The Telemarketer Scam

by X-MaliK-X

This is a compalation of a few posts on a TOTSE message board. I did not WRITE this file, I Copy-and-Pasted it to here. I take no claim as the Author, only as the Presenter.

Well, telemarketer fraud has been around since, well telemarketers, however most telemarketer scams involve an elaborate setup where a product is actually sent to the victim, albeit a very poor quality product not worth the value the victim shelled out. These types of ‘mainstream’ ‘organized’ scams are not our slice of pie, as we will be focusing on a faster approach with the simple goal of getting the victim’s money.

With this in mind, lets take a look at the topics CDG outlined:

I. Obtaining Phone Service

Along with the aforementioned methods provided by CDG (as well as keeping in mind that legally, in the US telemarketers are only allowed to call between 8am-9pm) another idea would be to go to a posh hotel and use a phone they will often have in a side lobby or visitor ‘business office.’ Walk into the Hilton from a side door and look around…

As for stealing cell phones, look around unattended purses in public areas such as parks, libraries, etc…

Also if you don’t mind suffering a minor loss, you can just go to a payphone and pay for your calls, of course at 35cents per call this will add up quickly and is only suggested as a last resort if none of the other methods work…

II. What Information To Ask For

This will depend on what our goal is, is it to get a credit card number, a check, or better yet our good friend Cash? I believe that although the top choice would of course be cash, the most probable one would be a credit card, and a check as a last resort as that would involve obtaining false identification and more unpleasantness.

Assuming you are going for a credit card, you will need to ask fort he following information:

• Type of card (Discover, MC, etc…)
• Full name (as appears on card)
• Card number
• Expiration Date
• The 4 Digit Verification Code (appearing right under the card number)

III. Items For Sale

What to sell? What to sell?

Well, two popular items of the aforementioned ‘mainstream’ telemarketer scammers are vitamins and water purifiers. Seeing as how 60% of those succumbing to telemarketer scams are senior citizens, whatever you choose to ‘sell’ should bear that in mind. My motto being ‘temperance is a virtue,’ I wouldn’t recommend picking something extravagant like a new lawnmower, instead choose something along the lines of the vitamins and water purifiers: chocolates, illustrated bibles, American flags, etc… If calling a month or so before a holiday target the time frame: decorative wreaths, pumpkin carving kits, etc…

Remember that since you don’t actually plan on delivering anything, you can pick whatever you want, keeping in mind your target audience (whether it be senior citizens or Soccer Moms).

Another idea, which is also used by the mainstreamers, is charity. Instead of focusing your pitch on a specific item, focus it on a specific charity. The charity can be real or made up to sound real, such as the _____(name of your city) Coalition To Combat Leukemia. Subjects that the charity should focus on include: sick children, incurable diseases, war veterans, poverty relief, medical funding, environmental issues (such as local park clean-up), and so on…

IV. Ways Of Selling Your Item, Selling Tips, and Sample Script

Some general tips, followed by a sample script.

• “Temperance is a virtue.” Two things you must not do: 1)Sound overly anxious/enthusiastic, 2)Ask for outrageous Amounts of Money. You must entice the victim, keeping an air of professional levity whilst holding a serious undertone. Do not push the targeted victim if he/she starts to decline the product, but maintaining a level voice, simply state that this is a limited time offer, and if it doesn’t work, move on to the next name in the phone book, plenty of fish in the proverbial sea, some will get through your net, others wont. As for the amount you ask for the ‘product’ it should range from moderately low (if your goal is to obtain a credit card), to medium (if your goal is to obtain cash).
• A general value I would recommend going for is $15-$45. With charities, let it appear as if the victim can decide what amount he would like to donate, include guiding phrases like ‘most patrons donate around $20’ Here is a sample, ‘backbone’ script, in which you will be trying to get a victim to donate to a reputable charity, in this case, Youth Crisis Centre, commentary appears in brackets.

Scammer: Hello, is this Mrs. Rosenburg? [name appearing in phone book]

Victim: Yes, this is her.

S: Hello ma’am, my name is Michael Vinsberg, I am calling today from the Youth Crisis Centre [2 things: 1) always introduce ‘yourself’ and your ‘organization,’]

S: Mrs.Rosenburg, one out of every thirty children in our city is forced to go without food due to negligent parents-

V: Sorry, not interested

*dial tone* [expect this to happen numerous times, do not get discouraged and move onto the next name]

Scammer: Hello, is this Mrs. Thurmany?

Victim: Yes, this is her.

S: Hello ma’am, my name is Michael Vinsberg, I am calling today from the Youth Crisis Centre, we are a nonprofit organization which provided care for children from broken drug-ruined homes. We work in association with foster homes and adoptions centers supplying medical supplies, food, clothing, and the like. As we are a nonprofit organization, our funding comes from concerned citizens such as yourself. I am calling you today to ask if you would be willing to contribute to our organization.

