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

Mon Nov 21 15:26:23 PST 2011

I tried calling the 877 298-8855 "Rachel" number today from a pay phone several times.  I got a system busy each time.

However, there is another interesting theory.  The "Rachel" [and other names, mostly women] calls originally started out with CardMember Services despite their denials.  Their purpose was to switch card holders to their rip-off cards using some very questionable bait.

Then a copy cat scheme was developed and morphed by cyber-crooks into an identity theft operation.

Given the history and pervasiveness of this operation in my opinion not nearly enough has been done to stop it -- like various kinds of stings.

w.

From: Saundra Lund 
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2011 6:13 PM
To: 'Art Deco' ; Vision2020 at moscow.com 
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Wayne, I'm not sure the point you're trying to make, but it seems to me you’re misunderstanding the "complaints" on those sites, which are just reporting the spoofed CallerID info & the recorded spiel.  The posters aren’t verifying anything because they can’t:  the spoofed phone number that shows on CallerID isn't live.

Did you bother listening to the sample audios at the FTC link I sent?  If you did, you'd hear our pal Rachel -- the particular recording IDs itself as being from "Cardholder Services," but I know from personal experience Rachel's script varies & includes "Card Member Services" amongst other similar but equally phony company names.

You seem to think you've found some smoking gun all the investigators have missed.  Please show me where you can link the real CMS to that phone number you keep posting because it sure isn't showing up on the real CMS Web site or any other verified sources.  You keep posting links that are nothing more than things people are reporting as showing up on their CallerIDs, information that is undoubtedly and illegally spoofed, pure & simple.

As for calling the number from a pay phone, feel free.  I've told you twice now that the number isn't live, which I know because I tried calling it.  If you don't believe me, knock yourself out  :-)

For those who didn't click through to the links I provided, I'll paste the text from one:

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

Card member services or not?
By Russ van Arsdale, Executive Director, Northeast Contact

Posted July 31, 2011, at 7:57 p.m.

Phones have been ringing all over Maine in recent weeks. Every time, the message is the same.

“This is Rachel from Card Member Services …” Most readers can probably recite the rest of the message by heart. Rachel is calling to assure you that nothing’s wrong with your credit, but she can help you lower your interest rates.

The next sound heard on those phones across Maine is the click of the handset hitting the cradle, as one after another of us hangs up in disgust.

This robot disguised as a woman has been calling, off and on, for four or five years now, and we’re all pretty tired of her rap. It has to be a scam — who’s going to offer us lower interest rates in this economy? Who is she kidding?

It’s no joke. It is a serious attempt by crooks to take your money. And it has been slick enough to date that neither state nor federal officials have been able to stop it.

People who have been called by “Rachel” have tried all kinds of ways to root out the schemers. Caller ID won’t work; neither does “star-69.” The cyber creeps are ‘way beyond the tools most of us have to track them. That’s led some consumers to vent about the inability of the federal Do Not Call list to end the madness; in practice, these crooks ignore the law and keep calling.

David Leach of Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection has studied the problem. Leach says the scammers likely use computer programs that “spoof” your phone’s caller ID, showing an untraceable number. When “Rachel” says you can press a number to be removed from their call list, these programs simply use that action to verify that yours is a “live” number; you’ll likely receive more calls, not fewer.

Leach says the scammers use consumers’ legitimate desire to save money to extract personal information, such as their account and routing numbers. They might ask people to wire funds for their “services,” which amount to nothing more than stealing your money.

Leach advises against responding to any overtures from “Rachel” or any other alias purporting to adjust interest rates. That’s especially true on-line, where a mouse click on a link provided by thieves can download malware designed to access financial and personal information stored on your computer.

Within the past 60 days, Leach sent the files from several complaining consumers to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC looks for patterns of this type of activity, in hopes the crooks make a mistake that will lead investigators to them.

Honest businesses must be cheering those efforts. CardMember Services is a legitimate business which warns consumers not to respond to emails or phone calls that appear to be from them. They say it’s not their practice to ask you to verify account or other information by phone or email (scammers do this in demanding terms). Like other legitimate businesses, they won’t threaten to close your account if you don’t respond and they won’t share information with third parties outside the terms of their privacy policy.

Since the scammers sound similar to the real thing, people do fall for their pitches. Their boldness surprises some observers, who wonder why the robo-callers continue to use the phrases “card services,” “card member services” or other variants to identify their bogus business.

David Leach figures the crooks are just building on what’s worked so far. “They’ve built an infamous brand, and they’re running with it,” he says.

On Sunday, November 20, 2011 9:25 AM, "Art Deco" <deco at moscow.com> wrote:

  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.
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