CONTACT

Katie Mitzner / Communications Director
Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado
Telephone: 719/636-5076 Ext. 118
Fax: 719/636-5078 Email: katiem@bbbsc.org

The Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado first alerted the media and consumers to this scam last fall. Now it appears the scam, which already goes by a variety of company names including American Consumer Benefits, United Consumer Benefits, and Unity Benefits, is using another name: Company Y Products. This company uses a phone number with a Montreal, Canada area code; a number that is not new to this scam, it is also listed in the company report of American Consumer Benefits.

In addition, this scam is branching off across the country. Within the last five months, the BBB of Southern Colorado has been contacted by victims from Colorado, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Washington. In addition, the BBB has been contacted by police agencies and the Missouri Attorney General’s office that are investigating this scam.

In each scenario, the company contacts consumers by phone and uses scare tactics to gain the consumer’s trust. The company has the consumer’s bank account information and asks to verify that information. A few days later an attempt is made to take an amount ranging from $395 to $398 out of the consumer’s bank account.

According to our records, this scam started up again last November when consumers in Southern Colorado reported getting phone calls from a company with what seemed to be a helpful offer. The company claimed to want to help get the consumer off of mass call and mailing lists and even safeguard their financial information that was floating around in cyberspace. But it turns out the call was a scam.

The Better Business Bureau has now traced the company to Champlain, New York and Las Vegas, Nevada. According to the New York BBB report the company, under the name CCR, has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB due to a pattern of complaints, unanswered complaints and deceptive business practices. Within the last year, 55 complaints have been filed against this company. According to the Nevada report the company, under the name American Consumer Benefits, is operating from an address where there have been no licenses filed for this company. In the state of Nevada, it is illegal to operate a business without the proper licenses.

Currently there have been 22 complaints filed against American Consumer Benefits, the majority with no response from the company. The mail currently being sent to the Las Vegas address is being returned to sender.

Many of the toll-free numbers used by these companies are now disconnected. The money withdrawn from the consumer’s bank account was done so by phone from a bank in Sacramento, California. No signature from the customer was required for the withdrawal because the bank claimed to already have authorization from the customer. The BBB has filed a complaint with this bank questioning their authorization policies.

The BBB of Southern Colorado, as well as the BBB of Southern Nevada, and police departments in Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio, and the Missouri Attorney General’s office are currently investigating this scam.

• If a caller ever quotes your personal information, THIS IS A RED FLAG, end the conversation immediately. It is possible when you confirm your personal info and say “YES,” that the caller is recording your voice and getting the verification they need to take money out of your account.
• If you get a call such as this, contact your bank and secure your account.
• Never give personal information out over the phone.
• Avoid solicitations by signing up for the national Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov or call the FTC toll-free 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want listed in the database.
• If you question the validity of a company, contact the BBB of Southern Colorado for more information at (719) 636-1155 or 866-206-1800 or online at www.bbbsc.org.