V: How much would this donation entail?

S: Ma’am, that is entirely up to you, whatever amount you can generously donate will be a great deal, as we need everything from food to medical supplies, every little bit helps, just to ballpark mot of our private citizens donate around twenty to fifty dollars. Also, allow me to mention that with your donation you will receive an honorary certificate of in recognition of your contribution to the YCC, and also become eligible for our monthly raffle for which the price is a steam cooker…Patrons of or over fifty dollars receive the book, ‘Joy: Tales of Triumph,’ a compendium of personal stories of many of our children. [Little ‘rewards’ can be sprinkled into the donation deal, perhaps mentioning the book without the $50 minimum]

V: Hrmmmm…

S: State regulations also require us to have a 3 day return policy, so if you change your mind for any reason your money will be returned to you, or your card not billed…As we are a nonprofit organization, there is absolutely no private gain, all our staff consists of volunteers…

V: All right, I will donate fifty dollars.

S: That’s great, and how would you like to submit your donation? By credit card over the phone, or by mail with a cash amount?

V: I’ll pay with MasterCard right now…

S: All right, and could I get you to transcribe the required information, including the shipping address…

V: card number, expiration date, etc…

S: On behalf of the YCC, I would like to thank you for your gratitude, and remember that should you change your mind please call us at _______ (either a bullshit number, the number of a payphone, etc…), you will receive your certificate shortly! Have a grand day.

Regarding the subject of how to get the victim to send you cash: Setting up a P.O.Box is not recommended as that requires identification, and most post offices have cameras...

An alternative would be to locate a 'safe house,' in other words a house that you feel can receive mail for you: this can be an unoccupied house, a house whose owners are on vacation for the necessary time frame, a house whose mail you can check before the owners, a ‘model home’ showed off to potential buyers but never actually bought, and so on…

When giving your address to the victim (“Please mail your donation in a patterned secure envelope to…”), make sure to include the name of your ‘organization’ as the first line, to further instill the feeling of authenticity, for example: Youth Crisis Centre, Attn: Finance Division, 3405 Westernson Ln, etc…

As to how to go about using the information you received (particularly credit card numbers), you may want to pay a visit to the shadowcrew and carderplanet forums for more insights, but a simple suggestion would be to order from an online merchant using a public library/internet café computer, with the shipping address being a ‘safe house’ mentioned above.

As for “answers to questions regarding the item for sale” this would of course greatly depend on the item you choose to ‘sell.’

NOTE: Of course the techniques involved in using safe houses largely depend on what you are ordering, in other words if it can be simply left in the mailbox or by the door, or if it requires the recipient to be present at the time of delivery…

Safe Houses and Not-so-safe Houses

‘Safe Houses,’ or drops that do not require any identification or prior investment

• An empty house. Can be spotted by the ‘for sale’ sign in the front yard, or by browsing through one of those free realtor catalogs available on nearly every street corner. It is advised that the For Sale sign is removed, however if you are receiving a large package that will not fit in the mailbox/requires a signature and thus you plan on being ‘at’ the house at the time of delivery, an excuse can be given to the delivery man along the lines of “yeah, we’re moving next month and trying to sell this ol’ heap…”
• Work-time house. Can be spotted by several days of observation. A stereotypical house in suburbia where all residents are at work/not present at the time of usual mail delivery. Be sure to watch the right type of truck depending on how your package will be sent: USPS, FedEx, etc…
• Residents-on-vacation house. May be a bit difficult to find, especially the length of the vacation and as thus is not too common/reliable.
• Model home. Found particularly in new suburban housing developments, these are the ‘showcase homes’ that are used by realtors to show off what the new houses will look like. Can be found by looking for new freshly built housing developments and spotting one that looks like it has electricity at night/furniture. Can also be found by contacting a realtor and saying that you would like to see model homes in _____[city of choice].

‘Risky Locations,’ or drops that require identification and/or prior investment, and as thus I generally do not recommend.

• Cheap rented hotels, rented for a week or so, require identification, moderate payment, and suspicion may be raised when an address is that of a hotel.
• P.O. Boxes, require identification, small payment, have cameras, and suspicion may be raised when an address is a P.O.Box.
• Cheap rented rooms, either around ‘college towns’ or generally poor areas. May or may not require identification, moderate to low payment, however pose the risk of future identification based on the fact that numerous people would have seen you.

If you are further interested in drop locations the shadowcrew and carderplanet forums may be worth paying a visit.

Standard Disclaimer: It is understood that the above is written for educational/informational/theoretical/entertainment purpose only. I do not accept any responsibility for any actions you may take and do not condone any activity which goes against the law.