Telemarketers purchase numbers that are nearly identical to those of well-known companies and organizations in hopes you’ll misdial and reach them instead. Columnist Davidlaz explains:
Glenn Egelko doesn’t have particularly puffy fingers. Nevertheless, he almost fell victim to what’s known as the “fat-finger dialing scam.”Egelko recently had some questions about his Southern California Edison utility bill. He looked at his latest statement and found the number for customer service: 655-4555.
Egelko had inadvertently stumbled across one of the sneakier ploys in the telemarketing world: shady firms buying up hundreds or even thousands of phone numbers that are just slightly different from those of well-known entities such as utilities or big companies.The tactic relies on the consumer not realizing they’ve actually connected with a telemarketer and thinking the company they intended to reach is simply offering a cool perk for customers.
“Nearly all major companies and organizations have been caught up in this,” she told me. “Even AARP’s service number has a fat-finger version.”I followed Egelko’s path down this particular rabbit hole. That $1.95 fee for a $100 “shopping certificate” — and the credit card number you provide as part of the transaction — will actually enroll you in a discount-coupon program costing about $50 a month.
Answering yes to any question leads to “Jessica,” who sounds friendly but is actually a more deceptive recording with deliberate gaps in the script that invite responses to her questions and create the illusion you’re conversing with a real person.Once Jessica has baited the hook, you finally make your way to an honest-to-goodness human, who will aggressively try to sell you various services.
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