Telemarketer Fun
I hate telemarketers, I really do.
I just received two telemarketer calls within a very short period. One was 6:19PM, and the other was 6:38PM.
The 6:19PM was received at my Skype number.
The 6:38PM was received at my Home distinctive ring number.
The 6:19PM call originated from 206-415-8739.
The 6:38PM call originated from 206-278-9390.
The 6:19PM call left a message telling me that I had been selected as part of their “Jacksonville Area Marketing Study” to attend some scam cruise leaving from Miami.
The 6:38PM call left a message telling me that I had been selected as part of their “Jacksonville Area Marketing Study” to qualify for some scam satellite tv promotion.
Wrong city, wrong state, nice try.
Since I really dislike telemarketers, I think I am going to change my current approach– it could be called the “overwhelm them with legaleeze and shuffle papers while you ‘take down their information’ approach– with a new approach. Maybe we can call it the, “appear like a business who is legitimately interested in their services and string them along as much as humanly possible.”
I can come up with a fake corporate telephone announcement to really get them interested.
It could start something like:
Thank you for calling MikeCo Hotels Executive Office. MikeCo Hotels now provides 28 free cable channels for all guests in the Jacksonville Area. Please hold while we transfer you to the executive secretary. Please note that this call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance.
Then, after a moment of music and a few blips and bleeps, I can answer, recording the call, and see how much of these people’s time I can waste.
I would be the dream sale! A hotel owner who is proud to be offering a crappy 28 cable channels in their rooms, conveniently located in Jacksonville, where they seem to be targeting!
What do you think?
Edit: For anyone interested in listening to the original call (do you enjoy torturing yourself?), you can listen to an MP3 of the message here: http://mikesblog.americasdebate.com/uploads/telemarketer.mp3
August 2nd, 2005 at 7:02 pm
Telemarketing calls are supremely irritating, and I usually just hang up on them. If you can get some amusement out of messing with them, more power to you.
August 4th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
Can I just say that I love your idea… I just got the same message, from the same telephone number, on my CELL phone! Do these telemarketers actually get business calling people? … maybe middle America/FLORIDA (that is where all of middle America retires..) buys into their antics! Extremely frustrating, it’s time to turn the table somehow- go for it!
August 5th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
I got the same call on my cell phone, same 206-415-8739 #.
I was selected to be part of some study in Carlsbad, CA and I will win a 4-day cruise to Mexico. BS!
August 5th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
My solution to this is I only give my home number when absolutely necessary and never to anyone I actually want to talk to. As a result I never answer my home phone and if the person leaves a message then I’ll listen to it. Furthermore all my numbers are unlisted which cuts down on it a little bit. Everyone that I care about talking to calls me on my cell
August 8th, 2005 at 3:23 pm
These jerks called mine and my husbands cell phones this morning. I wasn’t even aware that they could get cell phone numbers. Anyone else called by these guys that uses ATT or Cingulair or any other subsiderary of this company? Think it could be an inside job?
August 8th, 2005 at 6:08 pm
I too received the ensenada phone call..Is there anything we can do to stop these types of calls.
August 10th, 2005 at 10:07 pm
I got a call from the same number - 206-415-8739 offering the Carlsbad, CA/Mexico scam. It directed me to 800-517-8077. After waiting on hold for “the next available operator, I was asked to leave a message. How do they get cell phone numbers?
August 11th, 2005 at 11:43 am
I just got a call from the same number 206-415-8739. I didn’t pick up on the call because I didn’t recognize the phone number. I google’d it and I got a hit to this website. I only use my cell for family calls. I’m going to call Cingular/ATT to report it & will let everyone know what happens.
August 12th, 2005 at 9:56 am
Got the maketing/cruise phone call/recording from the same number (206 415-8739) where I work in Tampa, Florida. The recording called the firm’s main line 6 times in less than five minutes. It called our back door (unpublished) line once. (This is a line you even have to enter an extension!) They gave a (800)575-5536 to call for a free Carnival Cruise. What bothered me is I had to put actual clients on hold to get their stupid call. (Caller Id doesn’t show till I pick the call up)Wasted my time which upsets me the most. Googled and came to this website and felt more people needed to know how wide spread it actually is. Maybe someone should let Carnival Cruise know their name is being associated with these terrible tactics.
For those of you that have cell phones. Soon those numbers will be available to the public. There is a no-call list you call from your cell (no cost) do not have the 1-800 number and besides I want to double check it before I pass it on to others. My luck it would be something bogus to get people’s cell phone numbers.
August 12th, 2005 at 11:13 am
It cost me $14.95 to get this. It is the record of the UNLISTED owner of the phone number.
Phone: (206) 415-8739
Name ADVIENNE ALT
Address SEATTLE, WA 98121
Carrier MARATHON COMMUNICATIONS, INC
Service Type Land Line - Residential
Last Reported 08/01/2005
August 12th, 2005 at 11:37 am
If you call Marathon Communications - they will “forward Do Not Call requests” to the owner of the phone number. Find them at http://www.marathon.net/customer_service.asp.
However, they will not give out any customer information, give you a name of a Marathon contact, give you any name of the person you are talking with except a first name, no extension or employee ID, allow you to speak to a supervisor, give you an address to write Marathon, etc..etc…
And they claim to be a “Common Carrier” - they offer VOIP, internet and web hosting. Perhaps somebody in Washington can complain to the PSC.
August 12th, 2005 at 12:03 pm
Your complaint has been submitted to the Washington State Office of the Attorney General on 8/12/2005 10:00:35 AM
Click here to return to the main page.
——————————————————————————–
Consumer Protection Division
General Consumer Protection Complaint Form
Consumer Information
_____PERSONAL INFO DELETED__________
Marathon Communications
Address:
22722 29th Drive SE
City:
Bothell State:
WA Zip:
98021
Business Phone:
800-919-1000 Business Fax #:
Toll-Free Number:
E-Mail Address:
Web Site:
http://www.marathon.net
Name of Owner / Manager:
Names and addresses of any other businesses involved:
Unknown telemarketer DBA as (206) 415-8739
Salesperson’s Name:
Brad
Have you complained to the business?
YES
If YES, to whom (and their position):
Brad at 800-919-1000 - no further information would be given. Brad would not let me speak with a supervisor, give me a extension or employee number, or other information to verify the contact.
What response did you receive?
Brad is supposed to pass my cel phone number to their customer (a residental listing) that is running a recorded telemarketing message - one that never connects to a persion, just ties up your phone reading a (possibly phony) “you have been selected to receive a vacation” message.
If you have not contacted the business explain why not:
Brad and Marathon Communications is claiming on the call that they are a “common carrier” and will not give out their customer information - so I can properly make a request to the caller to have me placed on their “do not Call ” list.
*Briefly explain your complaint:
Since Marathon COmmunications offers to forward the request to the telemarketer, I wonder if they have a business relationship to this telemarketer, beyond what they reveal on the phone. I should be able to speak directly with a telemarketer, to make sure my request to be placed on their do not call list is correctly entered. By taking the step of refusing to allow me to contact the caller, they have interposed themselves in the process, and should share the liability of allowing a telemarketer $20.00 unlimited long distance calling - and should share in the responsibility for using my cellular minutes at my expense.
What do you think the business should do to resolve your complaint?
OTR
Explain if you selected “Other”:
Shut down a non-compliant telemarketer who is making a national nuisance of themselves.
[No], I would not like to be included on the Attorney General’s Office e-mail list for periodic press releases, consumer warnings, and other notifications.
Disclosure Notices
——————————————————————————–
[Yes] In order to process your complaint, the Attorney General’s Office will send a copy of your complaint to the complained of business. Do you want the Attorney General’s Office to send this business a copy of your complaint?
I understand that if I answer No, the Attorney General’s Office will not process this complaint. Additionally, if I answer Yes, I understand that my complaint and any related documents I have submitted will become “public records.” Under state law, public records are subject to public records disclosure requests. Under some circumstances, my complaint and related documents may therefore be seen by other people.
Declaration: By filling in my name and the date below, I declare, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the information contained in this complaint is true and accurate.
*Name: Steven Hess *Declared this date: 8/12/2005
August 18th, 2005 at 6:07 pm
I got this call twice on my ATT/Cingular cell phone. From previous posts it looks like the old ATT Wireless may be the target. Maybe a disgruntled layed-off employee? I filed a report with the FCC, maybe if they get enough complaints someone will get fined.
August 24th, 2005 at 2:54 pm
Mike, try 32 calls from the benvolent police society. When I asked them not to call anymore, they got angry and hung up then started on my other phone line. When I told them it was recoreded due to my fax line being hooked up to one number through my comp, they blurted an expletive. How can I print up the call log from the fax console. - JM
August 24th, 2005 at 10:56 pm
posted at payphone-directory.org TOPIC - Maranthon Communications
DATE - 07/06/05 17:40:27
FROM - Mike Virginia
How to fight Marathon Communications. I am a lawyer from Washington State (although I now live in Virginia). I too have received fraudulent marketing calls from 206.415.8940 and 206.278.9390. I talked to the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. They said that all people who feel that they have been harmed by these calls should file a complaint as I am doing. Here is the link to file a complaint: http://www.atg.wa.gov/consumer/forms/
The Federal Regulations Sec. 310.3(a)(4) prohibit any person from making false statements in a telemarketing pitch (my paraphrase). Sec. 310.3(b) prohibits any person from aiding another in committing fraud.
Marathon knows that it is aiding whoever this marketeer is because it has received sufficient complaints. Marathon knows that the marketeer is using these numbers as a fraudulent cloak–they are not valid call back numbers.
Marathon has a duty to stop the misuse of its numbers but it is a small business (40 employees or so) and has not chosen to do so. The person I spoke to at Marathon said that they would reveal the owner of these numbers only upon receiving a subpoena.
Therefore everyone receiving these calls should file a complaint with the Washington Attorney General’s office against Marathon for aiding and abetting this illegal telemarketer.
Please do this so that the AG will take action For more info. visit http://www.anti206.blogspot.com
November 2nd, 2005 at 6:59 am
I recieved a reply from the Washington State AG. regarding my previously mentioned complaint number SEA-239297. Marathon Communications has coughed up the owner behind 206-415-8739. It is a letter forwarded dated October 1, 2005.
Marathon Says:
Marathon Communications srtives to care for all it’s customers, bla bla and will respond promptly bla bla and assist any third party bla bla bla. The subscriber name is:
Coast to Coast Marketing
10655 Roselle St, Suite H
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone number 619-279-7460
EIN 20-1826108
Contact: Bryan Lindahl
206-415-8739 is only a forwarding number, and not attached to any physical location. As such, it does not originate any calls. Marathon COmmunications does not provide any outbound calling services for Coast to Coast marketing nor any service through which they may make outbound calls.
Christopher Gillen
Marathon Communications Inc
——————————-
Ok, then does that mean the number is shut down? Obviously they were originating calls at one time, no mattter what they claim at this time. And Marathon was sure not helpful when they blocked all inquiries - until I wrote the AG.
I will provide copies of the letter via fax to anyone interested if they contact me.
November 10th, 2005 at 1:01 pm
I received this same call this morning and googled the callback # given. This was the only available result google found. What is different though, is that the originating # on my phone was 1-386-469-0400, not the #s I see you guys have previously listed. So just an FYI, it seems whoever is behind it is still up to it. The offer made to me was a cruise leaving from miami, my cell carrier is cingular, and 411.com had this to say about the originating #:
We’re sorry. We did not find a listing for the phone number you entered.
The phone number “(386) 469-0400″ is a Deland, FL based phone number and the registered carrier is Itc Delta Com - Fl. However, due to number portability, some numbers have been transferred to a new service provider other than the registered carrier.
December 8th, 2005 at 4:23 pm
206 278 9390 update
Guardian Communications (309 277 1222) has been sued again.Contact your Attorney General,file a complaint and ask them to sue.
Posted at WFMY 2:
Attorney General Hangs Up A Telemarketer
The Attorney General puts a stop to a telemarketer calling local residents with a pre-recorded message.
Raleigh, NC — An Illinois telemarketer that made illegal prerecorded calls to collect information about potential customers and then sold it to satellite television dealers has been ordered to stop calling people in North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.
“This telemarketer bothered people who’d made it clear they didn’t want to get sales calls at home,” said Cooper. “Not only were these calls illegal, but the telemarketers weren’t even selling what they were pitching. Instead, they were trolling for potential customers so they could turn around and sell their names to another company.”
In a preliminary injunction granted today in Wake County Superior Court by Judge Donald W. Stephens, Guardian Communications of Moline, Illinois is barred from calling North Carolinians while the case goes forward.
Cooper’s office is also seeking to permanently stop Guardian’s telemarketing calls into the state and make them pay fines and penalties.
In a complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court this week by Cooper’s office, Guardian Communications is alleged to have called North Carolina homes to pitch satellite television service using illegal tactics such as prerecorded messages and calling numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry. The company, which does not actually provide satellite service, then sold the information it collected about people to satellite firms who were looking for potential customers.
One consumer from Summerfield, NC described the call she got from Guardian in March 2005: “When I said ‘Hello’ no one responded,” she said. “After a delay, a sales representative continued to speak in the same speed and tone.
It was obviously a pre-recorded message and I hung up immediately.” Under North Carolina law, prerecorded telemarketing calls are illegal unless a live operator first asks if the consumer wishes to listen to the message.
North Carolina’s case against Guardian was brought by Cooper’s Telemarketing Fraud Task Force, funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice. Since the Do Not Call Registry began in 2003, Cooper’s Task Force has taken dozens of telemarketers to court for breaking Do Not Call laws and recovered more than $250,000 from violators.
“When someone puts their phone number on the Do Not Call list, companies need to respect their wishes and stop calling. If you’ve placed your number on the list but still get calls, let my office know about it,” said Cooper.
To report Do Not Call violators, call the Attorney General’s Office at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM. To place your number on the Do Not Call Registry, call (888) 382-1222 from the number you wish to register or visit the state’s “Do Not Call” website.
For more info visit my http://www.anti206.blogspot.com
January 18th, 2006 at 8:34 am
Still going on. Had a very similar call on my answering machine at work this morning. Said I had won a Ford Explorer. The call originated from phone #386-469-0400 said to call 1-877-840-6266. I did not call them back. I did a google web search and found this web page.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
Yeah, they’re back at it in full force it seems.
I had them call my skype number and leave a message 4 times yesterday!
Mike
February 8th, 2006 at 7:42 am
I live in Tampa, Fla and I got the same call about winning the ford explorer on my voice mail. Said to call 1-877-840-6266
February 9th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Ha, I guess everyone’s searchin’ the number and coming here. I live in Tampa as well and got the call about the Explorer from the same number. Although I called them back since I couldn’t find anything (and I’m an idiot). The guy was a douche, and hung up with me without answering any of my questions and now they wont answer when I call back. It didn’t sound like Telemarketing. Just asked me some questions and hung up. He didn’t try to sell me anything…
February 9th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Alright, I decided to call a 4th time but this time let it ring until they answered and sure enough they did. Their answers to my questions were VERY vague. I said “I don’t want anything to do with this. Remove me please” and they’re like “Yeah, ok”. I said “Yeah, ok? Are you doing it? Like, right now?”. “Yes, Sir”. and I just hung up. Don’t call the number back. These guys are fuckin’ fishy.
February 9th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
I got one just five minutes ago, it sounded like a radio station message until i called. Not promissing, is the feeling i got. It is the second call i have had for the Explorer, but i told them to take me off their calling list. I am in Arkansas, any sugestions to how to stop this…….?
February 14th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Its a computer thats running over voip service. It picks up bandwith and connects to all phone switches. Once it gets through those lines it rings your phone and the server then plays the pre-recorded message telling you to call 1-877-840-6266. Once you do that they pick up your phone number off of caller id and can use it for future telemarketing calls.
Basically you just gave them permission to call.
Or…choice #2…Its a secret agent call back program that the CIA has to get rid of all the stupid people in the world who called the number back!!!
February 14th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Verizon Wireless Continues Campaign To Defend Customers’ Privacy With Legal Action Against Two Telemarketers
Tuesday February 14, 11:21 am ET
First Lawsuit to Allege Telemarketing Firm Spammed Verizon Wireless Customers with Spanish-language Calls
BEDMINSTER, N.J., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless, owner and operator of the nation’s most reliable wireless network, once again is standing up for the privacy rights of its customers with two new lawsuits that charge telemarketing companies with illegal solicitation of wireless phone customers. Both lawsuits were filed today in state Superior Court in Somerville, N.J. and claim the companies’ actions violate the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act as well as state fraud and privacy laws.
In the first lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind involving Spanish-language messages, Verizon Wireless is seeking an injunction against All Star Vacations and Marketing Group, Inc. of Miami, Fla. and Travel and Tours Marketing, Inc. of Orlando, Fla. During November and December 2005 alone, more than 500,000 calls apparently using auto-dialers and pre-recorded messages in Spanish were made to Verizon Wireless customers on behalf of these companies. The pre-recorded messages in Spanish indicated the customer had won a trip to one of several resort locations and directed the customer to call a toll-free number to claim their prize.
In the second lawsuit, Verizon Wireless is seeking an injunction against Cambridge Marketing and Financial Services, Inc. of Deland, Fla., which apparently made thousands of calls to cell phone customers using auto-dialers and pre-recorded messages. Unsuspecting customers and employees received multiple calls on their wireless phones in which a pre-recorded voice left a message that indicated the customer had won a Ford Explorer and directed them to call a toll-free number to claim their prize.
Steven Zipperstein, vice president and general counsel of Verizon Wireless, said, “These unlawful telemarketing calls invade the privacy of Verizon Wireless’ customers, and whether in English or Spanish, we will not tolerate actions from any company that put our customers’ privacy in jeopardy.”
In addition to seeking injunctions against All Star Vacations, Travel and Tours Marketing, and Cambridge Marketing and Financial Services to prohibit the continued use of the illegal telemarketing practices, Verizon Wireless is also asking the court to award monetary damages.
The company’s record of protecting customer privacy puts Verizon Wireless at the forefront of the U.S. wireless industry. Over the past several months, Verizon Wireless has won permanent injunctions against other companies that have engaged in illegal telemarketing to Verizon Wireless customers, spammed Verizon Wireless customers with unsolicited text messages and that have attempted to obtain information about Verizon Wireless customers to sell to third parties.
February 21st, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Spoke to the el presidente of All Star Vacations (Jesus Roberto Soler) today. When I first called this company all I got was a bunch of spanish speaking crap but they apparently understood me quite well when I asked for Jesus. Jesus Soler did nothing but lie during our brief conversation but thats what I expected. He did however, act sincerely surprised when I mentioned his home address and his middle name. Hispanic phone fraud has been very lucrative for Jesus Soler…he lives in a half million dollar condo in Miami Fl at the Ambassadors on Brickell Bay Dr. not bad for a 29 year old thief.
February 22nd, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Same as the others. same Fored Xplorer story, same number. Did not call ‘m.
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Just got a voice message from someone who said i run 25, 2000, or ford explorer, or a bahasmas cruise, or a 27 inch tv. Leaving me with a claim number and the number to call back 18778406266. THey asked if i was single, married, lived with spouse. If i was a us citized. How oldd I was. What city I live. And the phone number? Im young and naive. The lady was rude when at the end of the phone she said something about the ford, i didnt un derstand so i asked her what and she hung up on me. From the voice message the recorded message said they were calling from cmss? does anyone know what company that is? AHHHH this is weird, What happens to those who do call them!!??!
February 24th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
I was called by someone who said I won a Ford Explorer 3-4 months ago and I never called. I got the same call yesterday from 877-840-6266, and that’s where my voicemail said it came from. I called the first time someone answered took my State, claim number, and number they called from. I was on hold for 3 minutes the phone beeped 4 times, then a fifth time really long and then it cut me off. Now when I call back no one even answers. I stayed on until the ringing stopped and it just went to dial tone. One time someone picked up and asked my state then put me on hold and then it clicked me off.
I figured it was fishy, because this is a school number and I’ve never given this number to anyone, but I figured even if it is a telemarketer, I won’t be here next year anyway.
I finally just spoke to a woman. I asked her if this was legitimate because I’ve been kicked off twice. She said she was sorry about that and it was legitimate and they are from Quincy Marketing, and she said they got my number from when I either filled out a credit card application online or like at a grocery store when it says win something. She said I probably did it in the last year and I told her that this is a dorm at a university and we change rooms every semester. She said Sometimes that happens but usually we only call home phones numbers or CELL PHONES. She said she would put my number on the do not call list, though. I hope she did.
February 24th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
We’ll 1-877-840-6226 another victim of Telemarketing. ASS O’s
March 1st, 2006 at 1:18 pm
I just received this ford explorer call in Minnesota, have never given out my work number on any registration cards or anything. This is really annoying, because I have no idea how they go this number. It must be like the person above wrote, and they are randomly trying numbers to see who is suceptable to calling back to win. I guess that people who are dumb enough to call back deserve to be marketed.
March 1st, 2006 at 5:08 pm
Received a voice mail at work to call this #877-840-6266 to tell me that I won a Ford Explorer and how they have “tried several times to reach me” (which was BS since this was the first call I have gotten and haven’t moved in 11 years). Punched in the phone # in a Google search and got this website. Things that are too good to be true, usually are.
March 1st, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I used to work for vacation Depot/Cambridge Marketing/Quincy Marketing/Heritage Marketing and can Guarantee that we have never awarded a vehicle prize in the 4 years that I was there, and that all they companies that I mentioned are the one and the same, and that they have multiple dialers capable of blasting 1,000’s of numbers every hour
March 3rd, 2006 at 12:57 pm
So you worked for Cambridge huh? Care to post the home phone # of Anthony Coiro?
March 3rd, 2006 at 5:18 pm
I called these TM morons, here’s what happened:
1. They left their stupid message on my business cell #.
2. I called them from my Vonage home phone, ulimited calling.
3. I gave the idiot my “Claim # TT101″ & the asked what State I was calling from (twice).
4. They asked for my phone number, because I knew their system couldn’t reconcile a VoIP#.
5. I told her to hold on I get it for her, I waited about 1 min. and told her again to hold.
6. After another min. or so I told her I had the phone #.
7. I held the phone over the TOILET & FLUSHED IT. The TM said “Hello, Hello are you there?”
8. I then said yes and could she please hold for a minute.
9. After about 3 mins. the idiot TM finally hungup.
10. I called back several more times playing similiar pranks, I spoke SPANISH 1 time & apparently they don’t like Spanish people because they put me on hold & then came back and gave me their schpeil (sp?) in English like I was not even there. I love screwing with these idiot telemarketers. If you have the time, it’s really funny.
March 4th, 2006 at 12:50 am
I work for a very large bank in Tampa. Today 2 of my employees received recorded messages on their voicemail minutes apart regarding the Ford Explorer, and giving them the number 877-575-5536 (I think, it’s back at work). I called and told them that they were calling a business, and they needed to review their calling lists and remove businesses from their auto-dialer. The rep was incredibly rude, and told me she’d put those 2 numbers on the Do Not Call list, but I’d have to fax them a list of all 185 phone numbers in my department to prevent additional calls. When I protested that I shouldn’t have to take time out of my day to help them stop calling a business and interrupting our workflow, she immediately offered to let me speak with a supervisor. “Richard” got on the phone, and began to rant at me at how the numbers were given to them as residential numbers and it was not against “Federal Law” for them to call a business, he stated that by putting my 2 phone numbers on the Do Not Call list he was doing so as a “favor”. I asked for the name of the business and he began talking louder and faster. I continued to ask him for the name of his business but he continued to speak over me, until he finally hung up on me. I immediately called back and simply asked the girl who answered for the name of the business I was calling. She told me it was Cambridge Marketing in Deland, FL. I hung up and have searched the internet, only to find info on the lawsuit filed by Verizon for their 55,000 calls to Verizon’s cell customers since November. I was unable to locate any website for them. If one more call comes into one of our business lines I will pursue this further by turning it over to our legal department. By calling them back twice, I pray that they leave a voicemail on my direct line. I have NEVER spoken to such rude people from a business in all my life. Great company, I’m sure they must all be really proud to work there.
March 4th, 2006 at 9:17 am
Here’s What You All Want, I know I’m going to flood his Home# & Office# with calls! Don’t you just love the Freedom Of Information Act & Florida’s liberal use of it!!
Phone #’s may have changed:
1-800-701-5619
1-386-740-0603
1-386-740-7891 fax
CEO is Marvin Isreal
Pres is Anthony T. Coiro
VP is Regina Velez
Federal Employee Id# is 59-3738394
Address is:
1406 Anderson Street
Deltona, FL 32725
Florida Profit
CAMBRIDGE MARKETING & FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
——————————————————————————–
PRINCIPAL ADDRESS
2235 S WOODLAND BLVD
201
DELAND FL 32720
Changed 11/14/2002
——————————————————————————–
MAILING ADDRESS
2235 S WOODLAND BLVD
201
DELAND FL 32720
Changed 11/14/2002
Document Number
P01000079374 FEI Number
593738394 Date Filed
08/13/2001
State
FL Status
ACTIVE Effective Date
NONE
Last Event
NAME CHANGE AMENDMENT Event Date Filed
05/02/2005 Event Effective Date
NONE
——————————————————————————–
Registered Agent
Name & Address
COIRO, ANTHONY T
1406 ANDERSON STREET
DELTONA FL 32725
——————————————————————————–
Officer/Director Detail Name & Address Title
COIRO, A T
1406 ANDERSON ST
DELTONA FL 32725 P
——————————————————————————–
Annual Reports Report Year Filed Date
2003 08/08/2003
2004 07/12/2004
2005 04/29/2005
——————————————————————————–
Document Images
Listed below are the images available for this filing.
