"Hello, this is Rachel from Card Holder Services...." I am on the Do Not Call registry but

[GreenPartyVoter]

this company keeps calling us, and lately they are coming through on local phone numbers. So I clicked to talk to an operator to say I don't want anymore calls, and that the calls have been coming in from those local numbers now, and she immediately hung up on me!

This happening to anyone else??

[NMDemDist2]

1. the DNC list doesn't include any companies you have a relationship with

call their customer service line and ask the rep to add you to the DNC list on your account

it may take a few weeks to kick in though

[ladywnch]

19. While you are correct in your post, these calls DO NOT have any

relationship with the people they are calling. They imply they have a relationship with you. 'card services' is a bogus name. Once you get to an operator, they will tell you they don't even know what cards you hold let alone the status of those accounts. It is a complete scam.

Once you talk to them about 'your accounts' (which they don't know)they THEN claim they have a relationship with you and then are free to call you in a few weeks with their real reason.......to sell you something........something from HEPA air filtration units, high end vacuum cleaners....etc. It is a barely legal scam.

[Zoeisright]

2. Report them to the FCC.

https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx?panel=2

And then the next time they call, tell them that you've reported them. I had to do that to a company, and once I told them I did that, the calls stopped permanently.

[jtrockville]

16. +1. Rachel hasn't call here in a long while.

[FeelingBlue]

3. Yes. n/t

[Matariki]

4. Yeah, they stopped after I reported them.

[supernova]

5. I've gotten those. It's known scam

I know because I don't have credit cards and no cc company should be calling me about my "account."

They are looking for willing rubes to give up their cc info.

Yes, report all instances to the FCC. I reported them twice last fall and haven't heard back.

It's a particularly pernicious one.

[spinbaby]

6. We have a lot of trouble with charities

And have started to tell them that we don't donate to organizations that harass us. That leaves us donating largely to local animal shelters, fire departments, and food banks.

[CurtEastPoint]

7. Google 'rachel from cardholder services'

and see what you get. Plenty. THey ignore the DNC list.

See: http://ostraya.livejournal.com/274384.html

[Posteritatis]

8. Any "from Card Services" type calls are ID/bank account thieves; they don't care about DNC. (nt)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. All the time.

They know they're breaking the law. They don't care. Yes, I'm on DNC. No, I do not have a relationship with these scam artists.

If you want, you can keep them on the hook until they reveal enough about themselves for you to file a complaint with the FTC. It will probably take more time than you want to devote.

[Dappleganger]

10. Just one of many reasons we gave up our landline.

Of course it's only a matter of time before they begin to hit the mobile number, too.

[spanone]

11. i signed up for for it and receive calls daily...it's bullshit...doesn't work for me at all.

[gratuitous]

12. This is a notorious phishing scam

It's operated ostensibly out of Canada or some other country, which gets them around the Do Not Call registry, which is limited only to U.S.-based firms. When they call again (and they will), do NOT feel any compunction about clicking through to the flunkie in the boiler room and wasting that person's valuable time. There are several methods of doing this:

1. Use your best profanity and read them out. Unfortunately, this is the most common method, and they disconnect fairly quickly. They're used to getting cussed out.

2. Ask about a zillion questions: Could I have your name, please? What company are you calling from? Could I speak to your supervisor? Why not? Is there someone else in authority I could speak to? Is this what you do for a living? Seriously? Why don't you get a real job and try to retrieve your humanity? If you get stuck, just go back to the top of the list and run through the questions again. Remain calm and reasonable, don't raise your voice, and don't speak too quickly. You're trying to waste their time just like they're wasting yours.

3. This one was swiped from a fellow DUer: When you get the hapless numbskull on the line, identify yourself as Detective Larson, and ask the name of the caller. Why are they calling this number right now? Do you know this is a crime scene, and from the looks of the things, the victim was into something pretty sinister. I’m going to need your full name and address, as this is an official police investigation. Can you account for your whereabouts during the last 24 hours? Do you have any friends or relatives who can corroborate this? Use your best CSI voice, and run over everything they say. If they hang in there long enough, tell them you’ve captured their number and they should expect a call from the homicide division. Your failure to cooperate will be noted in the investigation. Try not to giggle; I understand homicide detectives rarely do this.

[BR_Parkway]

29. I always tell telemarketers that I'm self-pleasuring and if they'll talk dirty

to me, I'll be done in about 3 minutes then we can talk about what they called for.

I always get taken off the lists and never hear from them again

[DeSwiss]

13. You can also check out supicious #'s here:

http://800notes.com/

[myrna minx]

14. Google the number in your caller ID and websites like 1-800 notes can sometimes

shed light on the pests.

[Fire1]

15. If it's a # I don't recognize I don't pick up. I love caller ID. n/t

[Carolina]

23. same here, or I pick up

and hang up so I don't have to listen to the phone ringing.

