Automated robocalls, such as those which we have all received from “Rachel from card services” that try to induce us to get a new credit card or any other service are a scam that has been with us for many years and despite the best efforts of the Federal Trade Commission, still is victimizing many people.  The calls sound legitmate and if you are not sufficiently skeptical, you can end up having your identity stolen or scammed out of money for a worthless product being sold.  It is easy to identify a robocall that is a scam.  If you get a robocall, it is a scam.  Robocalls are illegal.  The FTC brought charges against a firm JPM alleging that the company’s telemarketers charged up-front fees of as much as $995, promising that they would save consumers thousands of dollars  with low interest credit cards.  They also offered a money-back guarantee.  The problem is JPM never delivered the promised interest rate reductions and never returned the fees paid when requested by consumers. JPM also violated various consumer laws in marketing their scam including making illegal robocalls and calling people registered on the Do-Not-Call Registry.  Following a settlement with JPM, BMC, a refund administrator working for the FTC is now sending out checks to consumers who were harmed by this scam.  If you think that you are owed money from this settlement, you should call 855-529-6827 or if you need more information, you can go to http://www.FTC.gov/refunds.

TIPS

If you are on the Do Not Call list and you receive a solicitation for anything, you should immediately hang up because you can’t trust a company that would call you in violation of federal law.  The same goes for anytime you receive a robocall because those too are illegal.  Again, if you think you are due a refund due to being scammed by JPM you should call the refund administrator at 855-529-6827 or go to the FTC’s website for more information about this and other refund programs at http://www.FTC.gov/refunds.