05/02/2005 — Name Change
04/29/2005 — ANNUAL REPORT
07/12/2004 — ANN REP/UNIFORM BUS REP
08/08/2003 — ANN REP/UNIFORM BUS REP
11/14/2002 — COR - ANN REP/UNIFORM BUS REP
08/13/2001 — Domestic Profit
March 4th, 2006 at 9:24 am
The current phone #’s and address:
Cambridge Marketing & Financial Services
2235 South Woodland Blvd.
Deland, FL 32720
1-386-469-0372
1-386-469-0373
1-386-469-0400
1-386-469-0401
1-386-469-0500
1-386-469-0501
Happy Revenge!!
March 6th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Looks like I’m getting a new twist on this 1-877-840-6266 has been calling my cell phone once a day for the past 2 days. I answer and no one is there. I put this number in at whitepages.com but it doesn’t turn anything up. I searched on msn search and came up with this page.
March 7th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Same story. I got the message about the free car about a month or two ago. The nonstop calls started last weekend. It happens at least once a day at various times. There is never an answer, even if I pick up immediately. I googled the number hoping to find somewhere to complain, and got this page.
March 7th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
I received two phone calls on my cell phone within a short period of time. Both messages mentioned good news about winning a new Ford Explorer.
March 20th, 2006 at 9:39 am
I decided to add a complaint because I was happy that others before me did and I could be alerted. This sure put my worries to rest. I received a call at 7:17 pm on Friday, March 17th on my work phone and a message that I should call back 1-877-840-6266, the message included that it was urgent to call back and that my claim number is PP101. Being unaware, I did call and no one answered. I decided to google search the number and this is when I got to this webpage. My cell and home numbers have been added to the DO NOT CALL list. I will add my work number to the list also. Thanks Mike for starting this blog and I would encourage others to add their stories, let these telemarketers know that we are on to them.
March 20th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
weird Ann, exact same scenario for me. same number called me at work, I call back, no answer, google it and found this site.
March 22nd, 2006 at 6:22 pm
My claim number was TT101 also and I attend school in Tampa, FL. I also got the call at school in Tampa, but I usually live in the Jacksonville, FL area.
March 23rd, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Okay I’m relieved that other people have gotten the call and called back! Because I got the message and I knew I didn’t really win anything but I just called back for the heck of it and no one answered. Same story with the Ford Exploror & a claim number. I don’t understand why they would leave a message for you to call and then not answer. That’s what I thought was weird.. Anyway, I’m from Arkansas so I guess they’re getting people from all over. Oh by the way, they called my cell phone which is Cricket.
March 23rd, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Hi, I’ve had a few calls from these people and I propose a new tactic in this battle. They have to pay for the minutes they use on the toll free line and they are fishing for phone numbers. If we can dial their number from a pay phone for free, then dial and walk away. Haven’t been on a pay phone in a while but I would pay for the call just so they could sell a list of pay phones to their customers. Might as well give them what they want. Thanks
March 24th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
i just saw a missed call on my cell from 1-877-840-6266 and some woman left a message on my voicemail saying i won a ford explorer.. i just got this cell phone number yesterday! i went to donotcall.gov but i better not hear from them again. how annoying. someone called me asking for Regina too, so I wonder how long cell phone companies actually wait before giving away old numbers.
March 31st, 2006 at 1:24 am
I got the same call 1-877-840-6266 at 6:22 pm I live in central Missouri my phone is A cell phone cingular/att I called it back but like every body else no answer.
March 31st, 2006 at 4:25 pm
I received a call last night at approx. 6:53p.m., from an unavailable number. My office phone was forwarded to my home for the night. I let my machine pick it up. A ladies voice spoke out:”I’m Erica with the Awards Claims Service calling you in regards to a promotion to recieve a brand new Ford Explorer…please call 1-877-840-6266.” I figured it was a trap, so I waited until today to check them out. No web listings of any kind for the name, but the number matched to your page. Which is what I hoped to find anyway. I plan to contact our Missouri NO CALL representatives. If they bug me again, no one will worry about them calling ever again. Thanks!
April 4th, 2006 at 9:21 am
I have received four of these phone calls in the last week. Two on my cell phone. We have 5 lines in my office and so far this place has called two of them. I called the 877-840-6266 last week and after about 2-3 minutes someone FINALLY answered. He was EXTREMELY rude to me. He supposedly took the numbers off. I got to work this morning and had the message on my direct number, so I called back. This time it was a few rings and someone answered, she was also extremely rude and hateful. I decided to ask a few questions, according to her they get the numbers from some drawing you have entered. I don’t give many people my cell phone number, but especially the work numbers they called, no one has those. Supposedly they are just trying to verify information, she didn’t go into details on what type of info, all she told me was name, address, phone number (why do they need this, they just called me!!!) and also need to verify if you are single or married.
Anyway, just thought I would post what I found out.
April 6th, 2006 at 11:14 am
The Mexico Missouri area is flooded with these types of calls.
I even had a message left on my unlisted desk phone (landline).
I suspect a scam in the making but can’t prove it.
I’ve spoke with several people today and they all got the same calls on
their cell phones.
April 7th, 2006 at 8:52 am
I received a call on my unlisted work number from Erica regarding a Ford Explorer from the Awards Claim Center. They indicated they have been trying to contact me for quite a while, however this is the first message I have received. They wanted me to call 1-877-840-6266 ASAP. Yeah right. Not after reading info from this blog.
April 7th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
I called back and talked to a Manager and told them about this. They called my 11 year old daughters cell and left a message. An erie type laugh and asked if she wanted to hang out sometime. CALL THEM BACK and ask to talk to a manager. I *67 before I dialed the number (this will block your number on the caller ID) act really happy for about one minute, then ask to talk to a manager. I did this, though the manager got really snippy with me, and when I asked her to hold on for one second, she made the comment that she doesn’t like to hold. TURN THEM IN to the Attorney General’s Office. They stated that I entered in a contest 18 months ago, well we got the phones at Christmas, and they called ALL 3 of our phones. (CEll-cingular, and we have them as UNLISTED) So someone has sold our numbers, and someone there is using work time to be an a**. She said that the numbers will be taken off, but it can take up to 72 hours. Oh, and I called from my landline, and when they asked for my number, I gave them one that I had over a year ago! And I was still a winner!!
Kimy
April 10th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
April 10th, 2006
I received a similar call about winning a ford explorer at my work # which I never give out. It sounded fishy, so I googled the callback# left on my answering machine and reached this site. Did’nt call them but I will lodge a complaint with Attorney General’s office.
April 11th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
The phone was ringing when I walked in the door and not recognizing the area code i didn’t answer. they hung up when the answering machine kicked on. they have called my house before but never leave a message. i have an unlisted number and have given it out to no one!!!!!!! there is no way they should have my phone number…………… from the land of oz.
April 19th, 2006 at 11:24 am
YEPPPR >>> MY TURN>>>>>>> I WON A FORD EXPLORER>>> SEND TAX MONEY hehehehehehee
April 20th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
yes i got the same phone call today from 1-877-840-6266…and they left a message saying that i have won a price and they gave me a code also like everyone else did…well i called them back to see what it was all about. well they told me that i won a trip for 2 to the bahamas….and they said all i had to do was send them a self addressed envolope to
welcome center
218-220 south peninsula drive
daytona beach, fla 32118
and that they would send me the tickets and everything…well i did a search on the number and it brought me to this site…i was shocked to see all the feedback on this number and all the people they got calls from them too, saying they won and all..and its a scam..i really did think it was a scam but wasnt for sure, b/c i know i did enter a few contests on winning stuff like what they said..and actually thought i won! well now i know the truth! thanks everyone for the info…i would have really got my hopes up for sure! and to think i was happy and all…now i feel stupid..haha oh well…thanks!
sarah from missouri
April 24th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
It happened to me today on my unpublished work telephone line. This is a doctor’s office and none of the back line phone numbers are given out–ever! It was the same promise of a Ford Explorer or 7 Night FL/Bahamas vacation/cruise or 27″ Color TV. The time-share was the French Quarter Resort in Branson, MO. I talked to some friends and heard nightmarish experiences when they went last year for a “brief 90 minute presentation” that lasted hours and hours, ruining their whole day and mentally and emotionally exhausting them. One of the sales tactics is for the initial salesperson to step out to go to the bathroom (supposedly) while another comes in to hound you. Then that one steps out and another comes in. Apparently this repeats, presumably lengthening the 90 minute presentation because it is technically not the “same presentation”. Absolutely awful tactics. That is why the close rate for these things is one out of three. That means one third of people who go for a “free stay” get duped into buying an overpriced timeshare that often drops in real value by 80% the second you sign on the line. See http://www.clarkhoward.com for his commentary on timeshare marketing tactics. IF YOU GET TARGETED BY ONE OF THESE COMPANIES RUN THE OTHER WAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
April 25th, 2006 at 6:31 am
I too received a call on my unlisted work number from Milly at the Awards Center regarding a Ford Explorer. They indicated they have been trying to contact me for quite, and wanted me to call 1-877-840-6266 ASAP with the claim number PP101. I googled the number, and this site popped to the top. PS: This is in Florida
April 25th, 2006 at 7:59 am
If you call the 800 number from the information LEGEND left, it will tell you to dial 101515800, DO NOT DO THIS, you will be charged 4.99 per minute. You can google it also.
April 26th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
I got the same call today on my dorm phone about winning a cruise from the number 1-877-840-6266 and a ford explorer. I only called ’cause there was a car showcase thing on campus that I filled out to get some free stuff. I should’ve looked this place up before… hope they don’t get a hold of my cell phone number or I will be pissed!
May 4th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
I’ve gotten two numbers in a spanish recording from 787-230-6789 two weeks ago and tonight, I got one from 703-232-1122. Is there any way we can sue these people?
May 22nd, 2006 at 10:01 am
I’m in the very middle of Missouri. I just got the call about the Ford Explorer about 10 min ago, after reading this website it kinda pisses me off, today is my birthday, got kind of excited, wouldn’t you? What’s the world coming to? Not gonna call it back thanks to you all. I’m a Dodge man anyway. Have a good one.
May 23rd, 2006 at 5:07 pm
Yeah, these idiots are a pain in the ass, but I’ve taken a different aproach. I downloaded PhoneTrayFree from snapfiles.com. I set it up to “zap” toll free numbers automatically on the first ring and play an mp3 of a very loud fog horn. I don’t think the same A**HOLES would consider calling back. Just hope I don’t fry my modem.
I just can’t believe that a program so useful is actually free! Comes with a bunch of pre-recorded messages and takes minutes to set up. I don’t have to screen my calls any more because my computer does it for me. SWWEEEEEEEET
June 2nd, 2006 at 6:02 am
Just got call about Explorer at work today. They are calling Texas now. Too bad for them that I don’t need a Ford Explorer or I would call them back!!
Am glad that I Googled the number and got this site.
Thanks!
June 2nd, 2006 at 6:59 pm
Just won a cadillac,was given a number 866-999-3703 and was told to come to Horizon travels Double tree hotel in norwalk CT along with my wife since i had checked i am married when i entered a contest on march 4.Dont remember ENTERING ANY CONTEST they had my email, and my home address and of couse my phone number
This is really annoying.
June 3rd, 2006 at 10:08 am
Hey Connecticut, I also got the same call at 6:51PM on June 2 2006. Mine was on my answering machine and also said I entered an online contest for a Cadillac Escalade but that I had won “a major prize”…apparently not the Escalade. The message was left by a man with a southern accent, by the name of Darren or Darrek…it was hard to understand. He also said he was from the Wollitson Claim Center, or somthing like that. He assured me that this was not a telemarketing call, but I know better than that. He left the number of 866-999-3703, ext. 221 and said it was in my best interest to call. I am also a CT resident and it was my home number, area code 203, which was called. It was just minutes before you received your call so, I am thinking they must do batch calls by area code.
June 6th, 2006 at 10:50 am
June 5 - Rec’d call from Awards & Claim Center 1-866-999-3703 saying I had won a Cadillac or one of 5 major prizes - definitely not a timeshare. It is to celebrate Grand opening of a Travel AGency - Jandar Vacations 28901 Fruitville Rd. Sarasota. Tried to call Jandar they were unlisted. Then was able to get one number on line - they are not answering bur refer you to another number 941 961 9489 - Darrel. Then you leave a message.
The Awards CEnter was to send me a FAX - my FaX not working - so they would send all the info to me on line - not rec’d. Promotion is today at two different times.
Has anyone gone to one of their presentations? They said you definitely would get one of the top five rizes and it is not a promotin for a time share??
June 10th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
I just got a message from the same 1-866-999-3703, with the ex# 239, my area code. I had entered a contest for a 2006 Harley Davidson FXD Dyna Super Glide. But that contest was over in March, and no I was not the winner. This Awards & Claim Center is BS
June 14th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Thank God for Google which proabably saved me 5 very annoyed minutes thanks to this site. A simple search for 18778406266 and the scam is identified.
June 14th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
I just got a call to promote ‘Pulaski Travel’ in Concord which doesn’t seem to exist. 5 great prizes including cadillac excallade. 18669993703
June 15th, 2006 at 7:51 am
I also received a call about a drawing for a Cadillac supposedly offered by Jandar Travel. Their number was 708-352-0679.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:53 am
The other number I had was given to claim the cadillac was 877-352-0684.
June 15th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I also got a call from 18778406266 saying I had won a ford explorer. Thanks to this blog I could immediately find out about the telemarketing call.
June 16th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
I also received the phone call from 866-999-3703. She asked me if I had submitted my name to win at a mall or something of the sorts. I can’t remember the last time I actually put my name in one of those boxes. When I told her that I don’t remember ever entering to win something like that, she moved on really quickly. She gave me a claim number, the address of the place that I was suppose to pick up the prize, said that she was with Jandar Vacation, and then asked me if I was at least 30 years of age. Since I’m 24 she told me to call her back when I found someone that’s at least 30 to come pick up the prize. That seemed very suspicious to me and that’s when I started researching online about this.
June 21st, 2006 at 1:07 pm
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for commenting. I still get calls from this place all the time– several times a week. They all come to my SkypeIn number, and they all started immediately after I filled out a contest form at Piggly Wiggly (a grocery store here in the South).
I’m considering filling out a few forms next time they run a contest, using fake names but real phone numbers. Numbers such as: the local BBB, city hall, my congressman, my senators, the grocery store itself, and, of course, the number that the soliciters leave at least three times a week on my answering machine. It’s just a thought, but if everyone filled out just one extra form and left the number to, oh say the Federal Trade Commission, these guys would possibly get the message.
I also want to to let everyone know that, as my personal blog, I get to set the rules. As such, comments such as “Same here.. ******** i say.. **** em…” (which is currently sitting in my moderation queue) will not be approved.
While I may agree with the sentiment (and I do), my blog is just not the place for unnecessary profanity.
I’m sure everyone understands.
Thanks,
Mike
June 21st, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Same thing got a phone call from 866-999-3703 and some extension I don’t remember. Celebration of grand opening of some traveling agency, Jandar vacations, located In Sarasota FL. I was guaranty to win some of the major prizes like Cadillac Escalade, 2500 in cash spending, big flat screen tv, vacation and so on. I also got the “number” ITC562 and made confirmation for Thursday to come for 90 minutes presentation where I must bring my husband with me. Children are not allowed, which was repeated to me twice. We will need two form of ID with us. So now they think we will show up but I know this is all about time share and I am going nowhere. So, how they got my number? I have no idea but I know for sure it is blocked from telemarketers.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Got the call on the vmail on my work cell phone at 8:22pm tonight. Essentially the same script - ext 265
Thanks for taking the time to post. I am in bad way of needing a car and might have been tempted to call these slugs. I’ve been saved a lot of time and very likely a fair amount of pain. Thanks again.
June 26th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
Another hit from Texas, calling my work number. It’s either a random dialup or they got my number from Discover Card. My contact was Carol, and the number was 1-877-640-6266. I got a confirmation code (IR394.) A Ford Exploder was the prize.
Our home number is on the donotcall.gov list, and we’ve gotten two calls in the last three or four days, and they’ve both been hangups. This makes me think it’s a random dialer - the number gets called first, then is flagged by the donotcall list, and is disconnected before it goes to a sales rep. So I recommend that everybody register (or re-register) on http://www.donotcall.gov.
June 27th, 2006 at 6:00 pm
I just received a recorded message from “Awards Claim Center” about the Win a Ford Explorer contest with the call back number: 877-840-6266 and claim # WA692. When I first called, it just rang and rang, but when I called back later and got a person - he did ask if I was between 18-75, if I was a US citizen and if I had a valid driver’s license. And since I am no longer married, he tried to end the call abruptly. I did get his address as: 101 E. New Hampshire, Deland, FL 32724.
Fortunately, I did not give out ANY personal information. Thanks for the blog on this scam !!! These people should be SHOT !!!
June 29th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I received a call about an hour ago on my direct dial work number (which I never give out) from Emily at the Awards Claim Center. She said that they had been trying to reach me for quite awhile and to call her back at 877-840-6266 with a promotion #WA692. She supposedly has some great news for me. I’ve never even heard of the Awards Claim Center so I immediately went online and found this site. Thanks for the blog on this scam!
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:14 am
I also received a phone call at my job from Susan at the Awards Claim Center. She said the same thing. Well I kind of knew something wasn’t right so i had been looking on the internet for this scam all morning and i called. When i called it just rung, rung and rung. I knew that wasn’t right. I finally found this scam on the internet by entering the phone number. People have been trying to scam for the past couple of months. Luckily there’s internet and common sense. Thanks for the info.
July 4th, 2006 at 11:07 am
I just recieved a phone call from the “Awards Claim Center” the mans name was tom telling me that I have wone a Cadillac Escalade and to call some 1-800 number to claim my prize. I have been searching for the last couple of days by telephone number originating from the 202 area code but I was unable to find anything. I am glad I checked this blog! I have to admit they got my hopes up for a bit. It sounds like they are using several numbers to call from to hide what they are really doing.
July 5th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
I received the call, too. Thanks for the info. I am glad I found this blog. Google is great!
July 10th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
I got the exact call. The same phone number (1-866-999-3703 )called me. They said I had won a prize and I could choose from $25,000 cash, a cruise, a big screen TV and a Cadillac. They gave me code and asked that I pick up my prize and they gave me their adress as 6400 N Andrews Ave. I only have one car and my husband uses it for work so I told them I cant pick it up during the week, and she made an appointment for me on Saturday at 4pm. I got on my computer to search for the number to see if it was a legit place and I found this blog, guess its not!
July 13th, 2006 at 9:52 am
I just got the call on my work voice mail yesterday. Susan with the
Awards Claim Center and I won a Ford Explorer - please call they have
been trying to reach me for “quite sometime” and my confirmation number is DB006. Figured it was a scam thanks for all this great information.
This is in Florida and yesterday was 12 July 2006 so they are still calling business numbers.
July 14th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Same here, I am in Southwest Florida and I got the Escalade(or $50,000 cash)/trip to Hawaii/buncha other stuff call on my cel phone about 1/2 hour ago. I “filled out something online about 18 months-2 years ago and they picked me as one of 12 winners!!!” The whole spiel 90 minute grand opening gala for Travel Partners. This is not a “telemarketing, timeshare, or sales pitch, they just hope that we use them for future travel needs.” Who, in their right mind, would buy that some company wants to give you $50,000 in the hopes that you might use them in the future. Additionally, I have only had the cel # for a year and I got rid of the email they quoted OVER two years ago. Finally, who takes 18 months-2 years to run a promotion and open?
Oh, and BTW, “Miss Davis” 1-866-999-3703 x230 never faxed over my Grand Prize notification, in writing, as I requested.
Thanks for letting me vent about these a-holes. And Mike, thanks for this site!!!
July 17th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
I just recieved a phone call from the “Awards Claim Center” the mans name was Derick telling me that I have won a Cadillac Escalade and to call 1-866-999-3703, ext. number 223, to claim my prize. I am glad that I learned how to pump in the phone number (without the dashes)into “GOOGLE”, as well as checking in with this blog!
Thanks Mike for this site!
July 17th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
I am in WA state, recieved a phone call at my unlisted phone here at work to call 1-877-840-6266 to claim my Ford Explorer. The beginning message was cut off. I called back, they asked inane questions, such as am I ‘between the age of 17 and 75′ and if I were a US citizen. They then asked me if they had the correct phone number for me. I hung up then. Luckily it was my work phone and I’ve had my Cell number on the Do Not Call List for years. Guess I will add my company’s number too now, and hope that all my officemates aren’t subsequently flooded with marketing calls, *SIGH*.
July 18th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
18 Jul 06
recieved call on cell from 877-840-6266 on Cingular cell this morning and on Funeral Home business phone this afternoon. This morning i called back several times and screamed at them. This afternoon, being in a respectful place of business i was able to reach a manager. Not sure what I said, but she said she would not talk to me unless I learned to act like an adult. Fat chance of that. She did say she was located in Branson Mo, after I told her my genertal location. Tar and feather would be my solution. Rick
July 18th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
thanks…my call was from the 866-999-3703, ext. 222 number also…same story,,just a different guy–Paul…
what is the angle on this?…ofcourse it is a scam, but what exactly is it?
Karin
July 20th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
FYI:
Awards Claim Center From 877-840-6266 called my Sprint Cell phone.
Asked name and address of the business; this is what they gave me:
Quincy Marketing
2235 S Woodland Blvd
Deland, FL 32720
July 21st, 2006 at 7:17 am
I got a call from 877-840-6266 on my Sprint Cell phone on the 19th. They left a voice mail. I feel slighted - I was not offered a car. Well perhaps I was, but the message was partly cut off…I just heard “you have 7 seconds…better luck next time”.
I thought it odd, because I never give out my cell number. Perhaps I’ll send a message to Sprint to keep an eye on this like Verizon has.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Hi there,
I just recieved a voicemail on my office line saying to call # 877-840-6266 and tell them claim number WA692, the beginning of the recording was cut short so I did not know what I was claiming, but I did a google search for the phone number hoping it was not anything life threatening then realized by finding this page that it was a scam. Thanks!
July 25th, 2006 at 8:57 am
I received a call from this number on my cell phone. I didn’t answer it though, it’s a prepaid cell phone and I can’t afford to loose minutes to calls I don’t recognize. I would say they are randomly dialing numbers as I have owned this cell phone a little under two days so not even my family or employer have the number, yet. It’s a good thing I have a policy of not answering calls unless I recognize the number.
I find it funny though this is the second cell phone I own. The first I use for work and never have I got a call from them in the last 6 months that I owned that phone.
July 25th, 2006 at 8:59 am
Also I did a check with the BBB on their website with the address listed above. It found absolutely nothing on them.
July 25th, 2006 at 9:11 am
Sorry for the triple post. I did some research here. Found a company called Cambridge Marketing & Financial Services Inc.. It is listed on the BBB. One of the phone numbers listed for it is (877) 840-6266 the same phone number when called by someone else was told it was Quincy Marketing.
Suffice to say I need to get this new phone on the do not call lists.
July 25th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
Just got a call from them as well. They wanted me to call back. I called back X233 but someone from X232 replied when I called. She said I had to be over 30, so I will have my friend 3-way phone about it just to see what they say. Thanks to this blogg, I will call with extra caution. It felt really good for a min, but I guess thats how they get you.
July 28th, 2006 at 9:50 am
HI! This is a SCAM, just reported them to BBB, they were being sued by the Attorney Generals Office in Missouri, for deceptive marketing practices. My husband recived a call yesterday 7/27 on his cell phone, that we won one of 5 top prizes, and that this was not a scam WE actually filled out a form to win a contest and we won, we had to meet today 7/28/06 at 4:00 at DoubleTree Hotel in Norwalk, CT to claim our prize, we had to bring to forms of ID w/us, and the ONLY catch was that we had to agree to let them useour names/faces in publicity and that we had to sit for a presesntation. Number they gave was 866-999-3703 x232, Levanda or Shewanda was the girl’s name, she repeated over and over on the message that this was not a scam. I did online search on BBB, oh by the way they said they were Horizon Travel, did a search for them, and actually called BBB of CT, and they are not member of BBB, the girl at BBB found the address which was 789 Connecticut Avenue, which is the Doubletree Hotel in Norwalk, so did another search of just the number on BBB and found 2 w/the same number, hmmm, Award Claim Center in Chicago, IL, and then Global Advantage in Hackensack, NJ. Global Advantage/Horizon is a huge scam. Needless to say we are not going, the more searches I do online the more crap I find out about them. Unbelievable.
July 28th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Regarding the “awards center” and the Ford Explorer prize, these people have called every direct dial in our company. I called the 877-840-6266 number and told the woman that answered that THIS IS A BUSINESS, STOP CALLING HERE.
I am going to try the solution she gave me.
On company letterhead, list all numbers at the company.