Sometimes I let the dogs bark into the phone and I have thought of being really obnoxious and blowing a loud whistle into the receiver.

[cutlassmama]

25. same here. If they don't leave a message then it wasn't important.

[Saturday]

17. I have Ooma for my landline.

They let you block calls. Any number I get I block. That eliminates lots of spam calls from continuing.

[xmas74]

18. It's a scam.

Whenever I get calls like this I refuse to identify myself. Instead, I make them identify themselves (making them spell out their name), I ask exactly where they are calling from (company, city, state, etc. I'll even ask for an address at times.) I also ask for exact account information, a callback number, etc.

While this is happening I am repeating everything they say, ending each time with the date and time. Example:

This is Dan Jones. D-A-N Dan J-O-N-E-S. Is Dan short for anything? March 8, 2011 at 1636 hours.

Next:
D-A-N J-O-N-E-S. Dan Jones. Not short for anything. Calling with ABC Collections. Please spell the name of your company. March 8,2011 at 1637 hours.

Get the picture? I make it a waste of time for them. After getting all of their information I tell them that I will only speak with a supervisor about the account and to please get them on the line. I also inform them that if the call is disconnected I will call them back, repeatedly, all day long. Once I get a supervisor on the line I tell them that I no longer want calls from their business. (After I've taken down their name, their position, have given time and date, have checked their location, have a callback number and extension for them, etc.) If they begin to argue with me at all I inform them of my rights per the FCRA. If they still begin arguing or do not cooperate I begin to read them the entire act-from the beginning.

Once I begin reading the Fair Credit Reporting Act word for word they usually hang up.

[Warpy]

20. Complain to the FCC and the local phone company

after you've written down a few of the "local numbers" the calls are showing on Caller ID.

She should have been squelched in 2009: http://moremoney.blogs.money.cnn.com/2009/09/02/is-this-the-end-for-rachel-from-cardholder-services/

But it didn't. Here's a later article on the fact that it's pure fraud: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/04/06/854662/-This-Cardholder-Services-scam-must-be-shut-down People have been trying to shut them down: http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/whistleblower/2009/06/26/hunt-for-rachel-from-cardholder-services-takes-me-to-a-company-in-florida-but-she-wasnt-there/

Any help you can give the FCC, the local phone company, and the FBI will be appreciated by a lot of people.

(apparently she's stymied by those of us who are unlisted and unpublished)

[Cleita]

21. Yes, and for years.

I screen all my calls now with voice mail. I told the people I want to hear from to call me on my cell phone because I will screen calls on my land line. Rachel never leaves a message.

[Bosso 63]

22. Oh yea I was getting these calls every day for months!

They would stop for awhile, and then start back up again. The FCC was useless, as they are spoofing the caller ID. It is a criminal activity pure and simple. But, I think I have finally found a way to make them stop, well at least for now
1.Book mark this site http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
2. Press the number to speak to a representative and give them the fake information.
3. Try to keep them on the line for as long as possible with the goal of wasting as much of their time as possible.
They will ask you for a Visa number, and you give them a fake one from the site. Now you have them on the hook. Of course, the number won't work, because it's fake, so you then apologize and say that you have another card with a large balance, but you have to go get it. Then you walk away from the phone and see how long they will wait. After an hour, I could still hear them on the other end and at that point I just hung up.

[intaglio]

24. The Do Not Call list in the UK is tougher but

companies work their way round it. The latest is to send a circular letter out to everyone in a given local code area, " Our representative will call you on (Day/Date)" Officially it becomes a call made by pre-arrangement whilst actually you probably threw the circular straight in the trash. If you did take notice of it and rang to say "do not telephone me," you have begun a conversation with the money grubbers and months later they'll call with a new offer "...you just must hear about,"

[loudsue]

26. I wrote a letter to the NC Atty. Generals Office, and they wrote back

saying I didn't have enough information for them to trace these folks down. In the letter, I gave them the number that showed on caller ID. Nothing.

Does the FCC actually DO anything about this?

[Pab Sungenis]

27. More information on "Heather (Rachel) From Card Services"

and the company behind her....

http://cnx.com/?tag=heather-from-card-services

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. Thanks everyone! Lots of great info and ideas to work with here. I hope someone finally

nails these people. Phone spam sucks, and spoofing numbers is not cool.

[Ilsa]

30. Heh heh, trying being gross with them.

Tell them you just started your period and you've got awful cramps... Ask if they know any remedies.

Or tell them they interrupted the best shit you've dumped all week; tell them it was huge and really reeked. Then describe it more if they haven't hung up yet.

[katnapped]

31. Hear from them several times a week

At least....and sometimes they just hang up when the machine picks up.

NO SPEAK TO MACHINE, ME NO ANSWER