The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking a fine of almost 300 million dollars against Roy Cox Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones who, the FCC says, have been operating a huge automobile warranty scam through illegal robocalls through their Sumco Panama company.  In 2021, the FCC says they made more than 5 billion illegal robocalls to more than a half a billion phone numbers during just a three month period.

The Federal  Trade Commission (FTC) has also issued warnings about extended car warranty scams being perpetrated through robocalls.  Many of these robocalls appear to come from “Susie” of the “Vehicle Service Department.” Often the caller even knows the make, model and year of your car.  They will tell you that your car’s warranty is about to expire, but that you can purchase an extended warranty that will provide tremendous benefits.  Unfortunately, the only one getting  tremendous benefits is the scammer that sells you a worthless contract.

Extended warranty scams have been with us for years.  Actually, they are not “extended” warranties at all because if you read the fine print in postcards used to perpetrate this scam you will notice that although the notice that although the postcard looks official,  it is not from either the car manufacturer who issued your original warranty or the car dealer who sold you the car.  The warranties themselves vary from scammer to scammer with some of the “extended” warranties being relatively worthless, but with all of them based on misrepresentations.

If you are registered for the Do Not Call list and you do receive a call from a telemarketer attempting to sell you an extended warranty, you can be confident that the call is a scam because no legitimate telemarketer would call you if you are enrolled in the Do Not Call list. It is also important to note that while telemarketing is not, in and of itself, illegal, commercial telemarketing, such as the sale of these “extended warranties” through robocalls is always illegal.

TIPS

In regard to car warranties, it is always a good idea to check with your  local auto dealer as to what warranties cover your car. Never trust anything that comes to you by way of an illegal robocall or telemarketing call if you have enrolled in the federal Do Not Call List.  Never feel pressured to act immediately when someone calls you on the phone with an unsolicited offer and never give any personal information including your credit card over the phone to someone who calls you because you can never be sure who is actually calling.

Registering for the Do Not Call List is easy and free.  Merely go to http://www.donotcall.gov to register your phone number.

If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/