Fax to DO NOT CALL LIST, 386-740-7891. May take 72 hours to get off the list. I will try it, thought I’d share.
If it works, I will post again.
August 1st, 2006 at 10:16 am
The same is true of our company….every number has been targeted! I called and was given the 386-740-7891 #. Told the same things. We’re gonig to try it… I’ll let you know….
August 1st, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Thanks for the info Lisa, we got the same message and were to go to the Dbl. Tree in Norwalk today.
I even had them fax me proof, which was not at all convincing! How do they live with themselves!!!
August 1st, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Same thing happened to me today. I’m in Columbia, Missouri. Received a voice mail on my direct work line, which I’ve never given out. Susan calling from the Awards Claim Center… You’ve won a Ford Explorer… We’ve been trying to contact you for some time….Gave a claim #, Call us at 877 840 6266, blah, blah, blah.
Thanks for this website!!
August 1st, 2006 at 7:52 pm
Hi, I just want to add that I received a call today at my work phone number with a message to call 1-877-840-6266 and it was very important that I call them back as soon as possible. I could hear the scam-like quality to the woman’s voice and immediately knew it was fake. Thanks for the additional reports to confirm my suspicion.
August 4th, 2006 at 8:59 am
My company has 200 phone lines and I swear they calling all of them. I called them and told them (truthfully) that I had talked to the Missouri Attorney General. They transferred me to someone else, who I promptly told that they were wasting their money callnig my company. He gave me an e-mail address to send your complaits and numbers to remove to: daymgr@vacationdepotinc.com
August 6th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
I recieved one call from 708-757-6793 “jason wade” at the Awards Claim Center with regards to being a finalist for a Cadillac Escalade. Wow, who would have thought, and calling my cellphone as well. Anyway the a**hole called me at 3am while i was on vacation so i decided to call him back. he asked if i was “Kenneth LastName”, was i between 25-65, and i told him it was a bad time and would be unavailable until monday. 3 days later i recieved a call at 2pm on sunday afternoon from “espy” 312-242-1668. she said to call her back at 800-816-3292 ext.141. I called back the 312 number and recieved what sounded like an answering maching for “awards claim center’s office of blah-blah and expy glenn”. I called it a few times trying to understand what the message was actually saying and I recieved a phone call back, asking for the same information. I asked “how do i know you’re not a telemarketer”, “do you have a website”, “can i get the name and dates of the contest”, “why are you calling me as a finalist and not a winner”, and finally “what is the name, website, and number of the legal firm in charge”. She side stepped every question and gave me “farris inc.” as the legal company in charge (wow, a legal firm for a major contest that can’t be googled). All the calls came out of the Chicago, IL region. I told them i would rather not participate and remove me from the calling list. I just wish I found this thread before my 3am hawaii wake-up call.
August 7th, 2006 at 11:45 am
i was just sitting here when my cell phone rang and it was the 1-877-840-6266 number. when i answered there was no one there. i also live in Columbia, Missouri. i was just wondering who it would be so i put it in on yahoo and got to this site. i tried calling back but there was just a long beeping noise. how would they get my cell phone number? not too many people have it.
August 9th, 2006 at 9:57 am
I too live in Columbia, MO, and just received a call on my cell phone. I let it go to voicemail, and noticed it was cut off, but it did leave a number for me to call back. 1-877-840-6266. This is also what the number showed up as on caller ID. I think I’m going to call the local Sprint agent and tell them that their system is getting hammered.
August 10th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
Crazy, I live im Columbia, Mo also and just recieved a call from 877-840-6266. I didn’t answer the phone not knowing the number. They didn’t leave a message so I decided to search the area code and see If it might be anyone I know and should call back. I then searched the whole number and found this site. Crazy stuff goin on here. I’m not shure how they got my number….like someone else said, maybe random dialing?
August 10th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
I just got the “Emily” call tonight! Same exact message, same claim #(WA692). The scumbags! I’m in Washington state. I’ve got the message recorded as a wave file, since they called my work number and that’s what our voice mail system does. I may post it later.
August 10th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
More information - If you go to the BBB’s website and search for businesses with the phone number 877-840-6266 you get the following: http://www.orlando.bbb.org/newsearch2.asp?ComID=07330022003386
Cambridge Marketing & Financial Services Inc.
2235 S Woodland Blvd, suite 201
Deland, FL 32720
Volusia County
Mr. Anthony T. Coiro (President)
Type of business: Vacation Certificates & Vouchers, Telemarketing Services
Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s).
Customer Complaint Data
The company’s size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgement on the validity of complaints filed.
Number of complaints processed by the BBB over the last 36 months: 3
Number of complaints processed by the BBB in the last 12 months: 1
Complaints Concerned:
Selling Practices (1 complaints)
1 Resolved
Advertising Issues (1 complaints)
1 Company did not respond
Refund Practices (1 complaints)
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
Licensing Information
This company is in an industry that may require licensing, bonding or registration in order to lawfully do business. The Bureau encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to be certain any requirements are currently being met.
Government Actions
In July 2006, The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Department) filed a Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Civil Penalties and other Statutory Relief against Cambridge Marketing & Financial Services, Inc. Parent case Number 0601-03485. In the action the Department requested permanent injunction, civil penalties and other statutory relief, brought pursuant to Section 501.059 of the Florida Statutes. The Department alleged that the company has engaged in the business of selling consumers goods or services or for the purpose of solicitiing an extenstion of credit for consumer goods or services by making unsolicited telephonic sales calls to citizens of the State of Florida whose name appear on the then-quartely no-sales solicitation calls listing published by the Department. The Department also alleges that the company had actual kmowledge of the acts and is therefore liable for civil penalties in the amount up to $10,000.00 per violation. This case is pending at this time
Educational/General Comments
The following is general information regarding companies that offer this type of service. Before you decide to accept this type of offer, and before you give any money, you should understand the requirements and conditions of the offer to ascertain if they meet your needs. Determine the complete cost involved when accepting the offer and then do comparative shopping with a local travel agency before making your final decision. Be sure to fully understand the companies terms and conditions as well as any refund or cancellation policy prior to signing to accept the offer or giving any money. Before traveling be sure that all your arrangements are confirmed and you have a receipt of that confirmation. Ask the vacation promoter what happens if for some reason you are unable to start or finish the vacation. The State of Florida’s Seller of Travel Act states that consumers may “CANCEL THE CONTRACT WITHOUT ANY PENALTY OR OBLIGATION WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF RECEIPT. “YOU MAY ALSO CANCEL THE CONTRACT IF ACCOMMODATIONS OR FACILITIES ARE NOT AVAILABLE PURSUANT TO A REQUEST FOR USE AS PROVIDED IN THE CONTRACT.” “IF YOU DECIDE TO CANCEL, YOU MUST NOTIFY THE SELLER/PROMOTOR IN WRITING OF YOUR INTENT TO CANCEL BY RETURNING THE CERTIFICATE AND SENDING NOTICE TO THE SELLER AT HIS ADDRESS.”
August 11th, 2006 at 1:40 am
Hello,
I work for The Awards Claim Center. And I happen to work in the administrative department.
I see all of you feel this is a scam blah blah blah. Well, let me give you an example of something we all have given into and trusted before. When your son or daughter comes home with one of those magazines, and you buy something (Not that you need it) but you buy it so your children can get that cool *commission* prize
Well, our company is similar to that. EXCEPT, you buy NOTHING. Yeah, of course your chances are higher to win the TV or the Vacation but you still go home with a prize, hell I would sit and listen to someone nag for an hour and a half to go home with a 27″ TV!
Our employee’s get paid hourly-commission … Get 7 to show, get a 200 dollar bonus etc…
Contrary to what you people think, all of our employees are just like you, trying to make a living, and put a roof over their head.
So, next time a telemarketer calls you, think about what 90 minutes of your time can get you.
ONE MORE THING:
Why do they want a CC -or- Check Book with you as an ID, because the company feels like, *MOST* people who don’t have a CC or CB probably would never vacation, therefore never need a timeshare.
Good Luck Everyone,
Anonymous
August 14th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
I got a similar call from the Awards Claim Center. I called them back at the number they left (1-877-256-7894) and Tom answered stating I won one of 5 prizes… Escalade, Vacation, Flat Panel TV, $25k, etc. He gave me a claim confirmation number of ITC039 and scheduled me for Tuesday @ 7pm (6400 N. Andrews Ave. FT Lauderdale, FL) … He said the name of the company was “Global Services”. I thought this info could be usefull to others, since I myself found this blog from Google. Has anyone ever gone to see what these people actually do or what they end up giving you or taking from you?
August 22nd, 2006 at 11:22 pm
(I apologize in advance for such a wordy comment, I am a bit miffed and cannot believe I got taken on this one-your blog saved me from making a mistake) I work in a claims dept for an insurance company, Washington. On my direct line, I received a cut off voice mail message from what sounded like a very angry customer to call about claim number, yep you guessed it, WA692. I am compelled to return all calls, especially ones from angry people, because my company prides itself on providing excellent customer service. It is a requirement of my job duties! (no, we are not one of those big names in the industry) Ms. Nicole was not at her most pleasant self when I returned her call to 877 840-6266. I identified myself as a claims adjuster and advised her that I was unfamiliar with claim number given and could she identify the claimant. Once we worked through the ‘misunderstanding’, she then told me that I had won one the big three prizes-Explorer, FL vacation or TV. She had some personal information, so I assumed that I had really completed an entry form. She was vague when asked what/where/when this form was completed, same as in previous entries. She stated at a mall(which I never go to malls and sure wouldn’t have listed my work number) or through the use of my Visa card or the internet. I did complete an entry for a ‘free laptop’ and, like a dummy, assumed that I won one of the other choices. I set up an appointment to go hear the spiel and pick up my prize, but decided to do a little research before attending. Ms. Nicole even had her manager come on the line “to make sure she did her job right!”
The places she stated they were calling on behalf of in Lake Havisu, AZ do really exist…Star Point Resort Partnership (but their ph# does not work, listed everywhere under hotels) and Beachcomber RV Resort. I actually spoke with a live body there, she was not aware of any promotion. Wait ’til I call her back tomorrow and let her know that their name is being used in this scam. I am glad I did a little detective work and found this blog. Needless to say, our VOIP manager will be taking some kind of action when I discuss this with him tomorrow. Our service a couple of years back was through Verizon, but we switched over to a new vendor.
Expect to see my complaint filed with the BBB, Attorney General and anyone else I can think of. Thank you again, sir, for allowing this blog to continue. By the way, I was googling ‘vacationdepotinc.com’ and ‘eden prairie’ names that I got from the prize confirmation letter.
August 24th, 2006 at 10:38 pm
I actually sat here for the last 45 minutes reading this entire blog. Has some interesting solutions, I might have to try some of them. I got to this site by the number 877-352-0684.
However, I’ve gotten two calls within the last month with a scam I didn’t see mentioned here. Recorded message claiming to lower interest rates on your credit cards. Also “this is the last chance” as they have called before and didn’t receive a response. (Of course, this was the first call).
However, after the second call, I did call back. Don’t remember the exact conversation, but at one point I ask which credit card she was referring to, and she replied they work with all 500 of them. Little more taking and she started asking for information. I again ask which credit card and was given vague answer. I responded by saying I needed more information as I didn’t originate this call. Her answer was “well, if you feel that way, forget it! Click” And was to say the least, very rude. I called back the number that was on callerID and got a couple of rings, some clicks, more ringing and then the “Non-working number, please check the number…….”
Remember; don’t give ANY information unless you started the whole process.
Thanks for this site, Mike.
September 8th, 2006 at 10:45 am
I came in to work today (9/8 in Seattle) and saw I had a voice mail message. Guess who it was from? Carmen with the Awards Claim Center and she talked about how I had won a prize, implying (but not directly saying) it was a Ford Explorer and to please call, as they had been trying to reach me for “quite some time” and my confirmation number was WA692. Right away it smelled fishy, as I’ve had this phone number for only THREE DAYS! I tried googling their number (1-800-918-4224) with no luck but found this site after trying their (alleged) company name. I also found where their phone number has been with the same firm since the 70’s and it made some reference to a sex line! Unbelievable.
September 12th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Hi Mike, I am happy to see that someone else out there rec’d the same message. I work in Seattle also and rec’d the same voicemail. I decided to google the 800 number and got your blog. So thank you! You cleared up this confusion for me.
Amy
September 14th, 2006 at 12:48 am
Hi Mike I am glad about your webite… I got home today and Carmen from the Awards Claim Center left a message saying I won the car. I am from the Tacoma area…
September 14th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Hi all, I am in Jacksonville, FL & like post #117 received a call from Carmen at the Awards Claim Center about a Ford Explorer with instructions to return her call to 1-800-918-4224 for claim number DB394 right away as they had been “trying to reach me for quite some time”. First time I’ve received such a call and it was on my work line - at a major insurance company - and I’m not a telephone rep. Guess I’ll call the local tv consumer advocate to report it and let them check it out and maybe warn folks not to fall for it. (This sucks. If I ever DO win anything major I hope the notification folks are patient cuz I’m going to be so paranoid about believing it I’m sure I’ll drive them nuts…hopefully they’ll still give me the prize after I give them the third degree about whether or not they’re for real. Do you think Dave Sayer with PCH would show me his driver’s license if I asked?)
Kathi
September 14th, 2006 at 11:22 am
I got the same voicemail as 117 (I am in seattle too) at my work number last night at 7:30PM! The caller id’s phone number was 877-840-6266, but she left the 800 number. I wonder what kind of operation they are running. I haven’t called back. I just googled the number to see if it was legit first. Thanks!
September 15th, 2006 at 8:25 am
I just received the same call from Carmen and the claims center, she had been trying to reach me for some time 800-918-4224. Got it on my business line last night around 8:15. Seems like I won the ever escaping Ford Explorer. Claim Number BR394…
September 15th, 2006 at 9:16 am
I received the “Carmen” call on my work line last night at 8:15. Googled the number and up came your site. Nice site, btw.
Oh well, guess no new truck today. Glad I trusted my spider sense.
September 15th, 2006 at 9:27 am
I got the message from Carmen, too. I decided, after a Google search yielded only this site, to give it a call. I work for a telco and recieved this call at a work line. I used an obscure phone number with blocked CID to ring them back. This is a promotion for a time-share in Branson, MO. They want you to come to Branson for 3 days, spend 90 min in their presentation for the French Quarter Resort (see links below). Needless to say, it took me about 90s before I realized where the operator on the other end was taking this call and I interupted her and asked if it was a time-share promotion. She resonded in the affirmative and that I would definatly get either a 27″ TV, a week Bahamas cruise, or possible a Ford Explorer/$25K prize for participating in the time-share presentation. I told her no thanks and we ended the call. So, for those wondering what this was, that’s the jist of it. It’s not some scam, phisher, or hacker scheme. It is an annoying telemarketing gag that is just this side of accurate to be legal, though…
http://www.frenchquarterowners.com/
http://www.vacationtimesharerentals.com/Resort-Reviews/resorts.asp?Resort=3923
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-5148459-french_quarter-i
September 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
I got the same message from Carmen at my work number about the explorer and “Awards Claim Center”…..so googled and found this site. figures…..I’m in Charlotte NC
September 15th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
They got me too, at work no less. #(#%*#@$*!@#$@#$?!!!!!!! Seattle.
September 18th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
At work in metro Atlanta, I received a message from (name cutoff by their poor auto dialer) to call back at 1-800-918-4224, #HH592. Out of curiosity, I called and went 5 rings with no answer, then Googled to this site. Thanks, Mike!
September 18th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Yep, got the same call from Carmen, on my work phone, asking me to call her at the 800.918.4224 number, DR394…..glad I googled and found this site. I figured it was some scam or some catch to winning a new explorer…..heck, I’m chevy fan anyway…..
September 18th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Ahh I got the “Awards Claim Center” also, my roommate said it was like a “telephone pop-up”, so I googled it and found this site, and found it on your site. I did write into something to win something else, but not for a Ford Explorer..
September 19th, 2006 at 8:56 am
I work in the metro Atlanta area also. The same message from Carmen was on my office phone from 7:31 last night. My claims number is the same as the other person from this area HH592. I thought all this was kind of fishy. Usually when you win something or enter to win they atleast say your name. I guess nothing really is free these days.
September 20th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
I got the same call from “Carmen” with the “Awards Claim Center”. was left on my Skypein voicemail which I don’t share. Never stated my name or the name of her company. Reeked of scam to me, glad to read it was slightly more innocent.
September 21st, 2006 at 9:52 am
Carmen called my Work last night left a voice mail to Call 800-918-4224 HH592 to claim my Explorer too.
Charlotte NC
September 21st, 2006 at 2:24 pm
I just got the call from “Carmen” with claim number DB394 lol I thought how the hell did they get my number and how I won? Cause if it weren’t for bad luck I would have no luck at all.
I actually thought that it was a bill collector to scam you into calling them lol
I googled the number too and pulled up your site, great for you keeping it
September 21st, 2006 at 2:56 pm
I just got caled by “Carmen” on my cell this morning. All I found was this site, so I called them and asked where they got my number. They hung up on me. I hope they don,t call back.
September 21st, 2006 at 3:50 pm
I actually got the same call from “Carmen” and said I won a Ford explorer. I googled the number and thanks for putting up this site.
September 21st, 2006 at 11:49 pm
I received a call from Carmen as well I live in OK I have a different claim # has anyone called this lady back. What happens?
September 21st, 2006 at 11:55 pm
I received a call from Carmen saying I won a Ford Explorer with a different claim # Is this really a scam? She called both my home and work #. She did not state my name on either message. However strangely enough. I remember registering to win a Ford Explorer a while back in a store.
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:42 am
I got a call (VM) from Carmen today, indicated that she has been trying to get a hold of my for quite some time. Gave me a claim number of #DB394. Says that I have a chance to win a Ford Explorer. This person did not address me by name. This call came to my WORK NUMBER. We just changed our numbers at my job 2 mths ago, so … My questions is how did she get my number? She did indicate that she was calling from the Awards Claim Center an the number that was provided to call back was 1-800-918-4224.
I know that the gentleman above says “what is 90 minutes of your time”, well, not to be cruel or insensitive, but I work hard to put a roof over my family’s head too, I have a husband, three children, 2 dogs, one child in karate w/ tournaments, one child in band w/ tourneys, games, events, and fundraisers for the school, and another that is in the last year of high school looking for college, NOW … YOU tell me when I HAVE TIME to sit 90 minutes for something that I don’t even want?
September 22nd, 2006 at 10:57 am
Got an autobot call from Carmen today. They’ve been hitting several of our lines over the past few months. Bad for them since they’re now phone spamming a very large firm. Filed a formal complaint with the FTC. My advice is to make contact, and file a formal complaint with your respective Attorney Generals’ offices.
September 22nd, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Also if you’re feeling extra froggy. Found a Myspace page of someone that apparently works for Quincy Marketing aka Cambridge Marketing etc etc…
http://www.myspace.com/deland_gangsta
September 22nd, 2006 at 3:25 pm
More…this time they’re Cambridge Marketing employees…
This one is an “appointement setter”
http://360.yahoo.com/profile-wSaIuj89cqp2Ao16taAnYPKeYVQlxw–
http://www.myspace.com/robert05201
P.S. Mike, if this is getting annoying let me know and I’ll stop.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Dude, I just got a call from Carmen this morning concerning the ford prize. She left the call back number 1-800-918-4224. I tried calling that number back 2 times but their phone just kept ringing. I decided to go online to see if this was a scam and I found this website talking about the same person and the same number. This is annoying to have to deal with scam artist. Sure glad this site was here…
September 26th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Carmen just left me a Voicemail this morning at my work #. Glad that this website is here for me to search the number. Thanks for all the comments.
September 26th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Wow I got a call from Carmen too and she totally implied I won the Ford Explorer. So I called the “awards claim center” at 800-918-4224 and talked to a nice young lady who put me through to some guy who put me on their “do not call list” (what did I say wrong?
But if someone else wants to claim my prize just use claim # WA692 and VIP# VGGF43. Enjoy!
September 27th, 2006 at 8:56 am
“Carmen” has been a busy woman! Like all of you, I received the same voice mail message…on my office phone number. Interesting that she only leaves voice messages and hasn’t talked to anyone in person. Course that does explain the hang-up I had when I answered a call the other day from the same number. I’m a total skeptic and all I can say is thank goodness for Google and for Mikes Blog!
September 27th, 2006 at 10:32 am
WOw this is awsome break reading.
September 27th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Unbelievable, I got a call from “Carmen” too. On Tuesday, 9/26 around 8pm on my work line. I got the message this morning. I tried to call back the number just to see what would happen, but no one answered, just rang. Yes, I too am a possible winner for a Ford Explorer. At least with this web site, I know who the other potential winners are. I can kill all of you off and keep the Explorer all to myself!
September 28th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Just got a call on my work phone from last night from Carmen with the awards center about my Ford Explorer win with code WA 692. I called the number, no answer, and googled it… here I am. Thanks for the info.
September 29th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Carmen, Awards Claim Center, 1-800-918-4224 and claim code WA692. Thanks for the blog, but I knew it was a scam already. Registered phone numbers on Do Not Call list now. If they call back they can deal with our Legal department.
September 29th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
thats weird. carmen just called my cell phone. infact she called it last night and i didnt answer it. she left no message. today she left a message. the number shows up on my cell as 877-840-6266 and she left the number 800-918-4224 and my reference number for my ford explorer was dr294. it just rings and rings and ring when you try to call either number back. thanks letting me post.
October 3rd, 2006 at 7:27 pm
I received the call as well about the Ford Explorer. The number 877-840-6266 appeared on the caller ID, while I was told to call “toll free” to call them back because they had been trying to reach me for quite some time, etc. same as above, at this number: 1-800-918-4224 with this code HH592 in regards to a Ford Explorer. They said they were the “Awards Claim Center.” HAH. I thought it was strange that they didn’t even say my name on the message they left. I thought, “If I really won something, why would they give out so much information when not even actually speaking to ME personally?” So I did a search and found this site. Thanks everyone!
October 3rd, 2006 at 7:29 pm
the girl on the message did mention “promotion” so immediately I thought SCAM. I am in the eastern U.S.A.
October 4th, 2006 at 7:35 am
Get this,
I just called that number because I got the same dang Carmen message with HH592 as the code and got someone to answer the phone within the 2nd ring. They started asking me questions and stopped when i told them i wasn’t 30 - 72. They asked if my spouse was over 30, I told them no because i felt like it was a scam and maybe they would hang up the phone, but they told me that since i was a finalist that I had won a 6 night 7 day cruise vacation if i were to send them a self-stamped envelope to P.O. Box 7154, Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118. They never asked who they were speaking to, never asked me for my address or any personal information. I wasn’t on the phone for more than 3 minutes top. Maybe these people are desparate for stamps.
October 4th, 2006 at 8:35 am
Carmen is very busy this AM. Called my work number at 8:39 with all the same bs as described above. Atlanta.
October 5th, 2006 at 9:43 am
She just called my house too LOL I’m in the eastern US as well……
October 5th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Wow…nice to see I’m not the only one Carmen has been contacting. I live in Metro Atlanta like a few of the other people who have gotten a call from her. Same number showed up on my cell phone and she gave me a different number to call her back. I always research before I call someone back I don’t know, and I found this site. What a scam haha. My claim number was 88592, no letters like some of the others. Anyway, thanks for the info everyone.
October 5th, 2006 at 10:43 am
Same crap from the 877-840-6266 number, on my large corporation, unlisted cell phone at 7:30 PM last night. Sprint service, in Seattle, WA. Anybody on Florida live near? Maybe they could drop by and lean on them a little, know what I mean?
October 6th, 2006 at 10:47 am
Got the same call today. 1-800-918-4224 claim # HH592, Ford Explorer. Ha!
October 6th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Hi All,
I received Carmen’s call last night to my work number. Same message above about the Ford Explorer. The 800 number left to call back no answer, just rang. I’m in the Seattle area. There has to be a better way to deal with these types of company. Frustrating!
October 10th, 2006 at 9:27 am
I received the same call last night at 7:45 p.m. at work from “Carmen”. I tried calling back and nobody ever picked up. Just another scam out there, I’m sure.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:46 am
I got the same call about 10mins ago. I was put on hold after acknowledging that I have a claim # HH592. I humg up because while I was on hold I found this page! DAMN I could’ve sold that Explorer, I just bought a car……I needed that money!!!!! Damn it!
October 13th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Carmen’s calling Charlotte now…
October 13th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Hi, just received a message on my work voicemail claiming that I had one a Cadillac Escalade. I found this odd, as I work for General Motors, which would therefore disqualify me, or any member or my immediate family or household, from winning any GM Product. They asked me to call the 1-877-352-0684 number and enter in my reservervation # I.T.C.
Just for fun, I called. “James”, my call center representative assured me that I had won one of 5 prizes; a 2006 Caddy Escalade (which is also odd considering production on 06’s have now stopped, and 07’s are being delivered to dealerships daily. James said I could pick any color that I wanted, and they would have the vehicle delivered to me), or I could win a 10 day Hawaiian Vacation, $2500 in cash, a 3-day Vegas vacation, or a 32 inch Toshiba TV. All I had to do was visit Vacation Management at 903 Commerce Dr. in Oakbrook, IL, and attend a 90 minute seminar.
