. Is it possible it’s a recording? It didn’t sound like one, but it was exactly the same.

    Reply
      1. MattB

        I just got the same robocall on several of the numbers in my office, word for word, using the 406-623-3644 number. I returned the call after googling and finding this and numerous other posts regarding the scam.
        On calling I spoke to a “Stacia” or some such name. I asked for company info and was told it is the “Consumer Debt Helpline”, which after googling, there would appear to be several. I spoke to the woman and said I was checking out her company because robodialing businesses and cell phones was against regulations. She stated they were non-profit, so it was legal. We traded “well yeah?’ a few times, and she hung up.
        I took the liberty of calling the FCC. I gave all the details I had about this company, as well as information regarding the robodialing, the false statement that we had “spoken last week”, etc, and said flat out that while I understand the company claims to be “non profit”, are these practices legal? I was given an emphatic “NO”, and told that if I would like, gathering as much information as I could about the company and submitting a complaint is a good idea.
        http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

        Reply
  5. Anonymous

    Hiya.

    It sounds like “Rachel” is back. Would you mind sharing the contact info for filing complaints with the FCC, FTC, MA-AG? Thanks!

    The maddening thing is that the phone cos. could make this problem go away, if they wanted to.

    Reply

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