[Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Sun Nov 20 09:25:16 PST 2011

There is no doubt that the Rachel calls are a scam.  If not a identity theft attempt, then an attempt to and to switch the person called to a rip off credit card.  There is always the possibility that it can be both.

Here is another site linking 877 298-8855 to CMS 53 times:

http://www.callercomplaints.com/SearchResult.aspx?Phone=877-298-8855

It could be a forger using the CMS number.  I will call the number from a pay phone in Moscow on Monday to check it out.

w.

From: Saundra Lund 
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 8:43 PM
To: Vision2020 at moscow.com 
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Wayne, these "Rachel" and "Card Services" or "Card Member Services" or "Cardholder Services" or "Credit Services" have absolutely nothing at all to do with the CMS you are referencing & provided a Web site link to.  The outfits "Rachel" is calling for aren't real company names at all - they are just phony "generic" names the current primary goal of identity theft.

You didn't try calling back the number displayed on your CallerID or you'd have learned that the number is spoofed & not even a live number.  This is, according to the FCC, why they haven't been able to stop these outfits' violations of the TCPA.

Check out this news article:

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/07/31/business/card-member-services-or-not/

And, for a previous - pre-identity theft mode - incarnation check out:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/asiapacific.shtm

Note:  I'm not defending Chase here but rather pointing out that the "Rachel" calls have absolutely nothing to do with Chase.  

Saundra

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Art Deco
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 7:35 PM
To: Vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Very confusing.

This week I received another call from the sparky Rachel.  The caller id was 877 298-8855.  I am tracking some of these annoying calls with my smart phone.

Here's some info on this number:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-298-8855

Read the third entry. This ties this number to CardMember Services.

At http://www.callercenter.com/877-298-8855.html DHL notes about calls from 877 298-8855:

"Credit Card Member Services.  Hung up when asked for postal address. In Short - Credit card fraud.  

The caller was identified as a Scammer/Fraudster that has been reported 19 times in the past.

Reported 17th, Nov. 2011"

CMS is a very large business who does the credit card issuing, accounting, and solicitation for a large number of clients including LFCU.  https://www.cardmemberservices.com/cmsindex.html  CMS is part of the Chase Bank financial network.  Chase bank was implicated in the Madoff fraud as well as for other fraudulent practices.  As the parent company they may not be "officially" aware that CMS is soliciting for a client or clients that are scam artists.  [Some patient Googling will show how depraved Chase Bank is.]

I did not intend to insinuate that LFCU is to be blamed for these "Rachel" and similar calls.  CMS runs a very large, very aggressive credit card solicitation business for several clients, and it uses many, many techniques to find live, plausible telephone numbers.  

However, my other remarks about LFCU stand.  As far as I am concerned the problems started shortly after they hired from outside a new chief executive.  I didn't understand this hire because in my opinion they had an excellent in-house candidate who understood the membership and the business very well, and in whom I had a great deal of trust -- she kept LFCU out of trouble when many banks and credit unions found themselves in deepening holes.

w.

From: Saundra Lund 

Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 5:51 PM

To: 'Art Deco' ; Vision2020 at moscow.com ; 'deb' ; 'Carl Westberg' 

Subject: RE: [Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Sorry, but Rachel from Card Services has nothing to do with LFCU!!!  The whole thing is a well-recognized identity theft scam & we've been getting calls from Rachel for a very long time now & I've continued to file complaints with the FCC.  I'm not sure the info Ron posted is accurate, but it could well be - I personally was given different information about the origins a year or two back.

Until recently, the calls were made with spoofed (both name & number) CallerID info likely using VoIP or PRI lines, so calling back (and even tracing) is impossible - typically, the phone number displayed would be blank or wouldn't be a real number (pretty easy to spot).  Further, the calls seem to come from a variety of "outfits," so it's not like there's only one outfit behind the calls.  And, if anyone has pushed through to talk to a live person, odds are you've been subjected to their standard verbal abuse, lies, & just being hung up on.

More recently, I've been getting a slightly different script from Rachel & her robocalls, along with the standard old ones.  On 11/10, Rachel called for "Credit Service" with the standard line, but there was a new addition:  an apparently valid phone number (1-701-661-1003) along with an option in the script to "opt out."

WARNING:  do NOT be tempted to opt out either as a part of the script or when calling back the supposedly "valid" phone number because if you don't fall for the identity theft part (intrinsic in the "lower credit card rate" scam), then opting out will flag your phone number as a "live" number (the initial calls are made by sequential auto-dialing) & they'll sell it all over the world, so you'll get even more unwanted phone calls.

Thus, at least one of "Rachel's" gigs has figured out a way to make money off consumers who don't fall for the identity theft component.

Of course, I still get the standard "Rachel" calls from outfits who haven't yet figured out that despicable twist & still are violating the TCPA by spoofing CallerID info (two in the last 24 hours:  one displayed no phone number & the other displayed a phony number.)

For those interested in filing complaints, here's a starting place:

http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm?id

Be aware:

Thank you for contacting the FCC regarding possible violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") and the Commission's telemarketing and junk fax rules.   Information provided in consumer complaints like yours helps the Commission to combat abusive or unlawful practices in these areas, including taking enforcement actions against individuals or companies. In this regard, the Communications Act authorizes the Commission to issue citations and, in some cases, impose substantial fines upon entities that violate telemarketing and junk fax rules.  

Although the Commission does not resolve individual complaints, each complaint is individually analyzed and assists us in enforcement actions to protect consumers like yourself.  You should be aware that the TCPA also provides for enforcement of the telemarketing and junk fax rules by state attorneys general and by individual consumers.  With respect to the latter, the TCPA permits individuals who have received certain unlawful telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each violation.  

We invite you to visit the FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau's Internet web site at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb for more information. You may also call the FCC's Consumer Center toll free at 1-888-CALL-FCC [1-888-225-5322], TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC [1-888-835-5322].  

Sincerely, 

Sharon C. Bowers, Division Chief 
Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau 

HTH,

Saundra Lund

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Art Deco
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 12:39 PM
To: Vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] This Rachel person

The company is CardMember Services.  The same company that issues Visa cards for Latah Federal Credit Union.  This card is a real rip-off.  LFCU switched from a card one that was reasonable and with fees that one would expect from a credit union, not a greedy bank.

If I were going to be in the area longer I would sever my connection with LFCU.  The customer service people are very nice, but the organization has moved from credit union practices to those more like a bank.

w.

From: Carl Westberg 

Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 12:01 PM

To: vision2020 at moscow.com 

Subject: [Vision2020] This Rachel person

>From "Credit Card Services" is starting to tick me off.  Over the last few weeks, I've received my "second and final notice" to answer this urgent call approximately 1,137 times.  I'm beginning to not like Rachel.......and how in the world do these crooks get away with this?  

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 List services made available by First Step Internet,
 serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
               http://www.fsr.net
          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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