Don’t trust offers that are too good to be true!
(ORILLIA, ON) – Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are warning consumers not to blindly trust phone calls that claim to be able to negotiate significantly lower interest rates on your credit cards or loans.
Members of the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch say this type of “service scam†is becoming more prominent during the tough economic times being experienced by many Canadians. Consumers who get these interest rate reduction offers – sometimes through automatically-dialled “robo-calls†– should listen to them with extreme scepticism because many are scams. What the callers really want is the processing fee, which is usually paid by credit card. Some even follow-up with a fraudulent client acknowledgement or cancellation clause that reimburse the amount EXCLUDING a “retainer fee.â€
In 2011, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received 982 Canadian complaints of criminals who offered lower interest rates either online or over the phone to in return for some type of fee. Of those, 173 people were identified as victims who reported a loss of more than $133 thousand. Again, there are likely many more victims but they are reluctant to report the crime.
It’s important to note, companies behind these calls can’t do anything for you that you can’t do for yourself – for free. Indeed, investigators found that people who pay for these services don’t get the touted interest rate reductions, don’t save the promised amounts, don’t pay off their credit card debt three to five times faster, and struggle to get refunds.
If you’re looking to reduce interest rates is to call your financial institution or the customer service phone number on the back of your credit card and negotiate. And, if you are tempted by the promises made in a rate reduction robo-call, hold off – and hang up.
If you suspect you or someone you know has experienced an interest rate reduction scam or has been the victim of a service scam, contact your local police service or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).