Supposedly belongs to Grants-R-Us. They charged my debit card without authorization. Filing complaints now.

No one is on the line.

I posted today (Oct 5, 2009) under 877-208-5903 Please read. I am getting some of my money back...

oh and my bank was halifax.

I have just been made aware that ive been stung with a transaction of £44.05 from a member area billin out of my account on the 29th of september and the only reason why i have become apparant of these charges is because it has made my account overdrawn and now been charged with bank fees for it and also now investigating into it i find last month on the 29th of august im charged with £43.47 from Auction-Support 888-341-0660 CY in cyprus. Just rang my bank and they have filled out fraud forms and hopefully something will be found and the amount out back into my account.
This is ridiculous how can such things happen when i am so careful with my details?
I suggest everyone just phones there banks up and investigates it further. Robbing thieves.

My bank is EGG ,so it's NOT only to the Barclays account EGG CARD too and still there's no any SOLUTION :-((

This just ahppened to me, two charges on my credit card, but Capital One spotted it and are telling me it is fraud and will do an investigation. I am not paying it.

Didn't get a call but I noticed that they have been taking money out of my TD Canada trust Visa..

these are the names that are withdrawing the money:

GRANTS-R-US 888-321-05- took out $43.54
CREDIT-4-ME 888-204-59- Took out $33.64
BLAZING KEYWORDS 888-2489280 took out $79.54  

I haven't used my Visa in over a month anf the last transaction was done only 10 days ago. Please be aware of any suck names...i'm guessing that anything that starts with 888 numbers is a fraud.

I am cancelling my card with TD.

Just checked my bank account, one I rarely use and find these thieving b*****ds have hit me for £147.50 from visa debit card. I'm with the Bank of Scotland - Anyone else from BOS been hit??

I am also with Barclays and have been ripped off for £15.79 from a company called Grants-r-us based in Cyprus and £43.47 from a company called Auction-support also based in Cyprus. These `charges` also put me into my `reserve` which in turn cost me £22.00 bank charge.

Anyone sign up for the Grant Scam for shipping and handling charges only?
They placed you into a negative option contract and now you are signed up as a member on numerous GRANT SCAM SITES..  


ALL GRANT OFFERS BY PHONE OR WEBSITE ARE ALL SCAMS!   AND THEY ARE LONG RUNNING SCAMS - LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT RESEARCH FIRST..



Government Grant Scams
The "free money" scam has been around almost as long as the human species.
It has more variations than a bulldog has wrinkles but you can count on one thing: the government (any government) does not simply give money away to individuals. Anyone who tells you differently has larceny in his heart.
If you give him your bank account number, he will soon have your funds in his pocket.
It does no good to list all of the names used by these bunko artists because a.) they change all the time and b.) every single free-money government-grant offer is a scam. Period.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/03/grant_scam_ads.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/grant.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/03/ftc_stimulus_scam.html

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WEBSITE      
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.shtm

