Did we win a free $300 gas card by phone marketer? Please help?
Darren M asked:
Okay, this morning I recieved a phone call from a fairly-nice man, probably a tele-marketar. He had an accent, which I believe was indian but he told me that our address was chosen and “qualified to recieve a free $300 gas card and a 40% off card (gift?) for stores like walmart. At first, I declined and kindly told him that I wasn’t interested, but he assured me that I didn’t have to buy anything. I again said no, but he wanted to confirm my address, which turned out to not actually match ours. I said that the address he said wasn’t ours, but he asked for my name and address so he could send me the “card package” anyway due to the mixup or for being nice. Curious, I decided to give him my address and father’s name just in case. He responded by wishing me a merry christmas and said that the package should be sent to us in 3-5 business days. Oh and when I told him my address, I could here other people in his office cheering on the line but I forgot to ask what the company he’s from was. Again, he wished me a happy holiday and I said bye. So, based off what he told me, could we be actually getting the gas card/gift card in the mail after all? Or is it just a way to send us stuff to eventually buy something from them? We don’t have barely any money this holiday (not even for gas) so this would be pretty nice of them to send us this. What do you think? Thanks.
Need a Gas Card? Win Your FREE Gas Card Now!
Okay, this morning I recieved a phone call from a fairly-nice man, probably a tele-marketar. He had an accent, which I believe was indian but he told me that our address was chosen and “qualified to recieve a free $300 gas card and a 40% off card (gift?) for stores like walmart. At first, I declined and kindly told him that I wasn’t interested, but he assured me that I didn’t have to buy anything. I again said no, but he wanted to confirm my address, which turned out to not actually match ours. I said that the address he said wasn’t ours, but he asked for my name and address so he could send me the “card package” anyway due to the mixup or for being nice. Curious, I decided to give him my address and father’s name just in case. He responded by wishing me a merry christmas and said that the package should be sent to us in 3-5 business days. Oh and when I told him my address, I could here other people in his office cheering on the line but I forgot to ask what the company he’s from was. Again, he wished me a happy holiday and I said bye. So, based off what he told me, could we be actually getting the gas card/gift card in the mail after all? Or is it just a way to send us stuff to eventually buy something from them? We don’t have barely any money this holiday (not even for gas) so this would be pretty nice of them to send us this. What do you think? Thanks.
Need a Gas Card? Win Your FREE Gas Card Now!
March 9th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
March 10th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
That was a scam. You’ve given him enough information to steal your identity. You’ve given him your phone number, current address, name, and father’s name. Get a credit report and file a police report about the possible identity theft.
March 11th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Contrary to what another person here says, you haven’t given him enough to steal your identity. All you have given him is your name and address, which are available to anyone who picks up a telephone book. You don’t need to worry about identity theft.
What you *do* need to worry about is that now you have confirmed that someone living at your address is the type of person who listens to sales pitches over the phone and believes them. That means they’ll be able to sell your contact information as “live” to other direct marketing firms, and I would suspect that very soon you’ll be inundated with similar sales pitches, both by phone and by mail.
The “gift card” that you’re going to receive, if you ever do actually get it, will probably come with a list of requirements that you have to do in order to activate it (such as signing up with some kind of service for a certain amount of money per month), or it will turn out that it’s only good for one dollar off a fillup, or some fine print like that. If I were you, I’d just throw the information out when it arrives.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
If people would stop being so gullible, we could finally get rid of all those scams and telemarketers. Wishful thinking I know.
Yes, the nice man who called you today will give you $300 of free gas and will also buy you a big penthouse, a Ferrari and your own private jet for FREE. Congratulations for being picked and qualifying!