I figured this was a scam, so I googled the 877-352-0684 number and came up with this website. I also googled the address 903 commerce drive, Oakbrook, Il, and was linked to another page of people who were almost scammed once they visited. I just can’t believe that people can get away with crap like this.
October 13th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
Just got a call from 773-493-1069. I could be a proud winner of one of
the following:
Cadillac,
$2500 cash,
7 nights in Bahamas,
32″ Toshiba flat screent TV
(there were some more mentioned…can’t recall)
Need to come to Horizon Travels, 535 Connecticut Ave, Ste 103, Norwalk
CT with my wife for them to take pictures and use it for publicity
after collecting the prize. Gave me a claim number too. Sounded all to
legitimate coz started off with my email ID. Well, phone number and address
are anyway public knowledge.
btw, i do remember receiving a call from them couple of months back and
yes this guy knew had that information with him.
So, Should i go and pick up the booty
-Dee
October 17th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
hey!..i got a call today stating i was 1 of 100 finalists in contention to win a cadillac escalade!..lol…i was asked if i was single or married..odd
i was asked about my annual income..whats that got to do with winning something!…i was asked to confirm my street address..the scammers told me i would be contacted in 48 hours if i had won..im assuming they are going to call back and tell me i had won..odd thing..this scammer gave me her full name (or alleged one) ” kathy O”malley” from the awards claim center. phone numbers i git were..618-529-7893…i googled that and thats out of carbondale illinois…i also got their toll free 877-351-8026 ext 113…that connected me to kathy o”malley. they said they were affiliated with “travel partners”..so im just waitin for the call back…and im going to give them a rather foul mouth response..that will make even the most seasoned telemarketer blush! i cant wait!!! 10-17- 2006
October 18th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
I got the call (866-999-3703) that I won the Cadillac Escalade. I think we shold all try and get the prises they say we won. If not we should sue. I mean if a woman can get 4 mil for spilling hot coffee on herself for McDonalds we have a good shot. HaHaHaHaHaHa
October 18th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Carmen has a Ford waiting for me too. Atlanta is target today.
October 19th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Carmen has called me twice at work with the callback number of 800-918-4224, claim number of BR1000. The first time I ignored it but since I never get telemarketers at work I decided to try to call. All circuits were busy. Glad other’s posts cleared up the scam.
October 19th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Oh well, I got “lucky” too. I have a ford waiting for me and I am in Washington State.
October 19th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Hey guys, I received yesterday the “Carmen” call at my house. I think I’m one of the few on this list who received it at home and not at work. Thank you all for your comments, you saved me some time at the phone just to find out what this is about.
October 19th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
I got the same message.. I just checked voicemail today, but the call was from end of september timeframe.. It said she’s calling from a “claims center” and has some “really good news” about my “ford explorer” prize. Thanks for all of your help guys. Glad i didnt have to waste time and give a call back.
October 20th, 2006 at 8:53 am
I understand everyone’s concern with this….. My only question is has anyone here ACTUALLY gone to a meeting (It is just 90 minutes and the information might help the rest of us). Such as… will you actually get a 27″TV like the “supposed” representative says you can. I know that these things suck… I HATE Timeshare presentations… but every now and then you can actually get good stuff from them. I got to see Magician Lance Burton for Free with my wife because I sat through the presentation… and about 150 “NO… I’m NOT INTERESTEDs” later… I had free tickets.
So basically… has anyone gone to a meeting and knows whether it MIGHT be worth it for someone like me who doesn’t mind saying NO.
thanks
October 20th, 2006 at 10:06 am
Got my call from Lisa Burns yesterday saying she is from the Awards Claim Center and that Beachcomber Vacations is sponsoring a prize giveaway. She gave me claim #ITC2200 and that the prizes were the Escalade, Hawaiian vacation, Bahamas vacation, $2500, or a 32″ flat screen Toshiba tv. I would need to be photographed, etc. and show my two forms of i.d. at the Embassy Suites in Grapevine, Texas and take care of any taxes for my prize. The email they sent me had this terminology: “All recipients will be responsible for any applicable taxes associated with the premium they receive. This includes all Dealer Delivery Fees, taxes, Reservation Charges, Port and Service charges and all Airport taxes.” When I spoke with the “supervisor” I kept asking where is Beachcomber Vacations located? She did not know since she only works for Awards Claim Center. Hmm. I think I will save my gas money and time for a real prize–to not be suckered into a 90 minute presentation, etc.
October 20th, 2006 at 10:29 am
I got a message today from Carmen at the Awards Claim Center on my work number (in the Seattle area). Believe it or not, I also apparently won a Ford Explorer, and all I needed to do was call 1-800-918-4424 with the claim number WA1000. Googled that number and found your site. Thanks!
October 23rd, 2006 at 3:09 pm
STILL GOING ON. Received a voice mail at work to call this #877-840-6266 to tell me that I won a Ford Explorer and how they have “tried several times to reach me”. Punched in the phone # in a Google search and got this website.
Please do not fall for it and be wise!!
October 25th, 2006 at 11:41 am
I too got a message today from Carmen at the Awards Claim Center on my work number (in the Seattle area). I also apparently won a Ford Explorer, and all I needed to do was call 1-800-918-4224 with the claim number WA1000. They had the final draw on December 31. I did talk to them. After talking they told me to send a self addressed envelop to a florida address. They would return a confirmed vacation to florida. The address that was given was P0 box 7154, day peach shores, florida , 32118. Make sure you dont fall as a victim for this.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
I responded to Carmen about 4 months ago. I sent in my self addressed envelope and received two vacation vouchers 10 days later. My girlfriend and I had the time of our lives!! Scuba diving, horseback riding, sitting on the beach … it was fantastic. No high pressure sales to sit through … nothing. And what’s better when we returned from our vacation, a brand new Ford Explorer was there at the airport to pick us up!!
And then, I realized I was dreaming and woke up. It was fun while it lasted, though!
October 25th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
So no one actually went? They did email me documentation and I am going to go. If I dont win anything then I will sue. wish me luck
October 26th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
I received a voicemail message today from Carmen of the Awards Claim Center on my cell (in the St. Louis area). This must be my luccky day for I too have won a brand new Ford Explorer, and all I needed to do was call 1-800-918-4224 with the claim number BR394.
Ps: Go Cards!
October 26th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
I received a message on my work phone on 10/25. I work in WA state. Guess who it was from? Carmen with the Awards Claim Center. Now to be fair, she didn’t actually say I won a prize. She said that she was calling about a contest to win a Ford Explorer and they had been trying to reach me for “quite some time”, to please give her a call as soon as possible. The number left was 1-800-918-4224 and my confirmation number was WA692. I tried to find the 800 number online through various directories to investigate. I was pretty sure it was a telemarketing thing of some type. And it turns out I was right. I found this blog by searching for the number mentioned previously. Everyone is thanking Mike for this blog, so I’ll join them. Thanks Mike! I might have wasted my time calling the number with out it. Cheers everyone, and happy holidays.
October 27th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Well, they’ve called me back yet again… but this time at an unlisted number that is used for outbound data business only. So this is what I cobbled up. Taking the plethora of information from Mike’s wonderful blog here, I created a formal Cease & Desist letter complete with legal mumbo jumbo. Since I’m more of a programmer than I am a scum sucking mud dweller, I’ve got my cousin working on the garnish for this tasty little dish. Once completed and with a signed sealed letter of approval from the state’s DA… I’ll be sending the pending litigation response to our jolly good and easily persuaded friends at the loverly telemarketing company.
Telemarketing scum is just that. Regardless of whether they are trying to sell services, goods, or just handling information. Each individual of the telemarketing firm should walk off the job and educate others to not fall into the marketing trap.
October 30th, 2006 at 8:51 am
Got the call this morning, but told to call a number I didn’t see yet in the blog: 1-888-262-3313 (claim number HH650). Thanks, Carmen, but I wouldn’t drive a Ford Explorer even if it WAS free…
October 31st, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Guess what guys!? I won an ESCALADE!! Of course I have to call back to a particular phone number, yadda, yadda, yadda!
Here’s another number to add to the list:
800-577-7137 Awards Claim Center
November 1st, 2006 at 10:23 am
same deal - Ford Explorer - asking me to call 1-888-262-3313 - The number the call originated from was 800 918 4224.
November 1st, 2006 at 4:05 pm
called them (800.918.4224) AFTER finding this page…Ford Explorer was the car…I told them I was Don Joe from Alaska…called back a second time, same claim number, this time a Escalade, gave them my name Shawn Doe, with a callback of 808.918.4224 (Hawaii area code + the same number i dialed - 800)and they said they see that my name matches the number…lol…BUT when I told them I did NOT have a major credit card, my name was automatically entered into the “Drawing for the Car!!!”.
November 3rd, 2006 at 8:02 am
I arrived at work (Jacksonville, FL) to find a message from Carmen from the Award Center. That I was a part of their “Special Promotion” and of course the potential winner of a Ford Explorer. I received a claim number and was told to call 800-918-4224. I called and got no answer. Knowing this was to good to be true I googled and lucked up on Mikes Blog. Thank you Mike.
November 3rd, 2006 at 9:47 am
I received a suspicious message on my voice mail at work (Americus, Ga) on 11/3/06 from someone named Carmen from the Awards and Claims Center. She stated that I won a Ford Explorer, and that they had been trying to reach me for quite some time. The call back number was 888-262-3313 with the claim number HH650. I was immediately skeptical as I have not entered any sweepstakes via online or household mail. It was also odd that she did not leave her full name or an extension. I curiously called the number only to be put on hold for at least ten minutes while the automated system kept saying the wait would be less than 2 minutes. I hung up and googled the phone number to find this Blog! Thanks so much for confirming my suspicions that this is a scam!
November 6th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
WOW — This Carmen women stays busy. I got just got the famed “please call back us immediately” at 800-918-9224 with confirmation #BR394 on my business phone. Of course it was a computer generated call so I couldn’t even talk to the person. I’m glad I googled the phone number first - felt like a fool trying to talk to the person before I realized it was a computer phone call.
November 7th, 2006 at 8:44 am
I too now work in metro Atlanta, I ALSO received a message from (name cutoff by their poor auto dialer) to call back at 1-800-918-4224, #HH592.
I Used to work for the company that provides this 800 number.
If i still did ( And i still have many freinds there.) I would change their inbound calls to NAMBLA or some equally disgusting organization.
I’d do it in a heartbeat, so “Carmen”/”Frenchquarterowners”/”whoever”… if you perhaps FIND this website like I did, know that you’re calling SO MANY people that you’re BOUND to piss off enough of us that have some amount of contol over your voice and data networks.
The longer this page is up, the higher the probability that we all will converge and make some “decisions” on your behalf.
And you may never know how long we’ll listen to your calls or sniff your traffic to get what we need before a move is made.
November 7th, 2006 at 11:10 am
I also received this message. What is the point in this kind of spam?
November 7th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I WON A FORD EXPLORER WAHOOO!!!
November 8th, 2006 at 11:48 am
I got a call from “Carmen” on my voicemail at work this morning also with the HH650 claim number…
Considering I work within the automotive industry, I sure as heck wouldn’t have been entering a contest for a car in the first place…LOL
November 8th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
I got this phone call today at work- except it was “Crystal” who informed me of my winnings. Maybe “Carmen” got a better job working for the Nigerian e-mails scams. Ha ha.
November 8th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Tacoma, WA 11/8/2006
My office received the same message in a voicemail to the phone in our lunch room. At first I was wondering if it was a miss transfer from the switchboard operator and now someone in the office was going to miss out on a free Ford Explorer…. but I googled the # first …found this site…and deleted the voicemail it without the guilt.
Thanks!!!
November 9th, 2006 at 11:21 am
Carmen is still around. I just got the call with the same HH650 claim #. Does this mean that I have to duke it out with Allison for the Ford Explorer?? HAHA!
November 9th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Arrived at work (Seattle WA) this morning and had a similar voice mail on my office phone from “Laura,” saying she had “some really good news” for me and asking me to call 1-888-262-3313 and mention claim # HH650. I googled the phone number and found all these comments. Glad I did. Thanks!
November 10th, 2006 at 7:22 am
The Cadillac “promotion” is now working the Washington, DC area (as of 11/8), with “award presentations” apparently scheduled yesterday (Thursday, 11/9) through Saturday, 11/11 at the Courtyard by Marriott at 1900 Connecticut Ave., N.W., according to my conversation with “Elisa” at the “Award Claim Center” who called unsolicited two days ago (11/8) and followed up with an email message (copy may be found posted here, together with other accounts: http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=278902#post278902 . I, too, would be very interested in a detailed account of what actually takes place at one of these award meetings. There is a little information here (regarding the Ford Explorer variant): http://www.katv.com/onyourside.hrb?s=1281 . Also, it might pay someone to go through this blog and compile the concrete information, company names, addresses, principals, supposed sponsoring companies, all phone numbers used, etc.. Does anyone know how the company(ies) behind this use the claim numbers they assign? Do these numbers identify which variation of the scam or marketing location it is associated with, so that callbacks are read the right script? That would make some sense since it seems likely that these folks have several projects around the country underway at any given time.
If you live in the DC area and have received calls, please post here with your experience — when received, what was said/promised, etc. Also, you might consider writing to Annys Shin of the Washington Post who writes the blog, “The Checkout”, which covers consumer issues, including scams — she could really be effective publicizing this locally and documenting what is going on. Write to her at thecheckout@washpost.com . Good luck everyone!
November 13th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Same phone number and claim number as Mike(182) and Usman(184). It’s my work number and I have no idea how they got it. I called the number and the automated answer prompts you to press # for claims starting with XX. There were 6 or 7 different options none of which were HH. Pressed 0 for all other claims and was place on hold for 3 minutes. I lost interest and hung up at that point.
November 13th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I was left a voice mail telling me to call 1-888-262-3313 with claim number ALP650. I’m glad I searched the number and found this site. Thanks
November 13th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Sounds like they are in Atlanta now. I knew it was a scam, just wanted to see how big it was. HAHAHA… it is amazing though how many people will fall for it.
November 14th, 2006 at 10:37 am
I got the same voice mail @ my work number this morning here in Oklahoma from Carmen asking to call back to 1-800-918-4224 claim # BR394. I called and took a little different approach just for fun. If I REALLY WON an item and have a claim number for it then my claim number should be unique to my name. So, I asked(since they are legitimate… Ha, Ha) to tell me what my name is based on my claim number. She said she couldn’t because her computer would crash. I said… I’ll give you my claim number, you tell me what I won and I’ll then give you my name. She said… Well you haven’t exactly won yet. I said, Then why the hell did you call me… I told her to put my claim number back in the hat and call me when I won!!!!! LOL
November 14th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Ha! I love Google. I live in Atlanta, and received a voice message on my work phone this morning from “Carmen” at the “Awards Claim Center”. I was 99.9% sure it was a scam, and Googled “Awards Claim + Ford Explorer” and got this blog in the results.
November 14th, 2006 at 10:59 am
By the way, the number I was told to call back was: 1-800-918-4224
November 14th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Some more concrete detective work: Item 38 from “The Legend” identifies the firm involved with the Ford Explorer “promotion”, and hence the Cadillac Escalade promotion, as Cambridge Marketing & Financial Services, Inc. in Deland Florida, president Marvin Israel. Googling “Marvin Israel” and “telemarketing” leads to the web page for ITC, Inc. . . . who’s President/CEO is . . . Marvin Israel ! (It’s snail address appears to be down the street — Woodland Blvd. — from Cambridge Marketing.) ITC, ITC, ? Doesn’t that sound familiar? Check out how many of the award ID numbers start with ITC in the accounts above. The web site is here: http://www.daydrives.com/index.html and, as an added bonus, you can EMAIL (!) Mr. Israel here: marvin@telemarketinginc.com . Good luck.
November 14th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
I am in Atlanta as well and got the same message at work from “Carmen” at the “Awards Claim Center”.
November 14th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
Greetings,
Do you guys realize that every pre-recorded call is a viloation of the federal telemarketing law, and that you can get between
$ 500.00-1500.00 per call, and every live call after you tell them not to call you is also a violation, worth $ 1500.00 ?
Its good money, but you do have to work for it ( work from home that is ! ), and there is a “learning curve”. There are people who do this as their work, and generate a sizable income.
Usually it requires letter-writing, although sometimes filing a civil action in your local court ( small claims mostly ). When a trip to the courthose is required, they very rarely show up, and you win whatever it is you ask for ( within the law ) automatically, by default; a “default judgment”.
Now, winning in court, and getting a “judgment”, does not mean money in hand, but rather you have a right to get the money, and you have certain legally recognized tools to do so. For example; wage garnishment, a “till tap” ( sheriff stays in the business for the day, and takes all of the money they make for that day, up to the amount they owe you ), forced sale of personal and/or real property ( in some states ), etc. In some states, a company cannot get or maintain their business license ( or their telemarketers license ) when there is an outstanding judgment against them. That usually gets you paid pretty quick.
You can also “sell” the judgment, the actual legal document, to people who buy these judgments as a business, or you can hire someone to collect for you, and the cost is added on to the judgment amount.
Long story short, you can make pretty good money by policing these telemarketers. Its not for everyone, but for some its quite fun, and satisfying.
Thank You.
SpyBoy
PS: One guy in SD got a $ 13,000.00 judgment for one call ! And a woman recently got an approx. $ 19,000.00 arbitration award from Discover Card for 4 calls. Thats not chicken-feed. A little of that and its like having telemarketers buy you a new Explorer.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:00 am
How do you go about starting? I recieved the call on my work phone, and as there is monitoring at my work, I do not want my bosses to think that I gave out my work number to someone. Since it was a pre-recorded call, how do I begin the process, and charge them for calling with a pre-recorded call?
Thanks!
November 15th, 2006 at 10:18 am
I work in Metro Atlanta and I got a message from Carmen telling me to call 888-262-3313 to get my free Ford Explorer. What would I do without the internet to research phony telemarketing scams?? Thanks Mike!!
November 16th, 2006 at 8:38 am
I love it. Carmen gave me a call last night as well. They must have found themselves a boat load of extra Explorer’s to give away here in Atlanta.
Someone should send this to Clark Howard. He would have a field day with these clowns.
November 16th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Just got a call at work, and called them to see what kind of people they ahve working this scam. I also wanted to tell them to take my work number off their list. If I had something better to do I would have hung up, but was interested in how they were going to try to sell this promotion, especially because of the current regualtions against the telemarketing industry. In any event, it is a good thing to be made aware of, and this Blog was a good resource, thanks!
November 19th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Active discussion of the “Cadillac” promotion continues on scam.com. A couple of people indicated they intended to attend one of the sessions and report on it afterwards, but they haven’t done so yet. Here is some more of my own research, also setting out a few of my conjectures, as posted in the thread at scam.com (here: http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=278902#post278902):
1. Re: Won A Cadillac??
To: davezwalinski52290 (and everyone else as well)
Look forward to your report as to what goes on at one of these meetings. I would note that the operation called me claiming I had entered a contest which I never did, and that I am on the Federal Do-Not-Call list. That’s a violation right there. Moreover, the call I received (and the follow-up email) emphasized that I was a finalist in a contest, not the product they were interested in selling — in fact, I was never sent a web-site address or phone number of the “sponsoring” entity, “Event Planner(s)” and couldn’t find it through Google. The promotion call I received also indicated the income limits for participation were required by the government to assure I could pay income tax on the prize I won — that must be false. Also, where are the disclosures about how many prizes of each type are being distributed? If you receive a no-purchases-necessary prize card at, say, McDonalds, that kind of information is always easily available. In short, the suspicions and caution that many of us have is entirely justified by this activity’s appearance.
My prior posting identified the likely operator of the Cadillac “contest” as ITC, Inc. of Deland, Florida, and its CEO/President, Marvin Israel. Further indications: Gurnee, IL, which figures prominently in meeting locations, is listed as one of ITC, Inc.’s “markets”: http://www.daydrives.com/Projects.html . (I had never heard of Gurnee, IL before — now I’ve encountered it twice!) Here is a photograph of Mr. Israel for your dartboard: http://www.telemarketinginc.com/about.html .
2. Re: Won A Cadillac??
TO SUZQ: Well, the company is almost certainly ITC, Inc. — its home page actually SHOWS the Cadillac Escalade on a scratch off card! (http://www.daydrives.com/index.html). I think that’s a pretty compelling clue. So when you and others speak to Brandon Martin or his colleagues, you could ask about his boss, Mr. Israel, and you could mention some of the other venues and companies that have sponsored this contest. I would also consider asking how many of each type of prize will be awarded within the next month, and how many “finalists” there are in total.
Here’s something else I find interesting. I live in Maryland. IANAL, but as a citizen, I’ve discovered that Maryland law appears to prohibit companies from notifying state residents that they must submit to a sales promotion in order to participate in a contest:
” Maryland Code : COMMERCIAL LAW : TITLE 13. CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT : SUBTITLE 3. UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES : § 13-305. Prizes conditioned on purchases or sales promotion.
§ 13-305. Prizes conditioned on purchases or sales promotion.
* * *
(b) Prohibition.- A person may not notify any other person by any means, as part of an advertising scheme or plan, that the other person has won a prize, received an award, or has been selected or is eligible to receive anything of value if the other person is required to purchase goods or services, pay any money to participate in, or submit to a sales promotion effort.”
Hmmm. I was told by the “Awards Claim Center” rep that I would have to sit through a 90 minutes sales promotion. On its face, to me anyhow, that sounds offside this law, but again, I’m not a lawyer.
Look up your own statute in your state — you can do it online. Most states have similar contest statutes, I believe, but your mileage might vary. And before you rely on my research for any substantive purpose, consult a real lawyer . . .
Good luck.
3. Re: Won A Cadillac??
I’m looking forward to reports on what actually takes place at these sessions from Batera and davezwalinski52290. I agree it seems almost certain this is a variant of a common timeshare sales promotion.
That said, promoting it through a dodgy contest with telephone scripts that emphasize you are a “winner” or “finalist” — one callback to me on my voicemail from the “Awards Claim Center” ended with the word, “Congratulations” — and not disclosing either on the phone or in the follow-up email the number of each type of prize (which, incidentally, is also required in Maryland by a subsection of § 13-305 of the state statutes), is part of what really makes this a scam. I suspect that’s why Maryland state law prohibits firms from notifying targeted consumers that they are required to submit to a sales promotion in order to take part in any contest. But ITC, Inc. and its agents do that as well, based on its own written explanation in the standard email message I received. In other words, the bulk of the discussion in the phone contact is fostering the idea that you are a contest winner, and no meaningful or actionable information is provided about the product that is being sold. It is difficult or impossible, for instance, to investigate the specific product in advance on the internet, at least in my case.
When “Elisa” called me, she explained that the cruise and Florida/Bahamas vacation, one of the prizes that “finalists” might receive potentially, did not include airfare. Here’s what the Maryland State Attorney General says about free vacation inducements for timeshare promotions (from a Consumer Guide for Seniors):
“‘Free trip’ offers are one of the most common consumer scams. The free trip is usually just a bait to get consumers to buy membersips in expensive timeshares or travel clubs (which do not always deliver what they promise) or the trip isn’t really free — you have to pay a lot of fees and extra costs. . . . Be skeptical of ‘free trip’ offers. Go to a sales presentation only if you are interested in what the company is selling . . .”
Here’s what I suspect: Since ITC, Inc. has not disclosed the relative number of each “prize”, I would bet that the “free” vacations (with the added costs) are the dominant share of prizes, and that few of the recipients actually ever use them, either because of the added costs, and/or because the vacation offered is not really that attractive (given the accommodations, available dates, and so on). The innovation here, in the Cadillac Escalade promotion, is (I suspect) tossing in a few, if any, more attractive material “prizes”, such as cars and large flat-panel TVs, as inducements to attend, and emphasizing them during the initial phone contacts with consumer targets, as if one has a reasonable chance of actually winning one.
And what about the timeshares, the main reason for requiring husband and wife to attend a 90 minute presentation? Here’s what consumer columnist/commentator Clark Howard wrote in his May 6, 2004 column (http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2004/05/06/):
“If you still want one, there is a smart way to buy them. Don’t buy new from one of the properties. You will pay upwards of $15,000. Buy from someone who is trying to get rid of his or her timeshare. You can get nice timeshares for as low as $3,000. Just make sure you go see the property first. Pictures can be deceiving.”
Perhaps the Washington, DC promotion is for a discount travel club. My guess is similar warnings apply.
Just my 2 cents worth — for what it’s worth.
November 22nd, 2006 at 1:30 pm
This asshole, Jay, called me from some line in Chicago at 773-363-4842, and left me a message about winning a car. He told me to call him back at 1-866-999-3703 ext. 255 . When we got a hold of each other, he told me I had to go to their agency on Andrews Avenue in Florida to claim my prize…i would have to listen to a 90-minute session. I then told him that I read a blog with 211 people posting that his company is fraud, and that I have no reason to believe him. He then started getting all pissy with me, and started yelling that he’s working for a legit company and they’re not here to waste people’s time. So he told me that if I wanted then I should set up a time to claim my prize. I told him that I’d rather believe the 211 people. I’m filing a complaint about this dick on donotcall.gov. It’s people like that that I want to punch in the face.
