Can`t figure out who this is. They won`t answer or leave a message. They never stop calling.

These people have called repeatedly all day today. They keep saying the same thing that we are have a $3000 tax rebate coming to us, which is not true because I pay taxes in every year. When I told him this info- he then changed his story and said that this is money that I can apply to receive since I have paid taxes every year and all he needed was my bank account information. I told him I'm not interested and not to call my number again and he responded by saying F*** OFF and then hung up!

I got this call about 45 mins ago from the "American Gov't. Tax Department" from a guy who spoke really bad English calling from a very noisy location as if he was in a bus station or gigantic lobby. His accent was so bad I could barely understand why he was calling and then when I was able to hear "American Gov't Tax Department" I said "yeah uh-huh, sure you are" and confronted him again with what he wanted and then he hung up.

They call and tell you your qualified and then they ask you for money

this number called me EIGHT times in a span of seven minutes.  the first time, i said no thank you.  the second and third times, i asked them to stop calling.  times four through seven, i simply answered and let the phone sit there in silence and the final time, i asked why they continued to call and he said 'BECAUSE WE ARE US GOVERNMENT AND YOU ARE STUPID TO HANG UP ON US.'  three different people called in this span of seven minutes and each had the same foreign accent and broken english.

This was my encounter with these a-holes

India/Arab Man: "$3,000 from the government for correctly filing your taxes. Just give me you bank account number and we will direct deposit it on Thursday."

Me: "I would much rather you send it to me in the mail."

Guy: "We cannot do that due to a high volume of lost checks so just give me your account #."

Me: "I don't have it on me..."

Guy: "Well get your check book and I will help you find it."

Me: "I don't have that on me either. Do you think you could call me back tomorrow?"

Guy: "Tomorrow?! That is a bad idea. You must do it sooner to get your money sooner. Just find a bank statement and I will help you get the number."

Me: "I don't have any bank statements with me...."

Guy: "Where are you?"

Me: "Call back tomorrow!"

At this point it was very very obvious that the US government was not involved. Not only were they trying to give me money but they were trying to expedite the process. These guys are idiots! I wish at this point I had said "Would you like my real name (they used my maiden name) and social security number as well? Maybe I could send you my birth certificate and passport too..."

THIS IS A SCAM!!! just answer, tell them you know they are a scam and they will stop calling. then report it to the FTC. www.ftc.com. they call telling you that you have won a  3,000$ grant that you don't have to pay back, then they immediately want your bank account. when you ask for more information, they won't mail anything out and if you refuse to give out your information they get very irate. DON'T FALL FOR IT!!!!! by the way when you call back the call won't be completed. TOTAL SCAM!

they are calling from yellow pages. com 'business directory, and want to give us a free listing? say no thank you. they call every day here at work!  They all have same accent: something like Phillipino??? my bank had their customer service in some 'island' somewhere so Im thinking these calls are NOT made in the U.S.
I tell them each time STOP calling! (the first thing i hear when i pick up phone is a few seconds of a jingle...)
what do i say to them? I am reporting this to the FCC? FTC??

When they called me, I too couldn't understand a thing "Jack Smith" was saying. I asked where he was from and he said San Diege, CA. I put him on speaker phone and let people at work hear him also.
So then I asked him to mail me something, and he said something crazy but the man sounded foreign so I asked for his supervisor. I then hear foot steps as he carried the phone to him, and a slightly more legible man answered the phone.
I asked him where they were calling from and he said SD, CA. All, this is making me laugh its insane! I told him no thank you that, I found everything to be quite questionable that he was telling me. No one gives money away. So the angry man started yelling at me, "YOU THINK I AM MAKING FUN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!! WHAT A JOKE, HOW DARE YOU!"
so the angry man then hangs up. and I am going on with my day. be ware of crazy people!

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

This number called me the other night, the other person on the other line could barely speak any english, saying they would offer my $3,000 and yes they did sound very legit. He had stated they were out of San Diego, I asked for a number I could call them back because I didn't have my account information with me. They said they would call me back the next night. I did not hear anything for another 48 hours I answered and this time they were offering $5,000. I was not going to give them my information. I hung up and I have received 3 calls in the last couple of hours

This number keeps calling my cell phone, telling me the is is the american government tax department. telling me that i qualify for $3,000.00,free money. then he tells me that i need to ok my information for him. i told him that if he had my information then he needed to send me something about this then i was told that it was all ready in the mail. now all i needed to do was give him my bank information. then today he calls back and tells me that he needs my infomation so i can get my free money. when i asked him how much and if it was a scam someone in the background starting cursing me in some language. then they hung up on me

They called me and said that 1100 people in my area qualified for a $5000 grant in my area that would not have to be paid back.  I stated they could mail me the info and I would have my lawyer look it over.  They got agitated and said why would I need to do that.  They wanted my bank name and account number.  They were very persisitant and finally hung up on me when I kept talking about my lawyer sister.  Please to become a victim!!!

My husband got a call tonight from this number. A foreigner. They told him he is getting $3,000 back from IRS and wanted to give him a number to give to the bank. Then he said, Oh I need the name of your bank and your account number. My husband said this sounds like a scam and the foreigner said, no no it's not a scam, you deserve this money. My husband said, why didn't you send me a letter, and he said it was mailed out and he should be getting it. My husband hung up on him and he called back a few times, so my husband turned off the phone and answering machine, he was tired of them calling and calling. Sicko scam artists. They just want your info to rip you off. NEVER give your personal info to ANYONE who calls, no matter how legit it sounds. Legit companies would not demand your account # and be so rude. They would send a letter. I think we will get Life Lock now. It's scary out there with these scams....

I got a call from this number and thought it was actually legit; until the foreign guy talking to me gave me attitude because I asked for a website to check over. I asked if they were able to just send a check and he said they couldn't even do that. After I said no thanks, he said "What do you mean NO THANKS! I gave you the address now you give me your bank name and number!" After I hung up, I called back and of course I get, "The number you have called can not be dialed. Please check the number and try again." Please be aware