re: #172 Pie-onist Overlord

Usually when I get these calls it’s a robocall and I just hang up, but once I answered the phone and there was an actual person claiming to represent “Card Services.” I asked which card was she calling about? She said “all of them!” I hung up.

This scam has been around awhile and the FTC have been going after the scammers for years. From 2012:

What to do if you’re still getting calls from “Rachel in Cardholder services”

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission shut down five operations responsible for untold number of scammy robocalls from “Rachel (or one of many other names) at Cardholder Services.” But several readers have written in to say that these calls have not ended.

“We know there are lots of bad guys,” William Maxson, an attorney for the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, tells Consumerist, adding that even though the agency was able to bring the hammer down (my phrasing, not his) on five major scammers, “There are others out there that use the same methods.”

The FTC confirms that there are ongoing investigations into other robocallers, though it can’t offer specifics since telling scammers that you’re about to bust them is not always the best way to catch them.

For people that continue to get robocalls from Cardholder Services or any other potential scam, Maxson says the fastest and easiest way to let the FTC know is to go to DoNotCall.gov and click “File a Complaint.” You can also call[no phone numbers allowed] to file a complaint with the FTC.