November 27th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
I just received the same recorded voice message from CARMEN at the Awards Claim Center about the new Ford Explorer. This call came through on my
direct number at work. I was to call her back with my claim #DR394 at the 800 918-4224 number. I couldn’t remember entering this drawing & I couldn’t
believe I gave out my number at work instead of my home number. I am glad I looked
around & found this information out before I called back. THANKS GUYS!!!
December 2nd, 2006 at 8:38 am
I just got the same call here from Carmen, at my work voice mail. I think they intentionally ’smudge’
the claim number, because mine was VR394 (1-800-918-4224) I’ve seen people here list BR394 and DR394,
so I’m sure if you win the grand prize they’ll say it was the other letter that won… Anyhow I work
in Kansas, not surprising they are phone-spamming us since we are moderately near Branson. Instead of
calling I used Clusty search for “awards claim center” and “ford explorer” and found this site. Thanks!
December 4th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
got a call 12-4-06 @ approx. 1:30pm from a 773-363-4065 caller id, wasn’t home they left msg to call 1-866-999-3703 ext 262 for Herb. said I won a grand prize, car I think. they said I entered 12 to 18 months ago. Don’t know anything about this. The 773 number is a Mitchells Comm. I’m assuming another scam. Found this site by googleing the 866 number.
December 5th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Got the call today returned and got excited then goolgled the number and address and fely like a moron. Well I cant wait tell they call back so I can screw with them in a little bit.
December 6th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
I have gotten this call from Carmen at least 20 times. Our business has 100 numbers, and the dialers running through them… I did, in fact, call back their number to find out how they ended up calling us. The rep wasn’t very helpful or very smart, as she couldn’t seem to comprehend that when I said I had 100 numbers, ending 4700 to 4799, that I wanted all 100 blocked. And figuring out what the phone number was when the first 6 digits stayed the same made it almost impossible for her to figure out my phone number. She said she would have them added to the ‘no call’ list. After about 10 more calls, I called a second time. The rep said she could only enter ‘no call’ for 2 numbers at a time. And didn’t want to take the time to enter all 100 (although wasting my time was okay). When I asked to speak to her supervisor, that woman gave me some lame excuse that someone must have entered the phone number into some drawing, otherwise they wouldn’t be calling it. She also said that basically the only way to get them to stop calling me is to fax them my 100 numbers with a ‘no call’ request. Evidentally, my word wasn’t good enough. Plus, it wouldn’t be *legal* (her words) to just remove the numbers without proving my authenticity. Through your helpful site, I have located the addresses of the people that I am going to report to the Better Business Bureau. Maybe it’s a futile effort, but if enough people do it, maybe something will happen.
December 6th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
In Atlanta, got a voicemail to my direct line at work from “Crystal” at the Awards Claims Center telling me I won a Ford Explorer and to call back 1-888-262-3313 with the claim number ALP650. Glad I googled it and found this site. Nothing in life is free. Especially when you can’t recall entering to win it. Thanks to this site!!
December 7th, 2006 at 3:17 am
Thank you for keeping a log. Seattle here. “Carmen” called me today from the “Awards Claim Center” saying I’d won a Ford Explorer. She said she had some really good news for me, gave me clain number HH650 (you’d think they’d switch it up a bit), and asked me to call her at 888-262-3313. The message was on my cell.
Prior to this a religious organization, exempt from the do not call list, called 4 times a day for a week seeking a donation. I don’t answer my cell so they finally gave up. The only way to thwart all of this will be to change my message. I’m considering setting up my voicemail to portray itself as a charity.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Kennesaw here. I had the same message from 1-800-918-4224, “Chrystal” left me a message about winning a Ford explorer on my voicemail. What a scam. I plan on checking on getting this number blocked, cause it’s my work number. Don’t people have anything better to do with their time???
December 12th, 2006 at 6:13 am
Atlanta here. Same thing. Call from Crystal, 1-888-262-3313 Awards Claim Center, Ford Explorer, Claim number ALP650. I wish I’d been at my desk when she called. She starts off “We’ve been trying to reach you for quite a while…” yeah right, you have no idea who you’ve reached, your auto dialing until someone or something picks up, like VM. Kind of reminds me of a Simpsons episode…
December 12th, 2006 at 9:38 am
Looks like Carmen is crossing into South Carolina teritory now. I’m in the 864 area code and just found out about my wonderful new Explorer. My cube mates got a good laugh out of listening to the voice mail.
December 12th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
Yep she is definitely hitting SC now. Got a call at work and I am on the coast. Needless to say I told her the timeshare would not be worth a damn to someone who already lives beachfront in Myrtle Beach. She kept pushing though. What a way to waste your day!
December 13th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Got a call today. She didn’t even mention the time share, just that I had won a prize and needed to come and claim it. Thank goodness for the internet and everyone who posted a blog. Carmen left me the same voicemail “we have been trying to reach you” 800-918-4224 Claim Number HH592. Got the call at work, not sure how they got my number.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:43 am
The Ford Explorer thing relates to Timeshare sales. It is done by Quincy Masketing on behalf of Skinnaker Resorts (www.spinnakerresorts.com). Of course its a scam but its not illegal. Here is the deal - they let youi stay at their resort, you sit through a 90 minute sales presentation, and then they give you a prize. They do it for two reasons - 1) enough people buy the timeshare; and 2) it does not cost them much. Skinnaker Resorts pays a commission to Quincy Marketing. The “prize” is worthless. Lets say you win the cruise - that certificate was given to them by a cruise line who is glad to have you come onto a cruiser that is not sold out so they can sell you more (not to mention the fees and taxes you have to pay). Whether you win the cruise or the TV (I don’t think anyone actually wins the TV) - they value it at $1,100 and $500, respectively. You have to pay 28% federal tax and ~5% state tax TO THEM. They eventually remit to the IRS but get the float. You end up paying $165 for a 27″ TV. My advice - go to Wal-Mart. You end up paying $365 for the cruise, plus $150 or so per person in “fees”. Plus you have to get to Florida on your own. As far as the Ford Explorer - they never give one away. If you read the terms, all they say is that you will win one iof the three. Nowhere does it say they will ever give 1 Ford away. Its perfectly legal, and set it up to convince stupid people to buy vacation property. I have a pdf of the letter they send you, but could not figure out how to post an attachment.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Well glad I got on here too, was wondering what kind of scam this was, did she give anyone else an address to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to?? She did me
Welcome Center
PO BOX 7154
Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118
Can we sue her or something??
December 13th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
ATLANTA: Just got a call from Crystal and she said the exact same thing “We have been trying to reach you. You have just qualified to win a Ford Explorer with our promotion program. Please give me a call. Your validation code is A3L9000…
What a piece of shizzity!!
Rob Control
http://www.djrobcontrol.com
December 13th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
David B–
You can send the pdf to me at the address on this page, and I will upload it and host it for you.
http://www.americasdebate.com/?page=contact
Mike
December 15th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
I have received the call about the ford explorer, cruise, and TV. I thought it was a scam. Especially when they said make sure to bring a major credit card with you as a 2nd form of ID. Since when can you use a major credit card as a form of ID? This is happening in the Atlanta metro area (Alpharetta). Beware, google all suspicious numbers because you never know who is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
December 18th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Atlanta. I received a VM at work from “Carmen” about the Ford Explorer, TV, and cruise. Saying they have been trying to reach me [which is a lie b/c i use my phone daily] and to call back ASAP. She gave me the same confirmation number: HH592. Well I called back the number 800-918-4224 and after being on hold for a minute some girl gets on the phone and tells me I’ve won a 6day/5night cruise to the Bahamas. Asks me some questions: like do I use a major credit card when vacationing, US citizen, etc. Told me to send a self-addressed envelop to:
Welcome Center
P.O. Box 7154
Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118
[while she was talking, I could here other telemarketing calls being made in the background]. She was catching attitude when I started asking a lot of questions. Then she hung up. Thats when I googled and found this site. People beware.
December 18th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Crystal called last week and left a msg re: my Ford Explr!!! Same ploy. So today I called to listen to how/why I won. My rewards number ALP560, or something similar. No details, just call us immediately. I’ve been to a few of those timeshare meetings about 20 yrs ago, and 10 yrs ago. Every mid-decade they seem to become a popular ploy, each time they promise something for meeting with them. I can’t say that the pitch is any better, just more random dialers.
December 28th, 2006 at 1:26 am
Just got a home phone number 5 days ago and today received a voice message from “Carmen” telling me that she had been trying to reach me for some time and that she had some really good news for me about a Ford Explorer. She told me to call 1-800-918-4224 and give them the Claim Number WA692. I cant wait to get my new car…
December 28th, 2006 at 11:08 am
Like others who have posted here, I received a call at 7 PM last night (December 27, 2006) from “Carmen” telling me that I’d won a Ford Explorer, that she was trying to contact me for a while now, and that I had to call her back asap. She gave a claim number of WA692.
This looks like an obvious fraud. I’m alerting the local Attorney General’s office. I suggest that others do the same.
December 30th, 2006 at 10:22 am
So glad I checked this site. I too got a phone call yesterday at 11am from Claims Center.
Harrington told me I won one of five prizes. The same thing that I read in the blog. A Cadillac Escalade, etc. I was all ready to go down to Regency Travel in MYstic Ct. Now I know this is a scam. So glad I did not waste my time. Also tried to look up phone number on infospace, it did not exist. Called the number back got voice mail and the number on my caller ID. Called Caller ID number, it states that person was not available at that time. Harrington also mentioned that he was calling from Chicago. Thanks Mike for the Blog. I will be reporting this to do not call list as well. I am on the National Do not call list.
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Just got a call from the claim center, same phone number 800-918-4224. I live in Sunnyvale, CA…Thanks for the post.
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I received a call from Nicole @ the Awards and Claims center- she left the voice mail with 866-999-3703×236 & said I had won a “major prize.” I called back, not intending to give out any info but got Nicole’s VM. Didnt leave a message and googled “Awards and Claims Center,” and ended up here. I’m in West Palm Beach, FL.
January 3rd, 2007 at 8:24 am
Call from Carmen on 1/2/07 with same MO as all the others. Thanks for the post.
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:25 am
Carmen is calling MO now. At first I thought it was real because my initials are BR and the prize code was BR394. My wife told me I was a dolt and that I should check the internet. Googled my call-back number 1-800-918-4224 and sure enough I found this site. Thanks Mike!
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I also got a call yesterday from the infamous Carmen, with claim # 88592 telling me I won a ford explorer, blah blah blah. I didn’t keep my hopes up, but I called back to see what the deal was. This answering service comes on and asks me to press “1″ if I have a claim number, so I did, and after a few moments a woman answers and asks for the claim number. I told her and she said I won a trip to the bahamas, and to send her a self-addressed envelope to The Welcome Center P.O. Box 7154 Daytona Beach, FL 32118. Glad I came here. I hope I am able to block scam crap from calling me again.
January 4th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I got a call from “Hanna” telling me that she had been trying to reach me for some time and that she had some really good news for me about a Ford Explorer. She told me to call 1-800-918-4224 and give them the Claim Number FNHH3112.
January 4th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Ah yes I recieved the call from 800-918-4224. I turned down the truck and the cash in exchange for the x-ray glasses and a magic bean. Isn’t it illegal to call someones cell because thats what I got the call on. By the way, good site Mike.
January 4th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Rule 1 to telemarketers/spammers:
Don’t call us telco dudes, especially when you are spamming multiple people at the same company.
The carrier for 800-918-4224 is Airespring Inc at 800-825-1055 (http://www.airespring.com/web/contact.asp) if you want to complain. I’m going to ask if they will provide the company name so I can file a formal complaint directly to them as well.
January 4th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
I’m from Austin, TX. Just got a call today at my job saying someone had been trying to contact me and that I won a ford Explorer or $25,000. Phone number for me to callback : 888-262-3313.
Googled it … came here….
If they aren’t selling anything… how are they making money? What are they selling?? The phone numbers???
January 5th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Just received a call from Carmen. I was called on my work number. It appears they are working NC now. I was given a claim# HH592 and told I had won a new Ford Explorer. I immediately went to the internet and found this site. Thank.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I can’t believe Carmen has been making the rounds for so long and I’m just now about to win the Ford Explorer! None of you got it yet? Maybe you guys didn’t call back fast enough, I mean she has been trying to get in touch with us for some time now.
January 6th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
I got a call from Dwayne from phone# (866)999-3703 x226 (Awards and Claims Center). This is in addition to the postings about calls from Carmen and Nicole. He claimed I would be eligible for a Cadillac Escalade or a Hawaiian vacation or a Toshiba TV. He gave me a claim number and tried to collect information on other people whom I could trust with claiming the prize. Not willing to do so, I said that I would be the one to claim the prize. At that point, he said he would call me back. Maybe it’s one of these ID theft scams.
January 8th, 2007 at 1:45 am
I’m from Austin, TX and I received a phone call from a woman named Alexis, informing me that I had won either a brand new Ford Explorer. She gave me a claim # and told me to call their claim office 1-800-918-4224. Looks like a lot of people have been getting the same phone call. I can’t imagine this isn’t a scam.
January 8th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Howdy! I’m from Austin and got the same message as TXGuy. “Alexis” even called me at work. These folks just don’t let up, I’ve gotten two calls from them at home, a postcard and another call here at work. Unbelieveable! It’s definitely a scam–thanks for all the posts!
January 8th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
NC Girl,
Yes they are hitting NC. We’re in Charlotte and now have 4 people in the same office that got it. Same message, same person, same number.
I haven’t called the carrier that owns the TFN yet, but I will shortly.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
All I had to do was visit Harbor Resort Management at 903 Commerce Dr. Suite 140 in Oakbrook, IL to win a trip sponsored by Holiday Inn so I sent the info to thier corp fraud dept.
January 10th, 2007 at 4:10 am
I, too, live in the Austin,TX area. Tonight, I missed a phone call on my cell phone from 1-800-918-4224. I didn’t recognize the number, so I called it back. There was no answer. I came online and googled it and found all of this info. The weird thing is that my cell phone is a tracphone, or a “pay as you go” phone, so I do not have cell phone services thru any company. I have no clue how they got my number, but will make sure not to answer the phone next time! Thanks!!!
January 11th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I am in Austin, Tx and had a voice mail on my work phone! Angelina left same message we have been trying to get a hold of you for some time , that i had won a ford explorer or $25,000 cash.claim # FNAU3112. I figured it seemed fishy but I have no idea how they got my work #. glad i found this site and know for sure its a scam.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Just got the same call from Carmen saying I won a trip to the Bahamas. I’m also in Charlotte and one of my coworkers received the same call recently. This is definitely a scam but I’m going to send in the pre-stamped envelope just to see what happens. Any objections and has anyone done that yet?
January 11th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Beware South Carolina..I just the same call on my cell phone.Googled the number, and wound up here.
January 11th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I am from Wisconsin and received a call tonight from Harbor Management resort and needed to go to gurnee Ill to claim one of the top 5 prizes.(escalade etc) I too, questioned her as to when/where I entered and got a vague answer. I asked if this was a time share and she said it was connected to a time share but no pressure to buy. Yeah,right. She gave me two times tomorrow to come and asked which one worked .I said niether and she got irritated. I googled Harbor Management and found this site. Interesting. Thanks for information. Now I don’t have to feel bad about not going, I wasn’t going to anyway, but would have wondered?
January 12th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I also live in the Austin, Texas area AND SUPRISE SUPRISE, Christine and I have the same claim number…. I decided to have a little fun with “Virgina” who answered the phone.
First off, I say OH BOY, I’ve won!!! This means I can finally afford the operation that my little kitten needs (there is no Muffin, but now I have her diverted so I can get some answers). And how incredible! My friend got the same phone call and out of the million of numbers, we have the same number! Boy, I hope this wasn’t a mistake…. Which Virgina discloses that EVERYONE gets the same claim number. Wow, I don’t feel so special right now.
I was told that there are actually four prizes… and that the recording was not actually to tell me I had won (shock) but saying it was a promotion… My recording states “receive either $25,000 or a Ford explorer”. Never does it state that there are other prizes.
When I told good old Virgina this, WOW… she freaked out. She then starts babbling about a Vacation Getaway, which I say “OHHHH a Timeshare…. well, that changes everything. My great aunt Fern died in a timeshare. A ceiling fan came down on her head and ever since then, I’m afraid of time shares.” She assures me, lol, it’s not really a time share, it’s a vacation getaway, so I should be fine (okay, Virginia isn’t really quick on the uptake).
Then she asks if I am married… OH YES… I FORGOT TO TELL MY HUSBAND!!! Virgina, can you hold on… my husband should be at work… he works for the Texas Attorney General! He’ll be so happy.
I get… “OH.. uh…. Well, have a nice day.” Click. Priceless.
I encourage all of you… have fun with this. It made for a really entertaining 10 minutes!
January 12th, 2007 at 11:21 am
They moved to MO
Had a message on my voice mail, at work, this am. Same scam, (800) 918-4224 calls and leaves a message about “Awards Claim Center”. Thought I would investigate to see where they come from. Their main office claims to obtain the numbers through cards filled out in malls, restaurants, etc.
Knowing that I haven’t filled out any forms of this sort, I was wondering if anyone had received the solicitation and was able to actually claim to have filled out a form for it.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I just received a call from 800-918-4224. Party did leave a message and I was dumb enough to return the call. I asked for the name of the company and female responded: Awards claim center. Well, I am actually not interested in winning anything at this point in my life ( 70 this year) and asked her to please take me off their calling list. The tirade of insults in response to my request was unbelievable., enough to give an elderly person a stroke, which would have been desirable instead of listening to motor mouths ranting.
What is with people? they need that to make a living or are these the folks who spew out hate and nutties in someones earpiece in order to relinquish their mental anguish? I will now only listen to messages on my land line or cell, answering a phone in my home will be a thing of the past. This was a sick experience.
Oh, if anyone wants the truck the loud mouth wanted to give me, call 800-918-4224.
January 16th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Carmen strikes again. I have been getting call all day from an ‘800′ number but this was the first message left. Of course it was from the “Awards Claim Center”. Since I’m from San Antonio, I guess the attack has moved south. I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t know. I wonder if this is my “Final Chance”. I certainly hope so!
January 16th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Got the scam call on my cell phone this evening.
I guess they’re on some kind of call blitz for Central Texas. I got the same phone call - on my cell phone! Yadda yadda yadda, Carmen from awards claim center - I Googled the 800-918-4224 number that appeared on my caller ID, and ended up here.
I’ve got caller ID, so I know when a particular number calls me. The message this girl left tried to feed me some BS about “multiple attempts to reach me, it’s very important I call back immediately, this is their last and final attempt to contact me about the award.” Whatever.
She left her message on my cell phone at 7:22 pm, left toll-free # 1-888-262-3313 for me to call back “right away!!” and left claim number FNau3112.
Not enough roll-eyes in the world for that one.
January 17th, 2007 at 8:15 am
I received a call about 10 minutes ago… it was Carmen and she called from this number, 888-262-3313. She said she has been trying to get in touch with me for quite some time and this is my last chance to call her… HA. I won a Ford explorer or $25,000 ! with some claim number sn8h3112.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Got the call at work (no idea how they got that number since I just recently started working at this job) from the Awards Claim Center from 1-800-918-4224 and message was left to call them at 1-888-262-3313 to claim my Ford Explorer or $25,000 prize with claim number FNHH3112. I called and spoke with a lady named Diana who later told me she worked for Quincy Marketing in Deland, Florida. She told me that I was only a semifinalist and they needed to verify that I was still eligible to win the prize. They asked if I was between the ages of 30-72, if I was employed, and if I was a US citizen. She then told me that I had won a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas since I was eligible for the grand prize drawing on June 30, 2007. She told me to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
The Welcome Center
PO Box 7154
Daytona Beach Shores, FL
32118
I wish I had found this website before I wasted my time on the phone with them.
January 17th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I WON A FORD EXPLORER!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!
haha, so ronda’s response was awesome (post #256) i basically did the same thing
i’m from here in austin, tx (seems austin’s been hit a lot recently) i got a call from the 1-800-918-4224 but it hung up before i could answer…i was expecting a call from an 800 number so i called them back and was given some message about the “awards center” (took me forever to hear cuz the audio sucks) i was directed to some lady, could’ve been Carmen but i don’t know…i didn’t have a claim number and told her i was calling this number back and she asked for my phone number to bring up my “account” and see who called me…they already called me and had my number so i gave it to them…she then went on to explain that i was the finalist for a ford explorer, blah blah, same as everyone else…and then she said she needed to verify some information by asking a couple of questions…being slightly shocked and expecting scam, i asked her to repeat what she said b/c i didn’t fully understand…she got impatient but explained again…then she asked if i was single or married…i said i’m single, are you? she didn’t like that and threatened to hang up…i apologized for my rudeness and said i was just very happy to have possibly won a car and then asked her to re-explain what i won and how the hell did i win it in the first place…she got even more mad and it didn’t help that i was at lunch with some friends and they were cracking up in the background overhearing my disbelief and sarcastic comments…she threatened to hang up again and i said it’s not everyday that i win a ford explorer…click, i got hung up on…what a punk
but i wasn’t about to bow down in defeat quite yet…i had to call back and get my ford explorer (aka mess around with them) i called back and got a guy this time, who was much better than whoever i talked to before…he explained everything again and even said i won a vacation…i decided to ask a few questions myself about them…when did i fill out this form? what company was it? when did i do this? do you even have my name? is the sky blue today? he couldn’t answer much but said he didn’t have my name and address b/c of privacy laws (”sweet, i’m all about those privacy laws…no offense but i don’t know you”) by this point my friends are cheering in the background and i’m “speechless” as i continue to express my joy b/c i need a new car so badly…and a vacation? i love vacations! he gave me the address to mail a self addressed envelope to the daytona beach shores address mention above in other posts
thanks for the site btw
January 17th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
I got the call from Award and Claim Center on tues. the 15th. They called back and I told them I read about them on the net. The guy said he was a manager there and was not wasting my time, when I told him “I suppose I should bring my check book”, he chuckled and told me they aren’t telemarketers,(yeah right), and he wasn’t calling from a list, (yeah right). I’m in Arizona, so look out y’all.
January 18th, 2007 at 9:12 am
I got the call from 888-262-3313, but my call was from Tiffany (same name as mine). Same deal, Explorer or the cash. Claim number SNHH3112. Awesome.
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
I just got the Ford Explorer, BR394, Carmen message here in SW Missouri. Just thought I’d share since we seem to be tracking.
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
800-918-4224 SNAU3112 Same scam;I used to hate telemarketing calls, but now I love them because I get such a kick out of playing mind games with them.
When I talk to telemarketers, I try to get them really depressed by acting depressed myself. I tell them stuff like “I just lost my job because I showed up drunk after my wife left me. Has that ever happened to you?”
Telemarketers have daily pep rallies just to keep from being depressed. If they are depressed they make no sales.
Other times I have yanked their chain by saying something like “Man, you are really good at this! My company could really use someone like you. Have you ever heard of Amway?”
I have also used paranoia…”You don’t fool me! This is John Smith, isn’t it? I told you I didn’t do it! I don’t care about the restraining order. If you call again, you are going to get what Mary got!”
And if you want them to hang up right away, ask what color underwear they are wearing.
January 22nd, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I’m in San Antonio, TX and got the call at my work number today, a number I have never given out. I had a message to call Adina at 800-918-4224, with the usual trying to reach me several times, very important, blah blah blah… Guess they’ve moved on to Texas now.
January 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Carmen hits again - this time in Norcross GA at my work number - left 2 messages from 800-918-4224 claim number HH592 - Ford Explorer - no talk of $25,000 shame
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I received the same call today also at a work # that I have never given out. It was from Carmen saying that they have tried calling me several times and it was very important that I call. It was for either an Explorer or $25k and the drawing would be on Dec 31, 2007. They told me I won a Bahamas cruise and to send a self address stamped envelope to PO box 7154 Dayton Beach Shores, FL 32118. The number Carmen told me to call was 1-800-918-4224 and I have the same claim # HH592. A little strange, huh? North Carolina now a target too?
January 25th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I’m in Clemson, SC, and I received the call yesterday morning. I’d actually had it come up two weeks ago (same day and almost the exact same time), but this time there was a message and a claim # (HH592). I called back and I was told I’d won either $25,000 or a Ford Explorer. Being wary and having to go into school, I said I’d call back later. When I did, I got the company name (Quincy Marketing from Florida??), and said I’d call back. I checked the name, didn’t find it, then just called back and got another name (Cambridge Marketing out of Florida), but this time I was only told that I got a vacation…I’m glad I Googled the claim number….
January 25th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I also recommend visiting this website and looking under the heading “Government Actions.”
http://www.orlando.bbb.org/newsearch2.asp?ComID=07330022003386
January 25th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
I’m in Austin, had a message on my machine from April Lopez with “Awards Claim Center” that I’ve won one of their top 4 prizes, including a 2006 Cadillac Escalade & I should call 888-495-3076. Sounded very much like a good automated recording, and never used my name or a gender reference.
January 26th, 2007 at 10:10 am
I’m in San Antonio and just started a new job three weeks ago. 800-918-4224 has called our office every day since I started. And not just once but 5-10 times a day. Either it’s a recording or they just hang up. Fed up with this - I called yesterday and asked them to take our # off their list. The first lady said it would take 72 business hours. After 10 more calls, I called back again and yelled at the lady (Cindy) that I didn’t know who they were or where they were calling from. Got the same story as #257-Chris. Said they were Cambridge Marketing, Deland, FL - googled them and found this site and that there are 2 lawsuits against them. A woman that I work with suggested calling the Attorney General’s office - going to do some research to see what they can do.
