NCJ Number
214625
Date Published
2006
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This booklet helps seniors distinguish legitimate telemarketing offers from scams and suggests ways to handle telemarketing calls.
Abstract
Despite such consumer protections as the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the National Do Not Call Registry, fraudulent telemarketers prey on seniors with promises of huge prizes, enticing investment returns, and great deals on all sorts of merchandise. Following five rules can help seniors avoid becoming victims of a telemarketing fraud. First, seniors should never give personal information to someone on the phone unless they initiated the call and have confidence in the person or agency receiving the call. Second, if the caller offers to give them something free, they should not pay him/her for any handling fees. Third, so-called limited-time offers should not require an immediate decision at the time of the call. Fourth, if a telemarketer tells them not to discuss a so-called "special" deal with anyone else, they should respond that they always discuss such decisions with family members and friends, ask for their telephone number so they can call them back, and then hang up. Fifth, seniors should never accept any verbal offer over the phone. They should tell them to send a written copy for study and then hang up. Some tactics of fraudulent telemarketers are to claim that the product offered is in short supply; to assume an aura of control over and submission from the potential victim; to appeal to the potential victim's sympathy, such as being a disadvantaged person who needs the sale; and to make the potential victim feel they will become a member of a special group if they accept the offer. Information is provided on how to sign up for the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry. 11 listings for more information