The federal government recently acted to halt a telemarketing ploy that tried to trick frail elderly people across the country into paying for medical alert services they didn’t order.
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit in Federal District Court in Brooklyn against Instant Response Systems, a firm in Brooklyn that is alleged to have made calls to elderly people nationally to trick them into buying the devices. The agency estimates that “tens of thousands” of consumers received the calls, including people who had placed their phone numbers on the agency’s “do not call” list. The company operated under several different names, the complaint says.
Most of the consumers aimed at were over 70, in poor health and living alone on fixed incomes, according to the complaint. Many relied on family members or health aides for care.
The complaint also names Jason Abraham, also known as Yaakov Abraham, as the “organizer” of the company and its calls. The court temporarily halted the firm’s operation pending further investigation, according to the F.T.C. Mr. Abraham’s lawyer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The complaint asserts the company’s practices violated federal laws including the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act.
Typically, the complaint says, Instant Response Systems callers would say they were contacting the victim at the request of a friend or family member. Then, they would ask questions to make the victim nervous about their health, like, “Have you ever fallen down?” and “What would happen if you were not found quickly?”
They then promoted the medical alert system — a pendant that consumers could push around the clock to reach a monitoring service — at a cost of as much as $1,602, and demanded checking account information to arrange payment.
Often the company would mail invoices for the system or even mail the devices, even though customers hadn’t agreed to the sale, and demand payment.
When consumers called to complain, they often couldn’t get a person on the phone. But when they did, it was often someone called “Ruby Wilson” who shouted at them to pay, or the company would sue them. Friends and family members who tried to intervene reported that “Ruby Wilson” “rudely” refused to speak to them.
When consumers they tried to return the merchandise by mail or complained in writing, they sometimes received fake invoices and threatening letters that tried to coerce payment in return. In one case, a woman who had refused to give her financial information over the phone, despite being harassed by the callers, got a letter that stated in part:
“You gave us your banking information by telephone and authorized us to use it to collect your promised payment. However, when we submitted the payment to your bank, it “bounced.”
“You have embarrassed us and damaged our reputation. We had to pay the bank fees, in addition to accounting, manpower and other costs. We will NOT absorb these costs or pass them on to our paying subscribers.
“We suggest that you consult an attorney and ask about the criminal and civil consequences of bouncing checks.”
Another consumer got a letter with a fake police report, telling her that she had stolen the device by not paying for it.
The case is another example of how the elderly may be targeted for fraud, an area of concern to regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Have you or an elderly family member been targeted for telemarketing fraud?
Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/telemarketer-that-aimed-at-the-elderly-is-shut-down/?partner=rss&emc=rss