January 26th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Just got the Award Claim Center Ford Explorer call myself. First thing I did was check the ‘net, and I found exactly what I was looking for right here. Thanks!
January 26th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Yep, at 2:45 pm I got the call from Carmen (1 800 918 4224), she’s a busy girl. In the message, she said all I have to do is call her back and to get the Explorer OR the 25K. My confirmation number is SNSA 3112…I guess SA for San Antonio. After I Googled the number I found this site.
Hey Jake, you wanna trade the Escalade?
January 29th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I got a call to my GoPhone (aka pre-paid, how in the world did they get number!!) cell phone from “Carmen” (phone number 1800-918-4224)telling me that she’d attempted several times to reach me about claiming a new Ford Explorer. I called the number about 2 weeks later (waiting to see how anxious they were to give me my truck). Anyway, when I called back, it sounded like I woke the guy up from a nap, I could barely understand what he was saying from repeatedly yawning in my ear. He asked me for the phone number they called ono and I was like wait a minute, how did I win a car, he said it was from some contest that (are you ready for this. . .) I signed up for at a local mall, supermarket, etc (yes, he said et cetera)a while back (BTW, I never did that). He never addressed me by name, tried to confirm that I am who they say I am and the claim number looks recycled (from the previous claims I just read) which is HH592!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How funny is that?!
January 29th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
How interesting: the same thing happened to me. Of course, being the curious creature that I am, I called them to attempt to ascertain how in the Sam Hill they got my number. What I was told was almost verbatim what you wrote in your blog.
And the claim number I was given was precisely the same as the one you mentioned: hh592. Do they think people are stupid? I guess there are, indeed, many easily beguiled people out there.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I got a call on my voicemail at work. I was wondering who the hell “Carmen” was and how the hell did I win $25000 AND a Ford Explorer. Thanks for posting all this info. 800 918 4224. I googled it. Claim number HH592. What crap!
January 29th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I am from GA and at college when they called me on my cell phone which I just got and some of my friends do not have it.
I was skeptical from the start but I called them anyway because i wanted to see what they would say next. First it took them a while to answer. When they did pick up they said I wold have to answer a few questions. All I could think of was “yeah, right”. The questions were not for information luckily but when she told me to send a stamped envelope to claim my prize I decided to not waste anymore of my time. I have been so busy and wished I could have looked on here earlier but hey it was fun as long as they do not call me again.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I just got the same call from “Carmen” at my house with the same number (HH592) I googled the phone number and came up to your site. They must really think people are stupud.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:17 am
i received the “FNAU3112″ call at work as well today. *grumble*
Rich Y.
Austin, TX
January 30th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Just got a call today to come on down in the next few days to Broomfield, CO to pick up 1 of 5 great prizes. I hope I get the Escalade! 90 minutes has to be worth it. I was told that at least 1 of 50 people that show up will definitely get the Caddy. Those odd are pretty sweet, right? She wouldn’t lie would she? 866-845-8587 was on my caller id. I hope I can get a babysitter!
January 31st, 2007 at 10:48 am
I’m in Austin and I just received a call from the 1-800-918-4224 on my cell this morning and had several voicemail messages at my work number over the past few months. I’ve always known that these types of calls were scams, but it is very irritating that they are now calling my cell. Argh!!!!
January 31st, 2007 at 11:22 am
I received the same call today also at a work # that I have never given out. It was from Carmen saying that they have tried calling me several times and it was very important that I call. It was for either an Explorer or $25k. When I called they told me I won a Bahamas cruise and to send a self address stamped envelope to PO box 7154 Dayton Beach Shores, FL 32118. The number Carmen told me to call was 1-800-918-4224 and I have the same claim # HH592. Atlanta, GA
January 31st, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I got a message from carmen yesterday saying i won a ford exploarer. however when i called the number last night no one would answer it would just say all cercuits are busy so i tried again during the day and much to my surprize an old lady answered and wanted some odd information. and then told me to send a self addressed evelope so i can go to Daytona Beach for 5 nights 6 days. i’m gonna send it in anyway just to see what happens!
January 31st, 2007 at 4:28 pm
This is interesting. I also recieved a call today on my work number. I googled it before going further. While I agree it is a scam, what are they achieving by this strange call? Carmen gave me a different claim number VR394. It may have been BR-it was hard to understand her on my voice mail.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:36 am
I received a Call from Carmen today 2/1/07 (voice mail)informing me that they have been trying to reach me about my winning a brand new Ford Explorer, she said to call immediately and provide my claim number HH592. I was called at my work number which only my close co-workers has and have no idea how she got my number. I decided to lookup the number and I got to this website….Thanks for folks like you I do not have to waste my time trying to claim a phantom prize….If it is free…you know the story!!!!
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I just received this same call as well. I thought it odd that I received it at work. Nonetheless, I called and was put on hold after after choosing option #1 (I have a confirmation # of HH592). I realize this is a scam and plan on reporting it right away.
February 3rd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
I got a msg on my voicemail to call this number 1-800-918-4224 regarding a prize i supposely won a Ford Explorer. I figured it was some kind of scam, i called the number and enter opt#1 with my conf# 8859 ans was on hold for like 20 minutes. I hung up and called back and the same thing happened, then later on i tried again and a msg kept saying all circuits are busy. So I decided to google the number and it brought me to this page. Thanks for letting me know i was wasting my time.
February 7th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Okay so I got a phone call about two weeks, and i finally called it back, 18009184224 and I gave them my claim number, they asked me if I was still married (I wasn’t married to begin with), they asked me if my combined income was 75,000 still (I have no idea where that infoe could have come from…if i made 75,000 a year I wouldn’t be living in SC) well i still answered yes to these two questions. They told me to send a self addressed envelope to some welcome center in Daytona FL. Yes i got suspicious of it and googled the address i was to send this letter to and BAM here is the page I got. Well They are now scamming South Carolina.
February 7th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Wow! Alexis tells me that I, too, won $25000 or a Ford Explorer! Aren’t I lucky?
It sounds official, too, since she’s from the Awards Claim Center and has an 800 number (800-918-4224). And she gave me the same claim number that someone else got (FNAU3112). What are the odds???!!!
February 8th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Same thing here. Several of us at my company have gotten the message from “Carmen” to call 800-918-4224 with the confirmation # HH592 in the past few days. I knew I hadn’t registered my work # with anyone and neither had the other folks SO I called the # to have them remove me from their list (OK & to give ‘em some hell too!)
Needless to say “Debbie” couldn’t tell me what company she works for (she says there are many) or how the hell they got my #. When I gave her my # and told her that our company’s corporate security was investigating their calls to us, “Debbie” wouldn’t listen any longer and simply said my # would be removed within 72 hours.
We’ll see! Great! Another # I have to add to the “Do Not Call Registry” and pray it works!
February 8th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
just got the same message here in san antonio. got to google pretty quickly…after being on hold for 5 mins. glad i hung up. no answer on their phones… i guess i wasn’t quick enough for that damn explorer.
February 9th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Well, she sure is a busy girl, keeps trying to give away that explorer/$25K. Same thing, 800.918.4224 claim # FNAU3112. I’m in Austin, TX.
February 9th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
just got off the phone with a very rude CS at the 18009184224 number. I found this person to be very confrontational and not at all pleasant… when I asked “what is this all about?” she said you won a prize dont you get it? I was “for what”? and told her I didnt enter any contest. She said it was a demographic survey.. I then asked what are you trying to sell I was told nothing… then I asked,”then why do you wish to ask me these questions”. she got very upset. Then I told her that I was on the internet researching and found out that the blog is saying this is a scam! she got really rude and said no its not and we are globaltravels or something. I said what if I dont want to answer your questions she said she would hang up then I said what about my prize and she said I will take you off the prize list and hung up on me… Please dont fall for this… what has this world come to…? these days are all about how the “MAN” can seperate you from your money… I tell ya Im sick of it!
February 9th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
And here I thought I was so special to have been chosen.
Not sure how I’ll be able to live without that new Ford Exploder. Brings a tear to my eye.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Hi I am from the Austin area and I to just received the phone call saying I had won a 6/5 day cruise. Of course I knew that this was BS and I will tell you why. I lived in the Daytona Beach area in 2003 and I was looking for a part time job to help with expenses and I applied for an accounting job with The Welcome Center. I got to the interview and the job posted had been filled but they had some openings in the “Call Center” would I like to talk to the supervisor. I said why not I had 30 minutes to kill before I met my girlfriend. The lady comes down a she was typical white trash and she started to explain to me how to make money on the calls. She said that you don’t really lie to the customers calling but you don’t disclose any information about fees or the several hours a day they have you in high pressure time share sales meeting. I was told that there was anywhere from 200 to 300 dollars in fee’s once they got to Florida that you were supposed to call “nominal fee’s”
I spotted the scam immediately and told the girl that this is deception marketing and I would have nothing to do with it and left. So tonight Joanne calls me a starts telling me what I won and I tell here exactly where the office is located and that I had answered a job posting for a job there and I knew what she was up to. She started stuttering and I got her away from her script and she denied everything. PEOPLE I had first hand experience that this is a scam so don’t fall for it.
February 12th, 2007 at 9:48 am
I got the call from Carmen on my work phone over the weekend. I tried to call back and it would not connect either by landline or by cell phone.
Thanks for posting this scam on your site.
February 12th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
I just got a call from 866-845-8587 stating the same promise…If I really won a prize, why would a automatic service be calling me? They stated that I have one 1 of 5 major prizes. I did call and was forwarded to a voicemail box. I left a message to have them call me back. It will be fun when I get a call back.. They are going to wish they never called me
February 12th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
My roommate and I just got the same phone call today from 800.918.4224. We knew it was probably a scam but we called back anyway. The man seemed actually really genial to my roommate but we were still unsure so we googled the number and found this site. I think I’m going to send the self addressed envelope in just to see what I get back. It could be funny to see their whole scheme laid out.
Oh, by the way, thanks for the great site.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
That number, 800-918-4224, has been harassing me with repeated unwanted calls and hang ups. I talked to Carman last week and told her to remove our number from their database. She said she’d do so. Today, I get another call from this number and talked to a CSR who was extremely rude with some verbal barrage I didn’t want or desire. He hung up on me too. I called back and asked to speak with a supervisor. I told him any future calls would be documented and considered harassment at this point. He assured me that my number would be removed. I told him he needed to know just how rude one of his CSR was. To my surprise, I received another call from that number later today and they hung up on me again after I answered. If you are being harassed by this company/ #, you need to be aware of a couple of things. First, call 1-888-382-1222 and verify that your # is on the National Do Not Call list. Follow the long menu options until you have either confirmed or denied your # is there. If it is not on this list, register it and you must wait 30 days before things go in effect. If your # is on the list and you want to do something about this, you can file an official complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at the National Do Not Call List site. The URL is http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-tmark.htm I would like to advise everyone who gets harassment from that # to do so. We need to stop this scum and unwanted harassment! The FTC will look into this if enough of us make official complaints. Hope this information is beneficial to some of you.
February 14th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
301 erica 2-12-07
It would have been nice if you had stated 1-800-918-4224’s mailing address on the return envelope.It would be nice to
be able to report them to their states attny general. I got a call from there myself. After googling the # I won’t reply
and I’ll screen my calls better in the future.
February 14th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
i just got a call from 800-918-4224 too. i didn’t answer it, but i googled it and got this site. i’ll just make sure not to answer that number.
February 15th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I won I won. I won jack crap… They must be randomly picking numbers. i have a private direct line in a 400 employee office… number is only given to family. yet they have been trying to reach me to give me a new explorer… Ford sucks anyway
February 16th, 2007 at 11:51 am
I live in Albuquerque, NM and they contacted me through my cell phone. What a bunch of……thank you for this site!
February 19th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Just an update for all of you. I got my call today at 4:45PM. FROM MY WORK!!! So they are still at it. It has to be a recording because it started with “garding” and I’m assuming that it was, “hello, my name is (????) and this phone call is regarding…” It was a females voice and this is what they said.
“…[re]garding our promotion to recieve a brand new ford explorer. I have some really good news for you. I need you to give me a call as soon as possible. My tollfree number is 1-800-918-4224. And your claim number is HH592 . It is important to give us a call as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Stupid me, I called the number, but thank God I was put on hold. Maybe they go home after 5:00PM. This HAS to be a computer recording if part of the message came out partially as it did. I figured I would put there script up so if you get the message you have an idea that you are part of a telemarketing scheme. GREAT BLOG! Blogger’s only dream of these sort blogs that people just keep adding and adding replys. You sould start a series of blogs and just post them and then you can use your blog as a reference for the USAG. Don’t get wrid of this blog. It’s helping people out. hopefully someone will read it and take serious action agents these scumbags.
Until then…
Mongo
February 20th, 2007 at 8:12 am
I got the same call too. I called back and after enduring multiple sales pitches, I actually got the Ford Explorer. It is not brand new, but two years old and pretty nice. Probably a drug repo or something, but hey, it was free. And if you believe this, call 1-800-918-4224 to claim your prize too.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Hi, also I got in my voice mail, today at 11:00, a phone call from ” Award Claim Center” that I had won a Ford Explorer and my claim number is BR394. I assume that was some scam or very soon I will see many people driving in a ford explorer ….
February 20th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Hello everyone!
I received the same caller with toll free number 1-800-918-4224 from Carmen “Award Claim Center” that I had won a Ford Explore with claim number that I didn’t even bother to write it down. I didn’t pick up the phone and just check the voice mail she left.
Then I google her number, and it took me to this website. I found it amusing. Why let them stress you out?
After all, I don’t like Ford Explorer. I drive Honda Ridgeline and love it
February 20th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I live in Missouri and received a voice message on my business phone on February 14 at 8:09 am from Carmen at the “Award Claim Center”. This is the third time in two years I have received the same call, I guess I should consider myself lucky. I hope that Missouri adds businesses to the state No Call List as the Attorney General has had a very good track record of going after and gathering fines from such yahoos!
February 21st, 2007 at 7:36 pm
help! i got a call from them but I didn’t know it was pretend. What do I do or how do I help stop them? And how do you know it was fake anyway? Please email me if you have any helpful hints. Thanks.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:04 am
Just got a call on my unpublished work number from, guess who? Carmen, yes, and they have been trying to locate me for weeks. Contact them immediately to claim my Explorer, Prize Number HH592. I called them back and went immediately on hold. I then googled the number and found this site. Funny!
I am sooooo disappointed in not receiving my free vehicle. Because cars and trucks are always being given out to the public for free with no regestration required for the contest or any strings attached. Yeah and the Sun will rise in the west, pigs will fly, and George Bush will grow a brain stem.
February 22nd, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I got the same shpeal as the 165 post by robert w about a free SUV. The same 877-351-8026 number was given as a callback. She left a VM and said the wrong name then corrected herself. Same “Awards Claim” company or other.
Blah…
February 26th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Charlotte, NC here…Same thing here. Call from Carmen, Ford Explorer, call 800-918-4224, and claim number HH592…Call was to my business line that I’ve had for about a month. No way I’m calling them back.
February 26th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I too just received the call. They left the message, so I found this site, and then called them back to have my number removed. The first guy John acted as if he could not understand what I had asked him. So I slowly repeated my self as loud as possible. Then he hung up on me. So I called back again and told the next cs member what had happened, and that I would not take her crud either. She took my number and said it would be at least 72 hrs. I will probably still get the calls. But it did feel good to tell someone off about it.
February 27th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Got the call for the explorer in Atlanta from Carmen @ Awards Claim Center. # was 800-918-4224 reward code HH592. TM losers…
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I live in Salt Lake City and I just got this message from the “Awards Claim Center” saying that I had won $25000 or a Ford Explorer. The number they asked me to call back was 1-800-918-4224.
I am glad I found this web site before I actually called them. I am not going to call them now.
Thanks
Everyone for posting these things.
It helps a lot of people like myself.
March 4th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I am in NC and just got a message on my answer service that my “entry” to win an Escalade was just pulled today.
(I did not enter anything of course.) told me to call back asap because they had “good news” for me and something about four other possible prizes that I could have won.
This on a SUNDAY afternoon for cryin out loud! This is the number they gave me… and like the rest of you when I “googled” it,,,, it referred me to this web site. The number they gave out was…. 866-845-8587. Needless to say I am NOT calling!
March 5th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I won! Glad I Googled this today. I received the message on my home machine from the Awards Claim Center on Friday, March 2nd. The message was left by a live person and I do tend to enter the contests on my local tv stations website. I was skepticle and called back leaving a message. Stacey Dey returned my call on Sunday, March 4th. I got the same line everyone else did. I even told her I was wary about a call such as hers. The one thing I was NOT told about was the presentation. I was told it would take 90 minutes and that we would be escorted to a room with a tumbler. The tumbler would be spun and you were then to pull out a scratch ticket to reveal your prize. The rest of the time would be for taking “promotional photos” of the “winners”. I will tell you she was good, normally I would never have responded. The only slip up I could see is that they had me down for Thursday at 8pm (and that’s just too late)so she said she could schedule me for 6pm. Why are the 2 sessions for prize finalists???? This was in CT. The phone numbers I was given were 800-779-9962 ext. 8072 and 800-476-7183. I get nothing on these numbers when I try to Google or White page them. Stacey mentioned Regency Travel Company and the reason for this was to promote their “new” office.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Texas here. Just got the 1.800.918.4224 call on my cell phone. Must be a recording as my message missed the “Carmen” part. Alas, they’ve been trying to reach me forever and this is my final chance. Oh darn. I am a little prissed that my cell phone is now getting these freaking calls though.
Really, who are the idiots who buy from/give info to these telemarketers? If no one bought or answered, they’d go away. God bless the Do Not Call registery for land lines.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Me too! Utah here…looks like Carmen got tired and Carrie is taking over. Called me at my work number at 8:ish at night leaving a message that they’ve been trying to reach me for quite some time and gave me a claim number for my “prize”. This is the last and final offer, so I’d better hurry!
March 8th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Salt Lake City, had a voice mail from 8pm on Tue Mar 6 on my work phone. Carrie was the messenger, same number 1-800-918-4224, I googled it while on hold and hung up. I knew it was a fake, but this is too funny! These guys are pretty lame. Great Blog, thanks a lot.
March 8th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
They got me on my University number…same story, “Carrie…last chance…call now…ford explorer…claim FNUT3112″. I called back and sat on hold for about two minutes and decided it was time to google. Great blog. I don’t understand what they are even trying to do.
March 8th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Another hit in SLC, Utah. Just got the 1.800.918.4224 call on my work phone (that nobody knows–wish I knew how they got it). Carrie is so very…scripted! Funny they have been trying so hard to reach me, yet this was the first time they have called. Hmmmm. BTW, my claim # is S(or F)NUT3112. My Explorer is all yours for the taking, unless of course you’d prefer the $25K. I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell them if you talk to them… Thanks for the tip everyone!
March 8th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
This is unbelievable! (Well sadly, it actually is rather believable but ridiculous nonetheless.) I just got a voice mail on my work # that said the same thing essentially - “Carrie” says I’ve won a Ford Explorer and to call back at 1-800-918-4224. I’m in Salt Lake City, UT.
“Every dog has their day” - it may take a while, but fraudsters and scam artists will get what’s coming to them.
March 8th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Bridget called me from 1-800-918-4224 from the Awards Claim Center, I knew it was bologne but decided to google it anyways. Glad everyone is posting this info!! BTW I live in San Antonio, TX.
March 8th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
just got a call from some lady, +1 (800) 918-4224 asking me to call them and this is my final notice, i’m not even from the states, i’m in Toronto, Canada, this is crazy, thank god i have access to the internet, i was just about to call those people, i hate criminals ! will somebody please do something about these con artists ?
March 9th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I got THE call from 1-800-918-4224 and my conf # is SNUT3112… They left a message on my CELL PHONE, to which I don’t give anyone. They didn’t say who they were or if I had won anything at all. She started out the message by repeating the phone number, telling me that this was the last call and that it was very urgent. I am ASSUMING this thing is REALLY based in Salt Lake City, UT, not Florida. Just a feeling. . . I’m really greatful for this blog!! THANK YOU!! Don’t fall for this!!
March 11th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I googled it too. Somehow they got my fax number…What is this world coming to?
March 12th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I too just received a call from Carmen at the Awards Claim Center claiming I’d won a 20 ft bayliner. I googled it and came up with this. They called my work number. Disturbing.
March 12th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Same call, I won a ford explorer or $25,000 cash. They called my Vonage line from 18009184224. I’m in Salt Lake City. Thanks for the thread and the warning!
March 12th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Yeah, Annabelle just called me on my non-published VoIP line, but I won a new Ford Explorer or $25,000 cash. I’m worried because they’ve been trying to get in touch with me for a while and it is my last AND FINAL (thought that meant the same thing) notice. Oh boy!!! Haha, Tampa, Fl number is anyone is keeping track of where they’re calling.
March 13th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Just had the same call on my cell, Austin, Texas. Good thing I didn’t pick up, because I do pay for minutes !
March 14th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Just with all the email’s i get about 800 number scams when i got this message at 7:08pm
on 3/13 on my business phone i new it was junk. Just for giggles i had to find out more and sure enough i found this page. It looks like everyone in here has the same claim number that i have. #FNUT3112. So Thanks a ton y’all I won’t be calling the Awards Claim Center at 800 918 4224 and asking for carrie. However i do rather enjoy making the life of a telemarketer Hell….
March 15th, 2007 at 12:11 am
…and on the 8th day God created caller ID, and it was good.
I got a call in Denver from 1-866-845-8587 with a message stating that I’m a finalist in the alleged contest that I entered. All I have to do is attend the 90 minute presentation from their sponsor and I would receive a scratch off ticket to win a Cadillac Escalade or $25K. Of course, if I failed to win the grand prize I could also be eligible for a Hawaiian Vacation, an unspecified amount of cash, or a flat screen tv!
Thanks for the thread and the info guys.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:05 am
I got the call at work from Carmen…she’s back!! She left the number (800) 918-4224 and my claim # is HH592. Thanks for the info! Glad I googled it.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I got just received a message on my cellphone stating that this is my last and final call, it is very important that I return this call to 800-918-4224 and my claim number is SNUT3112. What a scam, I am glad I always google numbers before I call them and this blog is what I found! I had no idea there would be this many people who received the same call. I wonder how many people actually fall for this scam. I am in San Antonio, TX it looks like they are getting around. Just remember if it sounds to good to be true…then it ALWAYS is!
March 15th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
My call came in this afternoon from a “Ms. Greene” from 1-877-237-9458 informing me my name was drawn and that I was guaranteed to win 1 of the 4 prizes- Cadillac Escalade, $2500, 32 inch flat screen tv, or 2 tickets to (can’t remember where) hotel and airfare included. I’m to show up at the Embassy Suites on either Friday or Saturday at any of the times, she gave me a choice of 6 of them. I asked her “Is this for real?, or is this a scam where you try to sell me something like timeshare?” she said that my name was chosen from an online contest that I entered within the past 18 months. I told her, I didn’t remember entering anything, she says..most people who win don’t remember(with a slight chuckle). I flat out asked her if this was a scam, she says to me, “I’m gonna be honest with you, they are gonna give you a presentation that should last about an hour, but you DO NOT have to buy anything. And it’s not high pressured selling, it’s just a presentation. Just show up with your conf.# CDS234 with 2 forms of ID, and that if I won the Escalade that it would be delivered to my house within 2 days” and clearly reminded me that I would have to pay the tax on it. BTW- I’m in the Washington, DC area
March 18th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Got a message on my machine from Melissa Montgomery from the Award Claim Center telling me that I “won” a Cadillac Escalade in the “Grand Sweepstakes Giveaway”, and to call back as soon as possible to 800-779-9962 ext. 8068. Well, I called back, and Melissa was conveniently not there. Told to call back tomorrow betweek 9-3 Central. Since I have won contest grand prizes worth thousands of dollars in the past, I was interested, until I found this site and all of the other postings. Let me tell you something, when you really do win a legitimate contest prize worth a lot of money, you get an overnight Fed Ex letter telling you, with a claim form that you must sign and send back in a pre-paid envelope. Since you must attend a presentation, and I would not have entered such a contest, I’m going to take a pass on this one.
March 19th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Carmen strikes again!!!
800-918-4224, claim # DB394, Ford Explorer, work phone VM, Friday 8:53 pm…
yada, yada, yada…
Thanks, Mike(and google)!!!
March 19th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Atlanta, here……”Chanel” called to say I won a Ford Explorer or $25K…This is my final notice, claim number FNRS3112. They called my work number! 800-918-4334. Thanks for the info!
March 19th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Wait a minute #337 — Carmen called me (at work, at 8pm) and told *me* my “claim number” was HH592. Just call (800) 918-4224 and that Ford Explorer was mine, she said! Is she two-timing me or you?