?Free Government Grants?: Don?t Take Them For Grant-ed
?Because you pay your income taxes on time, you have been awarded a free $12,500 government grant! To get your grant, simply give us your checking account information, and we will direct-deposit the grant into your bank account!?
Sometimes, it?s an ad that claims you will qualify to receive a ?free grant? to pay for education costs, home repairs, home business expenses, or unpaid bills. Other times, it?s a phone call supposedly from a ?government? agency or some other organization with an official sounding name. In either case, the claim is the same: your application for a grant is guaranteed to be accepted, and you?ll never have to pay the money back.
But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation?s consumer protection agency, says that ?money for nothing? grant offers usually are scams, whether you see them in your local paper or a national magazine, or hear about them on the phone.
Some scam artists advertise ?free grants? in the classifieds, inviting readers to call a toll-free number for more information. Others are more bold: they call you out of the blue. They lie about where they?re calling from, or they claim legitimacy using an official-sounding name like the ?Federal Grants Administration.? They may ask you some basic questions to determine if you ?qualify? to receive a grant. FTC attorneys say calls and come-ons for free money invariably are rip offs.
Grant scammers generally follow a script: they congratulate you on your eligibility, then ask for your checking account information so they can ?deposit your grant directly into your account,? or cover a one-time ?processing fee.? The caller may even reassure you that you can get a refund if you?re not satisfied. In fact, you?ll never see the grant they promise; they will disappear with your money.
The FTC says following a few basic rules can keep consumers from losing money to these ?government grant? scams:
    Don?t give out your bank account information to anyone you don?t know. Scammers pressure people to divulge their bank account information so that they can steal the money in the account. Always keep your bank account information confidential. Don?t share it unless you are familiar with the company and know why the information is necessary.
    Don?t pay any money for a ?free? government grant. If you have to pay money to claim a ?free? government grant, it isn?t really free. A real government agency won?t ask you to pay a processing fee for a grant that you have already been awarded ? or to pay for a list of grant-making institutions. The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library or on the Internet. The only official access point for all federal grant-making agencies is www.grants.gov.
    Look-alikes aren?t the real thing. Just because the caller says he?s from the ?Federal Grants Administration? doesn?t mean that he is. There is no such government agency. Take a moment to check the blue pages in your telephone directory to bear out your hunch ? or not.
    Phone numbers can deceive. Some con artists use Internet technology to disguise their area code in caller ID systems. Although it may look like they?re calling from Washington, DC, they could be calling from anywhere in the world.
    Take control of the calls you receive. If you want to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive, place your telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. To register online, visit www.donotcall.gov. To register by phone, call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the phone number you wish to register.
    File a complaint with the FTC. If you think you may have been a victim of a government grant scam, file a complaint with the FTC online at www.ftc.gov, or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
September 2006


Feds: Scammers Falsely "Guaranteed" Government Grants
Court halts operators' deceptive pitches for grant writing book and services


By James Limbach
ConsumerAffairs.com
July 24, 2009

A federal judge has stopped an operation from falsely claiming that it could help consumers secure a "$25,000 Grant" -- guaranteed -- from the U.S. government.
The case is part of a Federal Trade Commission crackdown on scammers trying to capitalize on the economic downturn by targeting people facing financial hardship.
In the complaint the FTC, jointly with the attorneys general of Kansas, Minnesota, and North Carolina, charged that Grant Writers Institute, LLC and its related entities (together, GWI) falsely told consumers that they were eligible for grants as part of the recently announced economic stimulus package .
According to the complaint, the false and deceptive claims by GWI violate federal law, state consumer protection laws, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule. The complaint seeks a court order permanently stopping the defendants' illegal conduct and forcing them to return money to consumers injured by the scheme.
"Stamping out grant fraud and other types of schemes that take advantage of consumers in dire financial shape continues to be one of the Federal Trade Commission's highest priorities," said David Vladeck, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. "There is no such thing as a guaranteed grant. But to consumers in financial trouble, the chance for extra income -- guaranteed or otherwise -- can unfortunately be a huge draw."
The FTC says since at least 2007, GWI has mass mailed postcards to consumers across the country falsely claiming that the consumers "are Guaranteed a $25,000 Grant from the U.S. Government." Consumers who call the number are pitched a $59 book titled "Professional Grant Writer 'The Definitive Guide to Grant Writing Success.'"
The company's telemarketers falsely claim that the book will explain how to get government grants  -- including the "guaranteed" $25,000 grant. GWI and its North Carolina-based telemarketers, also named as defendants in the complaint, then call consumers who have bought the book, trying to get them to pay hundreds of dollars or more for grant research, writing, or coaching services, falsely claiming a 70 percent success rate in securing grant funding.
In reality, few, if any consumers ever receive any grant money.
The Commission contends that in addition to falsely claiming consumers were "guaranteed" to receive grants, GWI used the current government stimulus package to make its pitch. For example, when consumers called the number on the mass-mailed postcard, they heard a recording that said, "If you've been reading the papers you know that recently our government released $700 billion into the private sector. What you probably don't know is that there is another $300 billion that must be given away this year to people just like you."
The recording continues, "And if you're one of the lucky few who knows how to find and apply for these grants, you will receive a check for $25,000 or more, and we guarantee it . . . If you don't get a check for $25,000 or more, you pay nothing."
The following were named as defendants:
? Affiliate Strategies, Inc.;
? Landmark Publishing Group, LLC (d/b/a G.F. Institute and Grant Funding Institute);
? Grant Writers Institute, LLC;
? Answer Customers, LLC;
? Apex Holdings International, LLC;
? Brett Blackman, individually and as an officer, manager, and/or member of Affiliate Strategies, Inc., Landmark Publishing Group, LLC, Grant Writers Institute, LLC, Answer Customers, LLC, and Apex Holdings International, LLC;
? Jordan Sevy, individually and as a manager of Landmark Publishing Group, LLC;
? James Rulison, individually and as president of Answer Customers, LLC, all located in Kansas.
The complaint also names the following North Carolina entities as defendants:
? Real Estate Buyers Financial Network LLC (d/b/a Grant Writers Research Network);
? Martin Nossov, individually and as a manager and member of Real Estate Buyers Financial Network LLC; and
? Alicia Nossov, individually and as a manager and member of Real Estate Buyers Financial Network LLC.



Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/07 ... l#ixzz0NENGCoRV

I just recive my money back.....:) My bank refund money I lost by GRANTS-R-US.

I DID THIS TOO! THIS IS FRAUD, WAS NOT AUTHORIZED! ANY BANK THAT ARGUES WITH THAT IS JACKED! I WANT IN ON A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IF THERE IS ONE!

No calls but they are taking 25 pounds for last two months from my account. I went to my bank and taking relevant action. Is this with Barclays only??

Any other bank accounts?

877-208-5947*GRAND UNITED Cyprus

I have never had any calls, but somehow these ppl have taken 25.07 out of my account 4 times that I know of. I also have called the number and fought with some lady for over 30 minutes. This is BS now I have to cancel this and every bill I have comes out of it!!! Guess I will go back to money orders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, that last bit of advice is for everyone, not just Anjo. MickVeryAngry take note.

To Anjo, no scammer is going to acknowledge that they have stolen your money or that the people/company who stole your money is anything to do with them. Thats a none starter. Deal with your bank, they are the people who can get things done. Dont forget, they are experts in this sort of thing and have been doing it for a long time.

I didn't get any calls. Money was taken from my credit-card account. It was traced back by my bank (Halifax) to a company calling themselves GRANTS-R-US apparently based in Cyprus. I immediately got in touch with my bank to initiate a dispute. I got my money back and it has escalated to the fraud department. The police may also get involved. It is possible to get your money back and it is also possible for the authorities to track down and punish the scammers/thieves. Dont be afraid to call in the fraud boys because thats exactly what it is and, believe it or not, they are on your side. Good Luck.

I called this number back and they said they don't know anything about the charge??  And that the company GRANTS-R-US 888-321-0509 CY is not them.  What??

I also just got scammed by these unknown feckers, what i wanna know is, is there a way to get my money back and to press charges against the people involved, i still dont understand how this has happened i'm usually very careful with my details on line, what bank is everyone using, mine halifax, does any1 play travian tryin to see if they may be the source of the info leak

My account is barclays too. Anyone else with Barclays? Maybe they hacked barclays database! Have cancelled card and submitting a fraud form.

what bank are You? I am in Barclays. my money was stolen twice.

i have also just found out 2day of this dose any one no who they are or what its for??? the bank told me this wasnt fraud and that i must ov dun it but i no 100% that it wasnt

No call but they just took £25 from my account that i rarely ever use. Also had £15 taken from Support-For-You 888-2496210 US. I have never been or bought anything from the US. Good job i checked it!!! Contacted my bank and they have cancelled my card and are investigating the fraud!! Tell your bank ASAP so they cant steal anymore of your money!!!

I, too have had £15 taken unauthorised from my account.  Just phoned the number - they work on Eastern Standard Time.

they got me for 24.87 off my card. and this is just the beginning. because this is what i do and im going to get to the bottom of this.

Call them I did There refunding it part of a company called Google Treasure Chest

Thus number has just taken 24.95 out of my account and I have had no dealing with them!!! Thanks to these guys i'm over my overdraft limit and as an unemployed student I can't afford bank charges of £40!!!
I can't believe ppl think they can do this!! didn't even call just STOLE money out an account which had £3.00!!! I'm surprised my bank allowed it!!!!

This number took 69.01 off of my card and I am currently disputing it. Please, do not put your credit cards on file with ANYTHING, because  Hackers can find it anyway.

I didn't get a call, they just stole my money... any idea on how I can get it back? I'm so poor and out of work and thanks to them my rent check bounced and I'm about to have no place to live!