Tuesday, September 04, 2012

WCA Phone Spam

For the last month or two I have been getting prerecorded messages from an outfit calling themselves WCA on an unlisted MagicJack phone number I have. The outfit is fraudulent and seems to be phishing for information, so do not press any numbers or call them back. The messages are often different, with variation including: debt collection, credit card offer, class action lawsuit settlement, assistance for the elderly, contest winnings, and free gift cards. It seems like this kind of scam is getting more common or am I mistaken?

I had not paid too much attention to the calls, since I thought it was some kind of service aimed at the disabled and elderly from what little I heard before hanging up. But after some of my recent experiences, I started listening to more of the messages and discovered they varied a great deal.

I will note this phone number has never been used on an Internet form or site and I assume it is the result of an autodialer. It is possible they were harvested off of an acquaintance’s smart phone or PIM on their computer, but it is highly unlikely.

Oddly, this reminds me of roofing and asphalting scammers I saw operating in Indianapolis back in the 1980s. The world probably has had con artists scamming people since the early days of civilization. I suspect they would survive being nuked just like the cockroaches they resemble.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bad news. You are dealing with a company that is owned by a woman in India and registered in Cyprus.
http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/business-reviews/telemarketing-companies/wca-subscriber-services-in-clearwater-fl-90107305
Registrant:
REVENUE PATH E-CONSULTING PRIVATE LIMITED
Sarita Somani
IDE Ioannou Court Office No. 203 13 & 15 Gr Afxentiou Str
Mesa Yeitonia, Limassol 4N CY- 4003
CY (Cyprus)
Phone: +91.2032930242
Email: sarita@fecdirect.net
588 Domain(s) Use sarita@fecdirect.net As Whois Email http://www.webboar.com/whois-email/sarita%40fecdirect.net
Her Internet hosting service:
Administrative Contact:
pamei, pouchunlung fecdirect@gmail.com
FecDirect Pvt Ltd
Pushpajali Apts
Flat no 10, Gydney Park
pune, Maharashtra 411037
India
912040072689

People should continually file complaints with their Attorney Generals office and also file with:
http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
If enough people keep complaining then maybe something will get done. The only option is to go after the companies that are outsourcing to overseas boiler rooms.

Anonymous said...

Who the suspects are:
http://complaintwire.org/complaint/ipzhHRymJAY/cardholder-services-oregon-robo-dialer
http://telemarketerspam.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/fred-accuardi-and-illegal-telemarketing/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/12/santa-ana-resident-accused-of-running-robocalling-telemarketing-companies.html
http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/business-reviews/telemarketing-companies/wca-subscriber-services-in-clearwater-fl-90107305
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/board.asp?privcapId=23957705
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cox-353170-agency-companies.html
http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923193/index.shtm
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/29/business/la-fi-lazarus-20111129
http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22278
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/client_services_inc.html
http://www.scambook.com/report/view/71722/Ambrosia-Web-Design-Complaint-71722-for-$998.00
http://onthespotblog.com/the-hunt-for-rachel-at-cardholder-services/
http://www.scamchecker.com/content/cardmember-services-another-scam
http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/latest_news/releases/june_2011/Lawsuit_against_fundraiser.html

Patrick D. Boone said...

Being forewarned is the best defense against these scammers, so I thank the anonymous information provider. For everyone reading this, I did check out the links before approving the comments.

Given the international jurisdiction issue, I wonder if Interpol would be interested? From what I can find, they only consult with investigating agencies, so going through local law enforcement seems to be the best bet. Here in the U.S. that would be state attorney generals.