March 20th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Three-Timing I’m afraid, another call from Carmen in Atlanta at 8:57pm, with HH592 as the claim number, it’s my Explorer damn it
March 20th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
It looks like Carmen is still busy. Talk about playing fast and loose. Same number 800-918-4224 and claim HH592. Work VM only phone never rang. Was in office during time said came in. Remembered hearing message on computer room VM and just deleted. Decided to google. She sure is getting a reputation. Where was she when I was in school? ha ha ha.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:25 am
I got a VM on my work phone from Carmen saying I had won a Ford Explorer also. I’m in NC. Of course the phone never rung. Figured it was a scam but don’t know how she got my work number.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:48 am
I received a call yesterday from Lauren Gibson from 1-877-237-9458x 245, informing me my name was drawn and that I was the winner of a 2007 SUV. I didn’t pickup the message until late last night and when I just called her, I got a different story. She said that my name was chosen from an online survey that I entered within the past 18 months, of which I don’t remember entering. She then proceeded to tell me that I was guaranteed to win 1 of the 4 prizes; a Cadillac Escalade, 2 tickets to various locations, a 32 inch flat screen tv, and one other item. I was told to show up to Washington Street in Gurnee, Il either this weekend or next week sometime. I told her I won’t be available and she then said she was just verifying some information to see if I qualify: age 25-70; income >45K; then wanted to know marital status. Apparently the spouse needs to come also if married. She said that they are setting up the schedule and will call me back with the availble times/dates. I will keep you updated.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
I’m in Columbia, SC and got the call from Carmen today on my office voice mail. Didn’t bother calling back, just googled. I’ll have to check around and see if she got any of my co-workers.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:26 pm
oh, and my claim number was HH592 also.
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
I also had VM at my work and the claim number was the same. Why these people don’t give up?
March 26th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I too received a VM from 800-779-9962 ext. 8064 - Tami - from the Award Claim Center telling me that I “won” a Cadillac Escalade in the “Grand Sweepstakes Giveaway”, and to call back as soon as possible. I also tried every reverse 800 look-up I could find to no avail… then just Googled the number and found this blog! Thanks Mike for the service!!
March 27th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Thanks for this blog. I just received a call in Atlanta from Carmen, saying that I’d won a Ford Explorer and to call her at 800-918-4224 with claim number HH592. Well, there you have it.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
We also got a call - “You are the winner of the grand Prize - Cadilac Escalade, 1-877-237-9458 x#306 Claim #CDS306″ From a person by the name of Curtis Mathews. We are also to go see a “presentation” here in Broomfield, CO. Tommorrow 3/29/07 pm. We are going even though we know it is a scam. We are trying to find out how they got our private # (this is a number that only our family has). We like to go & harrass the people who harrass us. We will also be taking digital pictures of the people & place running the scam & giving them the third degree. We will let you know what their scam is on friday.
March 29th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I got a call from Carmen on my work number too. My claim was also HH592. She tried to schedule me to go to to Global Service Network in South Carolina to pick up my prize ticket. I live in North Carolina, so when I told her I wasn’t going to go, she said she would enter my claim number to see what I won -a trip, surprise, surprise. She said all I had to do was send my SASE to a PO Box in Daytona Beach Shores and she would mail me back my trip information. I can’t beleive they are calling businesses now!!
March 30th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I got a message on my answering machine from a Stacy Day at 708-758-2243 that said I won a Cadillac Escalade my claim # ITC777 I should call 800-476-2243 I called a few times and didn’t leave my number.
Then she called me back.I asked if this was a telemarketer,she said they got my number from a contest on line I told her I didn’t enter any contest and I was on the no call list nationally and in Wisconsin
and that it was illegal for a telemarketer to call she said she would remove my number now.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I just received a call from “Rebecca Harris” - the phone number on my caller ID was a 708 number. She told me I had won one of five ‘grand prizes’, which included a 2007 Cadillac Escalade, $2500 cash, two trips (one to Hawaii, I don’t remember where the other one was to), or a 32″ tv. I was very skeptical. She told me I’d entered some online contest, or a contest in a mall, etc. Which is unfortunately very likely with me. She said the contest had been going on for a year, and that it had only just ended. Also asked my marital status, confirmed I was over 25 and under 72, and asked if I made over $40K a year.
When I asked her what the company was, she said the name of the company is Event Planners, and that they are a new travel agency in Washington DC. She gave me the address of 1900 Connecticut Ave. NW, which is a Courtyard Marriott. She wanted me to go in person tomorrow, with two forms of ID, at 2pm to attend a 90 minute presentation regarding travel and then I would be able to ‘pick a prize’. Oh and if I brought anyone with me, they couldn’t attend the presentation, which makes it sound even fishier. When I told her I had to work tomorrow she seemed upset that I couldn’t run to this scam. She wants to reschedule me for ‘a Wednesday’ and gave me this phone number to call her back on: 1-800-577-7137 x8074. I Googled that number and that’s how I found this place. She also told me my claim # was ITC777 (so, Ken, I guess we’re going on that trip together…).
I definitely thought it sounded extremely fishy, thanks for having this site up - I doubt I would have called back, but seeing others with the same ‘claim number’ makes me certain it’s a scam. God knows what I’d find if I actually showed up!
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:50 am
guess what folks…carmen called me today in charlotte nc….straight to voicemail, and the good old explorer again…lol
April 4th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Today, my friend calls me and says this lady called her about winning a contest (Ford Explorer, Bahamas Vacation, 32″ TV) and told her she just had to show up with her husband to hear a 60-90 minute presentation, with no obligation to buy anything. My friend informed this “Janet Smith” person (877-351-8026 ext. 105) that her husband passed away 6 months ago. Well, this very *helpful* scam artist tells my friend, “If you know a couple you can trust, ask them to go in your place, and they can give you the prize. You’re guaranteed to win at least the TV!” My poor friend is all excited and asked my husband and me to go to the presentation in her place…hoping to win the Explorer so she can fit her 8, count them 8, kids to go to Colorado to visit her folks. She’s on a VERY limited budget, and this is going to break her heart when I tell her the news…Good thing I’m such a skeptic, though. I would have been VERY UPSET to have shown up to suffer through some timeshare presentation!
April 9th, 2007 at 11:13 am
I came in to work today (4/9/07 in Austin) and saw I had a voice mail message. A woman with the Awards Claim Center said that I had won either a Ford Explorer or $25K, that they had been trying to reach me, and that this is my “final notice.” I work in a law firm and I never enter any contest in any form (online or otherwise) with my direct work number. I don’t know how they got my number. My “clam number” is SNAU3112. The caller ID indicates that she called from Richmond VA (434-878-9976, unlisted) last Saturday (4/7/07) at 7:34PM. I searched her callback number 1-800-918-4224 and found this site. Thank you. You are doing a great public service!
April 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Great website. I received a voicemail from “Bill Johnson” at some Award Center claiming I had won a Ford Explorer. He said to call him back at 1-877-237-9458 ext.248. Hope this info will be of help to someone else who gets the call.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:53 am
i like to talk to telemarketers if i got the time.I like to ask them and target the person there by ansvering his /her questions with inproper incorect informations but in mean time i addressing there job/position with guestions like.You could not find beter job like this?Do you get retirement plan.I hope thay pay you for this more than 40k year……you got the idea .I’m not really used any of this questions but when i talk to the person there i try to get connected with him/her and with out any hate i preaty much waste there business time,i try to make it fun for the person but also let them realise that the job they have sucs and beter to least think about getting beter position in there live.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
They got me too! Meilssa from the claims center called and let me know that I had won a Ford Explorer or a cruise. This is crazy, I am an employee of the state of georgia. How are they getting these numbers? I got permition to call back from my supervisor just to find out more, so I pretended to be nice, they wanted me to send a self addressed stamped envelope to P.O Box 7154 Daytona Beach Shores, Fl 32116. I then let them know that I was a state employee and that I would be reporting this call. I got an expletive and a hang up!
April 19th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Just got a call on my cell phone about the Escalade from Daniel Peterson 877-237-8458 ext. 226. I too work at a law firm, and am on the no call list in Wisconsin. I’m not a skeptic but the minute I heard the voicemail I knew it was a scam. My caller said he was from Awards Claims Center and the ticket had been drawn last night and it was imperative I call back.
Not.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I am sooooo happy that google works so well. Too bad, an Escalade would have been nice. Caller ID picked up the 866-845-8587 number I tried the number but was not able to make a connection. Thank-You!!! We are also on the do not call list. Lisa from CT
April 20th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Got call from Carmen stating “we’ve tried to contact you several times. “It’s important that you call the claim center at 800-918-4224 to claim new Ford Explorer. Reference claim number HH592.” I actually called the number back to see what they were scamming because I had already Googled the phone number and saw it was a scam from this site (THANKS). I talked to an operator who first asked if I was single or married, if I used a credit card or check book when I go on Vacation, and the number on which I was contacted). She then told me that I had been selected to win a cruie for two to the Bahamas. ALL I had to do was sent a self addressed return envelope to “The Welcome Center” P.O. Box 7154 Daytona Beach Shores, 32116″ for my cruise tickets. YEAH RIGHT - SO THEY CAN GET MY HOME ADDRESS!!!!
I read numerous comments and its quite surprising that this scam has been going on for so long and has reached people from all over the country. I read a comment from “An employee” who states that they are ligit and they are regular people trying to make a living like everyone else. Lets get their number and call their homes and cell phones time after time, during dinner, at midnight, during their child’s baseball game, at work. Hell, Let’s even call on Sunday during a little afternoon delight. IT’S NOT NORMAL - SO B**TCH STOP CALLING ME!!!!!
April 24th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I get the same calls about the Ford about once a week lately. Just for fun I googled the 800-918-4224 and read here that they want you to send them mail to their PO Box. All the junk mail that I get with paid reply postcards I will send in with their address on it.Fight junk calls with junk mail! The address is PO BOX 7154, Daytona Beach Shores, Florida 32116 The junk mailers will spend their postage money to send junk to jam the telescam’s PO Box and to possibly call them as well. (I’ll write my work number as 800-918-4224) Anytime you can get one enemy to hurt another enemy, you win.
April 25th, 2007 at 7:31 am
My call in Mesa AZ came from Mark Anderson and it was my 15 year old son that won! 2 calls in one week.
April 26th, 2007 at 10:55 am
They are still at it……Jandar Travel on Fruitville Rd in Sarasota. No listing in the phone book, but the reverse search lists Sterling, David F
2801 Fruitville Rd
Sarasota, FL 34237-5343
(941) 366-6402
If I win, I get the Escalade in five days, presumably after my check to them for the tax liability clears
April 29th, 2007 at 11:34 am
so anyway. this is a pretty widespread group of scammers. one wonders what/who the group is. after all this time, i suprised there isn’t more info about these folks, who called me from 708 441 8064. won a caddi .. ok.. sure.
someone said jandar travel.. well that’s a pakistani travel agency, so perhaps these folks are an al-quaeda front group.. gonna have to look into that one…
heads up abdullah.. predator inbound you location jandar..
April 29th, 2007 at 11:53 am
We just got our 2nd call from the “Prize Claim Department” this week for our son
They say he won a Cadilac Escalade
First call was from caller ID # 708-441-8068
Second call was from caller ID # 708-441-8077
Call back was to: 800-779-9962 x8077 Devin Birch
May 8th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
all these people being called is that not funny? its got to be homeland security they ask me about my wife of course i said i was unmarried they ask if i had a girl friend ? they were phising for info and then they say you get a post card its all bull someone wants to know about eveyone the number was 1-866-845-8587 for a cadilac escalade
May 9th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I just got a call from Rhonda in Deland to stay at the Spinnaker Resort next weekend. THANK YOU for posting this site! I did a search for “Quincy Marketing” and this came up. Rhonda says “They haven’t given away the Explorer yet so you could win it - it’s VERY possible.? BULLSCHIIIIIIAAAT! I live in Florida so it wouldn’t be TOO much of a waste of money, however, I don’t feel like having to take a cruise on a specific date and my house is nicer than most hotels anyway so I’m not even going to bother! What a friggen scam. THANK YOU David B for your post on December 13th. You have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble from this, I’m sure!
May 9th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I got a call today from 1(800) 918-4224 saying that I won a cruiz to Daytona Beach Florida. What’s funny is that I called them back and made up a bogus claim number and I still won a trip to Florida and I ask her how that was possible. She never answered?
Ricky, San Diego, CA
May 10th, 2007 at 9:17 am
I was called at home, on my cell and emailed. I was tempted to go, but it HAS to be a scam. Too many hoops to be genuine. All similar details to those posted here.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
SC here. I just got off the phone with Janet Smith 877-351-8026. Decided to do some checking because let me be honest- I never win anything!
Anyhow, like many of you, I was told that I was a finalist to win a 2007 Ford Explorer. She was certainly digging for information. She stated that someone had submitted my name, along with inaccurate annual income information. Of course, I did not deny that. Didn’t think it was her business. Anyhow, told her that I was going through a divorce and she asked me if I was dating anybody! Come on now. Gotta draw the line somewhere. She stated that I had to be part of a “couple”. Thought that was odd. Great site, thanks for letting me vent!!
May 14th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Awards and Claims center is hitting Maryland, got a call Friday from 866-999-3703. Same MO as the rest, someone has entered your name…claim one of 5 prizes….etc.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Just got off the phone with “Paul” for like the third time, from the Prize Claim Center. Was first supposed to go to a “presentation” in Fort Myers, missed that one then was going to go to Sarasota to “claim my prizes” A 2007 Escalade, 10 night trip to Hawaii, 7 night Florida/Bahama vacation, $25,00, or a 32″ Flat Screen TV. Any of which I was “GUARANTEED ONE OF THESE 5 MAJOR GIFTS”. The first company was Travel Partners USA, LLC, 6150 Diamond Center Ct.,FT. Myers, FL, 33912 I am goingt o further investigate them.
The second was for andar Vacations on Fruitville road 866-257-9544 (which I have discovered doesn’t seem to exist). When I disputed the age requirements left on my voicemail and those that were sent to me under their terms and conditions I was told that my “representative” would call me, Paul did, and told me that THIS contest was for a certain age group and the I was emailed the wrong terms and condidtions. Paul has never seemed to know too much of what is going on with the contest, often stumbling around at a loss for words, putting me on hold, and when I asked him where he was, he said Indianapolis, then I asked him for their company name and address, he seemed nervous and said Prize claim center, that doesn’t sound like a company name to me, so I again asked for the address, he said “why don’t you just email us” I said I want to get to the bottom of this scam and that he was handling this very unprofessionally. Here is the address he gave me 3535 Ridge Road, Gary, IN 46408
May 18th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
#340 is almost the exact thing I got. Received call from (caller ID) 708-441-8063 and was told I have won a Cadillac Escalade in the Grand Sweepstakes Giveaway. I was told to call 800-779-9962 extension 8063 and ask for JoAnne. I am suspicious by nature–I see too many phishing schemes at work–so I Googled their 800 number. This blog was great. Thanks a bunch.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I received a call from a Danielle B. from 800-779-9962 with extention 8071 and was told I was entered and won something. I tried to find out more of where the company was located and when I asked for that information I got a quick “I’m calling from Chicago” and then they hung up. This is making me very leary of this. So if anyone has any good information could you please let me know. thanks.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:58 am
NJ here. Received a v/m on my direct line at work from “Carmen” with Awards Claim Center. She wanted to return the call. They apparantly had been trying to reach me for a while. (funny no one else has had the same problem and I get about 50 calls a day). She wanted me to call (800) 918-4224 and refer to claim number FMJ3112. Of course I knew it was a scam, but just googled the number to see if there was anything out there about it. This site rocks! Wanted to include my info so that the next person who googles the number can find out before they give them their personal information.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:59 am
I received a call from a young lady (she left a voice mail on my cell) indicating I entered a drawing within the last 12-15 months and won a……I had deleted the message prior to listening to the whole message. However, I was at the auto show last year and entered many drawings to win a 2007 vehicle in which the winner would be notified some time in 2007. Therefore, the incoming number was 773-493-1069. I called the number very late at night because I thought it may be a scam (but who knows, I could have won the new car…yeah, right). The number is out of Chicago, IL and the recording asked for my claim number (which I don’t know because I erased the message). Well, thank you to “Mike’s Blog”, you have saved me a lot of time and energy as a new car is always nice, howeer, I am not up for dealing with telemarketers and scams. In addition, this is interesting, that I indeed registered at a “new car” show last year. New Car shows are help all over the US in major cities and I am beginning to believe anyone who fills out the little piece of paper to enter a drawing will eventualy have their name and telephone number sold. Only a few people have my cell number and I have had the same number for 11 years. This was the first time I listed the number in a drawing. Again, thank you, Mike and everyone for the insight on this scam.
June 6th, 2007 at 9:06 am
NJ also. Got the call from “Carmen” at work last night. Caller ID revealed 434-878-9976. Request was to call 800-918-4224. Now I DO enter a lot of competitions, but there was no way this was real. You have to appreciate that anyone calling you to say that you have won something is required by their employer to sound excited about giving you the news. Carmen sounded a little less energetic to say the least.
Keep this blog going. It seems Carmen is very persistant!!
June 7th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
just got a call today at work from Samantha. Same number, 1-800-918-4224. I guess I don’t win the Ford Explorer. Dang.
June 12th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
I could tell you stories, but what would that do to better the situation..
June 13th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Glad I found this blog. I received a message from 434-878-9976 today to call 1-800-918-4224 with claim #HH592. Perhaps they got my number from a drawing I entered every time I went to a grocery store that recently opened in south Atlanta, GA. Now that I know this is a scam I will leave it alone.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Ken & Kris: Make it a 3-some. I am from Sarasota-Florida, and guess what, my claim number is also ITC777. Also told about the Caddy, the Hawaiin Trip, yada yada yada. I made an appointment for this Monday at 11 AM. Told me since I am married that I MUST BRING my wife as the Caddy is considered marital assets if we win that prize, also told that if we get the TV someone will load it right there, if we win the cash we will get the check right there (if I win the cruise will the ship dock to the building?), and the taxes for the Caddy will come to $1900, and if we win the Caddy he also gets a free vacation. The company name is Jandar Vacations @2801 Fruitville Road in Sarasota. I am going and I am also going with the intent to tell them right off that I have no intention of vacationing anywhere as I live in the vacation capital of the world! So, save time and give me my damn prize. And will see what I get. Probably a replica of a $50,000 car that I have to assemble and paint myself. As in a model car kit!
June 18th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Received a message on June 15, 2007 same B.S. I needed to call 1-800-918-4224 claim # AZ530 the wiener of a ford explorer or $25,000 I guess they are in Arizona GREAT THANKS Mike for the site.
June 19th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Got a good chuckle from entries here. Regarding Jandar Corp (Star Vacations in Sarasota, FL at Fruitville & Tuttle): showed up to get our airline tickets–turns out, $35 per ticket activation fee required online; figured airline savings would be worth it, so I’m awaiting receipt in the mail. Paid through Paypal, not sure which attempt worked but saw it on my debit card statement. This IS NOT a timeshare offer; it seems to be legitimate savings on travel, especially outside the US or at a resort and all-inclusives available. Office folks friendly and personable. Yes, no children permitted at the presentation; they usually present to up to 6 couples per session (space limited). We had our 6-month-old with us, but since 4 other couples cancelled/rescheduled we got to sit down for an informal overview and were encouraged to come again for a full presentation (plus another gift promised). The company works with travel agents to offer an inventory of options which the agents then mark up for profit but still at a savings to the traveler. The company has been offering these packages direct to consumers for even greater savings to the traveler member. Yes, the cost of membership is $2000-5000 depending on options and then an annual fee (less than $200) IF you travel that year–you can wait until you’re gonna travel to pay it unless you already know you’ll be using the service. Airline, resorts, cruises, car rental, etc. are available without “timeshare” limitations. Go to Costa Rica, France, you ask it and they’ll check for it. The company invests the fees into more resorts so it sound pretty solid. Yes, you need to be married (or committed - proof of shared domicile, etc; in our case, the baby was proof enough). Preferred income of $50k/yr combined minimum (means you have disposable income not to balk at the joining fee); if retired, it may be $40k. The Sarasota office is like a distributorship instead of a franchisee. Another company calls on their behalf (those telemarketers we love); they get paid $300 for show-ups (sign-ups?) so they are not always eager to “disqualify” potential clients and thus these telemarketers are not always forthright. FYI, the gas vouchers offer is redemption by mail (gas receipts) in $5 pops–postage eats some of that now; but hey, saving money, getting money still helps cash flow. Well, if I get more tidbits, I’ll share.
June 21st, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Isn’t this great… I just got a call from the Awards Claim Center(1-800-918-4224 the winners code is WB764) with a Richmond VA number (434-878-9976), about me winning a brand new Ford Explorer… This is awesome. Until I got a little bug up my “you know what” and had to investigate. Thank to this web site I found out what I was already expecting… It’s just a B.S. Scam!!!! I guess there in Virginia Beach too… Nobody is safe…
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I got a phone call from someone at 1-800-918-4224 telling me to call back that it was urgent and give my claim number. I’ve had someone try to steal my personal information in the past and I hate these calls. Is there anyone we can report these people to?
June 29th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Got a call on my work number from “Carmen” with a Virginia number (434) 878-9976 saying I had won a brand new Ford Explorer or $25,000.00 cash.
I should call 800-918-4224 with a claim number. I called and it was engaged all the time. Even the Virginia number was engaged. This is a SCAM.
July 10th, 2007 at 9:01 am
got a call from same number 434-878-9976 from Carmen” it spoke to fast so I didn’t hear the number to call back so I looked on caller ID to see the number and pulled it up online and got all this other information and found a tll free number. So I called them back and said what is the name of your company the lady said the claim center I said ok whatever. Then I said do you have a web site claim center she said NO. This is Truly a Scam!!! I’m Upset I really needed that car!!!! definitly the CASH!!!
July 10th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Just like the previous poster, I also got a call on my work number from “Carmen” saying I had won a brand new Ford Explorer or $25,000.00 cash and that she “had some very good news for me.” I was to call 800-918-4224 with claim number FNJ3112. I’m about to file a complaint with campus police. Thanks to Mike for this thread.
July 11th, 2007 at 11:54 am
I got a call from “Carmen” too saying I had won the Ford Explorer and I was supposed to call 800-918-4224 to claim the big prize. I guess they’re in atlanta now too.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:23 am
I too got a call from Carmen to clam my Ford pickup truck claim number FMJ3112.
Strange a lot of other folks have the same claim number. One of the first questions was my marital status. As soon as I said that this was an inappropate question they hung up on me.
July 24th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I also got call from Carmen, citing that I’d won a Ford Explorer or my choice of $20K. I jotted the number down (also, 1-800-918-4224) and the claim number (WB764) w/the intent to Google it later. I can’t say that I was surprised when I found this site, in fact, I’m happy this thread exists. I’m glad my voicemail picked up & not me!
July 26th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Thanks for the site ! In Virginia, just got the message at work number that I had won a Ford Explorer or cash. My claim number was the same as Nicole’s (above) WB764.
July 27th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
My wife just got a call from “Lisa Burns” at 1-800-779-9962 ext. 8073. Apparently, we have won either a 32″ flat screen, a Cadillac Escalade, $2500 (man, I thought it was $25,000), or a trip to Vegas. We are in Maryland, and they asked us to come to a Hilton in Washington,DC on Wisconsin Ave. They gave her all of these alternate times (8pm tonight - Friday night) and some times tomorrow. They did not say we needed to bring a credit card, but did mention that we would have to sit through a 90 minute presentation (no purchases necessary). My wife thought it might be legit, and we would have to bring our 2 year old son (no babysitter this late in the day). Our claim # is ITC2200. They gave us a number of 800-476-7183 to call back. I dialed that number, and this was the message I got, ” This is uhmmmm the Awards Claim Center. No one is here right now OR we are on the phone with another client.” Oh, and the information they gave my wife on the call was from a job that I left about 16 months ago.Ridiculous. This blog is gold.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:09 pm
If someone needs the Ford Explorer or $25k I apparently won, call Carmen at 800-918-4224 with claim # snau3112. You’re welcome!
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Yes, you must not have claimed it fast enough because Carmen called me and offered me YOUR FORD EXPLORER or your 25K! I call these people back because its Friday and I’m bored anyway and Carmen won’t take my call but someone else “can help me”. She seemed annoyed that I called but isn’t that exactly what they want? Anyhow, I could barely hear her over the noise of the call center. She asked me if i was married and hung up on me, refusing to asnwer my questions. THESE PEOPLE ARE HIGH CLASS!!
August 8th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I got a call yesterday from a guy with the phone number 708-441-8063 showing up, he said i was one of 50 finalists to win a escalade or 4 other prizes from a entry form i filled out months ago, he asked me a couple questions but never gave me a claim #, said if i won they would call me if not they would send me a letter letting me know i didn’t win, is this a scam or what????
August 15th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
These telemarketers seem to have made it around the US. I am a resident of SC, and received a call on my work number voice mail on Saturday, August 11th. Carmen said that they had really good news for me. I had won a Ford Explorer and needed to call the Awards Claim Center right away, they had been trying to reach me for some time. They provided a claim # HH592 and the call back number was 1-800-918-4224. Caller id said the number originated from 386-538-7515. When I did a reverse look up on whitepages.com for the 800 call back number, it was not found. The caller id number gave me this message:
(386) 538-7515
Type: Cell Phone
Provider: Powertel
Location: Palatka, FL
Due to number portability, some numbers have been transferred to a new service provider.
I’m glad I found this website and did not call them back. This has SCAM written all over it!
August 30th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I just got a message on my cell phone from 708-441-8067. As mentioned in previous posts, someone form the Awards Claim Center was calling to tell me I won a Cadillac from a sweepstakes I entered last year. The call back number was 1800-779-9962. It sounded almost legit until I googled the number. Thanks!
September 7th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
“Carmen” called me too! Guess I shouldn’t feel so special. She called my vontage N.C. State side number, you see I live in England right now and have for the past 2 years so there is no way that I am entered in any US drawings or give-a-ways. Hope I never meet Carman when I go back to the state ’cause she might get punched in the face. How are stupid American telemarketers going to follow me all the way to England, believe me they have plenty over here wanting you to give 5 pounds “to save a donkey”.
September 13th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Carmen poked me today at work
Sept. 13th, 2007 at around 3:40pm PDT. Wasn’t away from my desk when she called. Callback number was: 1-800-914-4224
September 18th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
found a voice message on my work phone Sept 17th from a “Mandy” from Awards Claim Center -
Ford Explorer or 25k cash, has some ‘good news for me’ and to call 1-800-918-4224 as they have been trying to reach me (never got a vm from them b4) and this was their ‘final’ call.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Just got a message from Jason Lee 866-487-3280. Caddy, cash, trip, TV, blah, blah. Well I enter silly contests online - so….I called. The guy was really confused, but I’d called HIM right?!? So, I listened and realized what it was, but decided, since I live in Daytona Beach, I’d goto their office and see. I’m glad that I read the blog.
I’m worried tho - everyone that says they are going to a presentation and will report back hasn’t…have they all conformed into Carmens? LOL…Wish me the strength to say NO WAY!!!
September 21st, 2007 at 2:00 pm
“Carmen” called me on my Nextel Cell twice this week with different “Confirmation” numbers so I must have won (2) Explorers and $50K! Seriously, though, I get so many calls from A-Hole Companies like this I never call back without googling the numbers. Thanks to Mike for keeping a blog like this going so it’s easier (and cheaper) than the reverse look-up services.
September 21st, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I got home this evening and recieved the same message on my phone. Carmen, (boy, this chick gets around) told me about my Ford Explorer and had been trying to reach me for some time as well. Thanks for this site. One less sucker born in this world!
Katherine and Thomas
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Ok, I hate to ‘fess up to this but just like everyone else on the blog, I too received a “hey you’ve just won a car” phone call tonight. The number on caller id was 708-983-1969 but they asked me to call Jason Lee (I guess Carmen was fired) at 1-866-487-3280. So I did and he told me that his company, “Price Point Center” had pulled my winning ticket. Then he asked me if I still had the stub from the drawing and when I told him no he offered to give me the claim number on it ITC5800 and told me someone would be in touch with me in 5-6 weeks. Well, after hanging up I googled “Event Planners” here in Washington, DC and when I couldn’t find the company under that name I called “Jason” back and asked for the location of the company (he gave me 2101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW) and when I asked for a website of the company he told me it was under construction…yeah, right. No such luck. I’ve already e-mailed the Washington, DC better business bureau and plan on calling the attorney general’s office tomorrow about this scum. He knew that I was calling back because I sensed this was a scam. I am also on the do not call list.
Thanks everyone, for confirming my worst fears. At least I didn’t give him any personal information! But I’d like to see these scammers kicked off the streets because I’m willing to be there are a lot of elderly people who are taken advantage of by the Carmen’s and “jason lee’s” of the world.
thanks for the blog mike!
October 8th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
April Lopez called me and I am jumping for joy! A new car I’m giving her my credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Soc Sec #, Birthday, Shoe Size, IQ, Work Number, Inmate number, Credit Score, Date of Death, Mothers DOB and DOD, Fathers shoe size, dogs age………..
Think my car will get here fast?
October 10th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Ah, Mandy! Caller ID said 386-538-7515, she said to call her at 1-800-948-4224.
The “Awards Claim Center” had been trying to get a hold of me and this was their FINAL call.
Dang, and I could have used the new Ford Explorer or $25,000 too…
October 17th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
It is such a pain in the b***s. They left me an automated message informing me about the so called “Awards Claim Center” and a brand new Ford Explorer. Never ever call the number 1-800-918-4224. It is just BS!
Shouldn’t we block these nonsense from propagating??
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
So, we have all received the call from Carmen, or Jason Lee, or Mandy now—but has nobody called back to have fun with these people? I know someone has enough time and technology to track them down to the physical location and then spoof them. I hope to soon read that “we the people” were able to con-the conners.
BTW, I only won the Explorer—no CASH for me.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Darn it, I must not be as lucky as you all!
This afternoon, “Alexis from the Awards Claim Center” called from number 386-538-7515 regarding “our promotion ‘Receive a brand new Ford Explorer or 25,000 cash’”…
…and get this she has “some great news for me!” if I would only call back at 800-918-4224
Unfortunately, she said nothing about me actually winning the “brand new ford explorer or 25K”
I guess someone else got to it first
But I do wonder if they also give away an “old used ford pinto” at all?
October 29th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I live in Ga and had a message left by Carmen from the “Awards claim Center”(#386-538-7515) saying that they had been trying to get in contact win me about the Ford Explorer that I had won.
First of all, seems to me that I would have had to enter the contest in order to win something. Secondly, I knew it was a scam because I don’t drive Fords and would not have entered such a contest. How stupid do these people think that we are. I was given a claim number and asked to call the #1-800-918-4224. Never returned the call.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:18 am
thanks for the warnings. i have been out of work for 10 months and i was all excited until i read these blogs.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
If you people aren’t filing complaints at
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html
then you have no business complaining here.
Unlike donotcall.gov which does not act on complaints, the FCC does.
November 11th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Guardian Communications shut down by F.T.C.
Posted at Quad City Times
Telemarketing companies face federal lawsuit
By Dustin Lemmon
Thursday, November 08, 2007
A federal lawsuit has been filed against two telemarketing companies based in Moline that have allegedly violated laws related to the national do-not-call registry and use of automated dialers.
According to the suit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, the companies have abandoned calls, failed to transmit caller identification information and placed calls on behalf of sellers who had not paid National Do Not Call Registry fees.
The defendants include Guardian Communications, in the 1600 block of 7th Street, United States Voice Broadcasting Inc., in the 1900 block of 7th Street, and Kevin Baker, owner and president of Guardian Communications.
Efforts to reach the defendants for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful. A phone number for Guardian Enterprises, which has the same address as Guardian Communications, was disconnected.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a news release Wednesday saying the suit is one of five nationwide filed this week against companies that have violated various telemarketing laws.
The FTC said a stipulated final order was filed with the suit and the two companies will pay $150,000 to settle the case with a remaining $7.8 million judgment suspended because they’re unable to pay.
According to the suit, since 2004 the companies through a joint venture have sold a voice message delivery service that can be used to deliver pre-recorded messages to consumers and their answering machines through a service described as “voice broadcasting.”
The sellers record a message, and the companies use an automated dialer to place calls to a database of telephone numbers either provided by the companies or the seller, the suit states, adding the companies can place up to 20 million phone calls a day.
The defendants have violated federal laws by “abandoning” or not connecting calls to a live representative within two seconds of the consumer answering the phone, the suit states.
According to the suit, the defendants have programmed their equipment to either play a recorded message to the person answering the phone or cancel the call after determining that the phone was not answered by an answering machine or voice-mail system.
“Guardian blasted phone numbers with pre-recorded telemarketing pitches, immediately terminating calls when a live consumer answered,” the FTC said in its news release.
The companies also violated laws requiring that either the name of the telemarketer or seller be displayed to the consumer’s caller ID service, the suit states, adding the calls would say “Cust Service,” “Services, Inc.,” “Card Services,” “LTR” or “DWC.”
The suit further claims that the companies since October 2003 have called numerous numbers in various area codes without their sellers having paid an annual fee for access to telephone numbers included in the National Do Not Call Registry.
The suit claims the defendants could be fined $11,000 for each violation of the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule. The suit also asks for a court order permanently enjoining the defendants from further violations.
Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at
(563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.
Thanks to everybody who helped shut down this illegal telemarketer. It took over two years, but stopping 20 million calls a day should allow a few people to enjoy a peaceful dinner. Visit http://www.anti206.blogspot.com to see the history of this fight.
November 19th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
They are back!
Got a call from “Bill” today saying he was reading over my entry form for the Lincoln Navigator i won, WHOOPEEEEEEEEY !!!
I would never enter to win any Ford product, i couldn’t afford the repairs or frequent fires they rack up even if it were FREE.
The caller id was 312-488-1853. Bill said i should call him back at 800-960-0083.
I have filed yet another complaint with the donotcall.gov line.
Enjoy your SUV’s everyone.
November 20th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Well i couldn’t resist.
I called the number “Bill” left me on my answering machine, 800-960-0083.
I got a voice mail box for Mia Fox. I left Mia a few messages, one of which i stated that i had just set my old vehicle on fire since her associate Bill had left me a message informing me of the new Navigator i had already won. Strange, i can’t seem to get them to call me back now, oh well, i really was looking forward to speaking with Bill.
Today i thought i would do a few different searches to see if i could find any more info on the numbers they had left to no avail.
I then stumbled upon a web site that gives free listings for 800 numbers and links them to other 800 directorys, well that was just too sweet !
So i gave Mia and Bill some FREE advertising by listing thier 800 line as, Scams R Us.
I even upped Mia and Bill’s titles to Chief Thieves !
Now they will get proper recognition when ever someone searches for Rip Off Artists/ Scams or thier 800-960-0083 number.
I didn’t want the 312-488-1853 line to be lonely so i listed it as thier contact and fax line on thier free ad.
Lets just hope this brings them the recognition they so deserve now, LMAO.
Enjoy!
November 28th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
It is amazing. I got one of these calls about winning one of Lincoln Navigator, $2,500 cash, Las Vegas trip, or 32 inch flat panel TV. But this was entirely different because it was from Sharon at 877-423-3715, and she gave me a different claim number, MCG669. So clearly this one must be for real.
Unlike the decriptions of other CSR’s on this blog, Sharon was really good. Patient, friendly, clear, and professional. Maybe we should have a vote for our favorite CSR.
I live in Maryland, and someone here posted Maryland state statute prohibiting contests requiring sitting through a sales pitch. So Sharon told me to show up at the Holiday Inn in DC.
It’s amazing how I entered this contest 18 months ago for Friday Night’s grand opening of “Event Planners” travel agency. They must be great planners to start a contest that far ahead of their grand opening.
If you get a call from Sharon, tell I said she’s doing a great job. She should be a CSR trainer.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Okay, So yes they are BAck,
Now they call as the Award Center, but they are under the name Quincy Marketing Center, conveniently located at the 2235 South Woodland Address in Deland, Fl the same address as the : CAMBRIDGE MARKETING & FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
2235 S WOODLAND BLVD
201
DELAND FL 32720
Which only makes me believe that I should pick the $25,000 over the Ford Exploder. (The car is probably stolen !)
Sorry I couldn’t resist.
Funny however the I have the number that called me as 434-878-9976. According to wikipedia the 434 area code was created on June 1, 2001 as a split from the 804 area code. It is located in the south central area of the Commonwealth of Virginia. That’s ways away from Deland florida where they claimed to be !
Anyhow.. I am about to throw the book at them.. The phone book that is !
December 4th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
PS. next time tell them you call from hawaii… or ALASKA, They do not know what to do with those calls.. I had this Little Marketing B.i.t.c.h Squirm…. It’s fun…
December 7th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Just got a call from a bill that i won a ford explorer. Asked me to call this number.
1-800-960-0083
Does anyone know what business this number belongs to?
December 8th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
One of my favorite scumbags is a guy named Richard Salvador aka Richard Dunbar of Great Northwest Advertising (www.penslinger.net). Richard spoofs his caller id using spoofcard.com. Richard served 5 years (was sentenced to 9) for his part in one of the nations largest telemarketing scams in U.S. history. He was targeting and ripping off senior citizens. The FBI sting operation was called “operation disconnect”. Richard routinely threatens to kill people. Customers, competitors, empolyees etc. He likes to record himself doing so. Richard recently put his 14 year old daughter in the hospital. His ex wife and daughter are now in hiding. He uses methamphetamines and steroids. Don’t believe me? Check this out:
Great Northwest Advertising customer service policy:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hvnzXviks3A
Richard threatening his competition with a bullet to the head:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=azEFPdMKP7E
January 16th, 2008 at 8:36 am
They called here today and no message as I refuse to have voicemail at home it is pointless to have telemarketer’s leaving info at home.
But after seeing all of these 426 previous blog reponses I am going to pick-up next time and enjoy the linguistic festival that will send the tlemarketer back into the stone age.
Plus, I think it would be great if everyone of us called them and sang or recited lyrics from Frank Zappa songs.
If they are absurd we can become Dadaist anti-telemarketer’s.
If it becomes a tread it is all becuase of Mike’s Blog.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I got a message from 800-918-4224. Quincy Marketing Claim Center saying they have good news and they’ve been trying to reach me and this is their last attempt. They mentioned something about receiving a Ford Explorer or 25,000 cash. I knew it sounded fishy so I got online, punched in the number and this site came up. Good thing too. I’ve been on the do not call list, but I guess that’s up. I’ll have to reup.
January 26th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
READ THIS – I WENT TO THE TELEMARKETING SALES PRESENTATION.
My wife and I just attended the Event Planners sales presentation at the Holiday Inn-Georgetown at 2101 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC, 20007. Like many of you, I had been given a call saying that I have won a contest (don’t recall entering one) and was guaranteed one of the following 4 prizes if we attended the sales presentation:
• A Brand New Lincoln Navigator (substitute for $45,000)
• $2500 in cash to spend anyway you wish
• 8 day/7 night Florida/Bahama Vacation & Cruise for 2
• 32” Toshiba Flat-Screen Stereo TV (Retail Value $599)
After seeing this website, I was cautious. However, I don’t think any of you have actually gone to the presentation. I have been to a couple of other sales presentations and have easily turned down offers, so I figured we would take one for the team and check it out.
As far as I can tell, the whole thing is legit. We filled out a questionnaire (nothing too personal-mostly about our past and future travel plans) and met with a sales guy. They took us into the main room with several tables and ran through our questionnaire, asking questions about what kind of travel we like and where we’d like to go for the future. They asked us to keep an “open mind” about the presentation.
Next, a way-too-excited sales guy gave a 60 minute powerpoint presentation; they were selling Gold Crown Resort memberships. There were probably 7 couples in the room. Some of the couples were fired up from the very beginning, and there were a few sales at the end.
The sales team offered a lifetime Gold Crown Resort membership for the following costs and limitations:
• A one-time membership fee of $8,995
• A one-time “documentation” fee of $199
• Annual dues of $399
After being a member, you can then book a max of 2 full week vacations at any participating resort for a price of $298-$699 per week. The price depends upon the size of the room and the timing of your booking (peak times being more expensive). The price does not include airfare or tips
But wait; there was more! They said that for today only, they would knock down the one-time membership fee to $7,995, and the first couple to sign up got their annual dues waived for life. They would also throw in a weeklong all-inclusive resort vacation in Mexico for the first couple that signed up.
We were just there for the prize, so I quickly said “no” to our sales guy once the one-on-one sales pitch started. For those of you who might consider purchasing the membership, this next part is interesting. After turning the first sales guy down, a second balder and older sales guy (the big daddy, I guess) came to our table and then offered to sell us the membership for $4,995. I felt bad for one of the couples who had already jumped on the offer. Lesson learned: turn them down a couple of times, and they’ll gladly drop the price. I bet you could get them to waive the annual dues for life and throw in the extra free vacation too.
After saying no a few more times, they gave up. Now, here comes the prize. A lady came over with a whole stack of scratch cards and asked us to pick one. My wife chose one, and we won a free vacation (note: I actually believe that this is the only prize you can win. They are a vacation company, so why would they give you a car or a TV? They want you to go on one of their vacations so that you’ll have a good time and consider signing up later).
The prize that we won is that we get to choose one of the following:
• Option 1: 8 days/7 nights Luxury Five Star Condominium- Your choice in one of over 85 worldwide destinations. Also includes a $ 100 gas card.
• Option 2: 3 nights deluxe hotel accommodations PLUS a 4 day /3 night Carnival or Royal Caribbean Cruise for (2) - All meals and entertainment are included aboard ship.
• Option 3: 5 days/4 nights luxury accommodations in fabulous Mexico -Choose from Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, or Acapulco. Also includes $50 for a tour or other activity for 2 adults.
• Option 4: 2 Round trip Airfares Plus 3 days/2 nights deluxe hotel accommodations - Destinations include Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
We then go online to activate the vacation. There is a $35 per person activation fee, and we are responsible for all hotel tips, taxes, fuel, surcharges, etc. (she said it’s normally about $125-$150).
In total, we were out of the presentation in 70 minutes. Not bad for a free vacation! If you get invited to one of these, I recommend going as long as you have a good strong will. And hey, if you decide you like what they’re selling, I’ve given you a good tip for bringing the price down. Hope this helps everyone.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I just received a phone call from the so called “awards claims center” from this number: 773-493-0979. After rejecting their offer, I called back to request my number removed. But they have a menu that makes you put in an extension “by last name”. After trying random last names, I put in the first few laters for last name “Williams” and BINGO! I was finally able to get to a person at an office which DID NOT sound like the call center (you know, with all the voices in the back ground of most call centers). So a man answered and asked me to hold… and I could hear just a couple of voices whispering in the background. Then I could hear a regular phone hanging up! so that’s probably one of their main offices, where at least some of the scammer’s masters minds work (scam, steal)!!
So it sounds like that’s a good option if you want to either annoy the hell out of those scammers, or pull something else on them. In either case, it’s definetely worth the try !!!
Have fun, and keep us posted !
February 28th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
I’m use to always get these calls lately though everytime they call I just let my three year old answer the phone. He can talk FOREVER and everytime they try to say bye he goes off asking them questions. Its so funny he can actually keep them on the phone for about ten minutes talking about his pet hermit crab and how “yes my mommy is home did you know robots are blue”. Its soooo funny after letting him answer a few times they give up and dont call back.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I have info that Quincy marketing (vacation Depot/Cambridge Marketing) closed its doors on Friday. Wasn’t told the exact reason. But theyowe like 6 different telephone companys big dollars along with everone else. So the calls should stop.
April 9th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Guys–
I just got the call too from the 866-845-8587 number. Navigator, 100K, 20K, 500K, or vacations. Spoke with “Mike” at extension 106.
Alan’s post was helpful–thinking about going–maybe I can win the $$. I’m really good (100K-worth, that is) at saying no. Anyone else been to one and won the money? Alan mentioned that he thinks the vaycays are the only prizes.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Just leaving a post to let you know I have not talked to a telemarketer in 5 years. I am an engineer that has come up with something and I am debating whether or not to give away or sell my little toy. I know it works, and might I add if they call once, they never call back…
I will be checking back to see what you think…
p.s. It works on fax machine too…
July 14th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Got a call today from Tony of Awards and Claims (telephone number 773-955-7208) telling me I have won one of four big prizes including a Cadillac. I was told to come into a South Beach area Westgate hotel to receive my prize. I knew this was a hoax. I would like to know were I can report these guys even though they are technically working within the limits of just legal. However, the hoax is that when you go to receive your prize they they a high pressure presentation about some vacation deal.
I am so sick of people trying to trick the consumer.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I confess that I am a part of the travel industry and was just checking out complainta to see whae was the big whoop. After reading the comments it is easy to see why the public is so paranoid when we call them. This string is about what is known in the industry as off-site vacation stores. Some sell travel club member ships , and some ore sales offices for timeshare resorts that have sales offices away from the reosrts in a larger city where the people are rather than at the resort community. No one is going to take time out of their day or evening to attend a sales presentation for a couple of hours just for the fun of it. The clubs and timeshare companies know this so they feel they must compensate their prospective customers in some manner for their time. They cannot sell to empty seats so an industry has arisen combining three separate types of companies that do business with each other I will explain so noone need to speculate on “scams” Only two or three people of the close to 400 actually showed for their presentation and most said the the offer was legitimate. The scam ideas seems to come from distrust of telephone calls, not the actual presentation. You can’t find out how much money you can save IF YOU DON”T GO!! here are the four industries and how the intertwine.
1. The Resort: In order to be able to market all year long and not just in the season, These companies have sales offices that don’t depend on seasonal visitors, who take up valuable resort rooms, to take the tours. These companies sell timeshare interests in their own resort. Vacation clubs sell memberships in clubs that contract with condos, hotels, and cruise lines at discounted prices that their members can take advantage of. Some vacation clubs have better deals than others, and sell for different prices , but that is for the consumer to decide after listening to the presentation. You will either buy or you won’t and they know that. Vacation resorts do not have the interal ability to provide themselves with guest so they pay a very high price to marketing companies for each qualified guest that attends. the current price range is between $300 and $400 per couple. That means that if there are fifty couples at the presentation then the vacation resort has paid someone between $15,000 and $20,000 just to talk to people. As you can see this is a very expensive “scam” but from my point of view the people getting “scammed” are the resort companies who are paying for a room full of people who are there just to get “something for nothing” but that is just me.
2. Marketing Companies, These are people who have expensive electronic dialing machines called predictive dialers. and banks of high school and college students, elderly seniors,and diabled people manning the phones. They mostly read a prepared script of a computer screen. They are low wage employees who are just trying to make a living. Does you grandmother who can’t get by on social security deserve to be made fun of just because she has a job inviting people to a presentation? Some of you think this torture ( and it is torture) is funny. The resorts hire the independent telemarketing companies to call people and get them to come to a presentation. The telemarketer company get paid only if you actually show up. The invitation alone is not enough to encourage people so the marketing companies offer some for of gift or prize if you go over to pick it up.
3.Fulfillment companies . these companies create incentives which they sell to resorts and their marketers to give away to guest. There are all kinds of incentives from gas coupons, to cruises, to airfare, to accomodations, or to sweepstakes. These incentives are expensive and the incentive company is responsible for fullfilling the terms of the certificate or awarding the prize in a sweepstakes. In the case of the sweepstakes type of inventives the names of the entrants are also who the telemarkerter calls. finaly
4. List brokers. Everyone in America is on a multitude of list , from your bank, your credit report, your doctor, places you do business with like dry cleaners, and finaly,the telephone book. These lists are all managed by list brokers who sell everything from just you name and address, to what kind of car your drive. Brokers have to by law wash all lists for telephone solicitation throug bout the federal and the local DNC lists before they can sell them to a telemarketer If the list is not going to be called but perhaps a post card mailed it does not have to be washed as the idea is to get you to call in rather than them calling you.
the last three industriesw exist because the first one need to advertise and sell their vacation products to the public. While there are abuses in every industry this one does not aske you for UP FRONT MONEY. zYou are out nothing but a little gas if you atten and do not buy your host is out four hundred dollars. Quit speculating. NOBODY has asked anybody in this blog for money. How can you have a scam, if no money changes hands????? Got to the presentation, If it is not what you want don’t buy and take the gift home and either use it or don’t. They guy in the post above shays that you will go to some high pressure vacation deal. He clearly did not go. Salespeople that are successful know one thing people do not respond to high pressure unless they are morons. Peple but from people they like and if the product is presented in an informal and informative way. Whie I do not have anything to do with Westgate I do know that it is the largest vacation campany in the world that is woned by a single person, with thousands of owners world wild. It dod not get that way by mistreating their coustomers. Mike probably would be happier in a pop-up tent on the side of the road rather that a skyscraper on the strip in Vegas. By the way I went on one of these tours, bought and joined the industry because I was tired of the pop-up. Hope this ray of light helps. PS if you don’t want to be called get on the do not call list it is free. You will then only get true “scam calls” as all the legit people will honor your request and you will never agin win anything.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
If it is in fact such an honorable business practice, one has to wonder why they don’t just say “Come down and listen to our timeshare presentation and we’ll give you a gift in exchange for your time. Then state the possible “gifts” and chance of receiving each possible gift.
The best thing I can say about timeshare marketing is that I once took the time to play the game with a guy who kept upping the offer. When he hit $100 cash, I decided it was worth 90 minutes of my time to earn $100, experience a timeshare presentation first hand.
The salesman assigned to me first asked what the chance of me buying a timeshare was. I told him that there was absolutely zero chance and that I was there to fulfill my promise to show up and listen for $100. Even knowing that, he started the hard sell tactics on me. So, I went along, took the optional tour of the facility and feigned interest. When he brought out the paperwork to sign me up, I said I wasn’t interested. He was offended and upset with me for wasting his time. I told him that he should have listened to me in the first place instead of playing the high pressure game with me.
That was the only timeshare presentation I will ever attend unless I initiate the contact.
I got my call from 1-866-999-3703 sometime in the past few days while I was on vacation.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Just a thought. You say that he used “hard sell tactics” on you. Does that mean he actually asked you to buy? And you only “feigned” interest. I wonder who was scamming who?
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 am
I was hoping that ShawnaG (#388)would update us to see whether she got her airline tickets? I’ve been to these presentations before and actually got a short vacation out of it. Had a great time and bought nothing. I’d love the airline tickets and I’m willing to sit through the presentation. Anyone actually gotten the tickets? Thanks