MY STORY :

Wednesday, August 30th 9AM:
I discover a "missed call" on my cell phone from a number I don't recognize, 727-541-0001, at 8:09AM PST. No message. I didn't think anything of it, as I work in the music industry and recieve many calls from associates across the country, with different area codes.

Wednesday, August 30th 2:38PM:
Just getting out of class, I noticed another "missed call" from this same mysterious number. Checking my voice mail, I notice that it is a telemarketer asking to speak to me. Call centers use computers to dial the numbers--when someone picks up, the call is then transferred to the rep. This saves time, keeping the live bodies there from wasting hours calling numbers that don't pick up or are disconnected. The telemarketer (on my voice mail) asked for me by name, and then hung up shortly thereafter, when realizing no one was on the line. Irked that a telemarketer was calling my CELL PHONE (they're not supposed to do that), I called the 727 back to see what company it was and give them a piece of my mind. To my amazement, the number was DISCONNECTED. What the hell is that all about? I assumed I'd been duped, and they were using some kind of software to send my caller ID a fake number.

When I got to a computer I did an area code lookup on-line and discovered that the number was a Tampa/St. Petersburg phone. I dismissed the whole thing as just another weird happening and moved on.

Wednesday, August 30th 4:09PM
I couldn't let it go. I'm weird like that. I Googled "727-541-0001." I almost crapped my pants when the results came up. 508 entries about "727-541-0001" in particular and how something fishy was connected to the number. The first site was the most informative; a blog written by one Bob Greenspan (not Alan) about his experience with 727-541-0001, followed by over 550 comments from other victims. Seems like these guys are hitting everybody, from coast-to-coast.

Wednesday, August 30th, 9:01PM
I spent close to an hour reading all the comments. Same thing: "Called back this weird 727 number and it was disconnected, etc." Posters who had actually answered the calls tell of incredibly rude strangers who had their credit card and personal info and were congratulating the victims on winning shopping sprees and gas cards. The crazy thing was just how many victims had posted on this small blog site. What about the people that didn't even know about the scam, or the site--there had to be millions more out there! That's when I decided to be pro-active, and dig into this situation. There had to be something I could do. All these people (including me) felt helpless. No one was doing anything about these crooks--these calls had been going on for over a year, and still persisted. I was on a mission. Now it had turned into a waiting game...when would they call next?

Thursday, August 31st, 8:10AM
Damn it, I missed their call! I was waiting too...but in another room and did not hear the phone. A voice mail was left this time too--similiar to the first, only it was a guy and he seemed confused and frustrated why no one was answering him back. He didn't quite "get it" that he was recording a voice mail message. I was angry at myself for missing the call. From yesterday's call it seemd like they call every six hours. I shall wait.

Thursday, August 31st, 1:14PM
When the 727 number appeared on my phone as it rang, my heart almost stopped. I answered the phone trying not to sound nervous, but I was. "Randall?" said a male voice. I said "no," wanting to stall the guy and pretend like I was going to get Randall to come to the phone. "Randall?" again he asked, and I replied "No, let me get him," and put the phone on mute. I sat down with a pen and paper, ready to take as many notes as I can--the plan was to keep this guy on the phone as long as I could to milk as much info out of him without scaring him off.

When I answered the phone, as "Randall" (myself), he introduced himself as "Ron Simpson" from Visa Rewards. He told me he was calling about my credit card that ended in XXXX. I pulled out my Visa, and yup, that was the card. He told me I was being awarded as a good customer and they were going to send me a certificate for a $3,000 on-line shopping spree and a free gas card. I pretended to be dumb, and happy about this news! The first thing I did is make small talk with him and ask him where he was calling from, and he replied Tampa. This was the same city that the "fake" number's area code was from, so I wondered if he was making up that location or not. I told him my friend worked at a radio station there (which is true), and asked him what station he listens too. He answered with a station that I know to be in Tampa, so he was in fact, in Tampa. Puzzle piece number one down!

I then asked again, what company he worked for, and he again said "Visa Rewards." Then I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said "I am the supervisor" and that no one else was on the floor at the moment. He then confirmed my home address and told me to be expecting a package with these awards in them, and that I could always call if I wanted to stop recieving the mailings. I then asked, "What number do I call if I want to cancel?" and to my surprise he gave me this number: 1-888-326-7156. I was hoping this was a real number and would link somehow to this guy's outfit. Then (just like I read last night in some of the victim's blogs), he informed me he was going to verify my information and that I indeed wanted this award, and needed to record the conversation (a lot of legit businesses actually do this to protect themselves). He added that I needed to be charged a $1.00 activation fee to recieve my prizes (that's where the whole charging of your card starts). I then proceeded to tell him that I knew this was a scam. I ran out of things to say, and didn't want to be recorded saying yes to anything. And then...CLICK. He was gone.

Thursday, August 31th, 1:22PM
Right after the hangup I called my credit card company and told the whole story to the fraud department, then called my local law enforcement agency to file a report. I then called that 1-888-326-7156 number that the clown gave me, only to get a recording saying that all agents were busy and to hold the line, over and over again. I figured it was a bogus number and that no one would ever answer.

Thursday, August 31st, 4:23PM
I attempted the 1-888-326-7156 one more time, this time recording the call in my studio (I work in radio). After a minute or so, I got a live person and was astonished. I asked for the supervisor and had a five minute conversation with this man, asking him just what his company was all about, and why his representatives were calling me. I didn't want to be rude, because again, I wanted to get as much information out of him as I could. And boy, did I! I learned his company name, location, and how the scam worked--but of course he was explaining it as a legit service, but tens of thousands of angry betrayed victims know otherwise. I was actually surprised he gave up so much info, and was reeling at the fact I was getting it all on tape. It makes more sense for you to just listen to the actual call, than for me to transcribe it, so make sure you go to the AUDIO PAGE to play the call (and hear the telemarketers calls to me).

After the call, I then Googled 1-888-326-7156 and AGAIN found interesting info--this time different though. This time, the complaint wasn't about calls and solicitations, but rather this 888 number was connected to false credit card charges. Is it all making sense know? The first calls from the 727 number were to get you to accidently agree to the charge by misleading information. Then when you got your credit card invoice, next to the charge, was this 1-888-326-7156 number. I also found the company's name, address, and phone number, thanks to the report on Google, and it DID match the location the supervisor gave me earlier on the phone. The puzzle is just about put together! We now know how to find these clowns. Visit the CONTACT page to get in touch with them.

Thursday, August 31st, 10:11PM
I have work early tomorrow morning but wanted to put this site up as quicky as I could to alert others and help satisfy the curiousity of many (I know this was frustrating as hell wondering who these a-holes are!).

WHAT TO DO NOW???
I urge YOU to call your local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as your bank, if these people have contacted you. Give them the info on this site, especially the names and contact info of these crooks! They will keep doing this if WE don't put a stop to this. Insist that the law agencies you talk to take action. Follow up, and do not rest until this company is SHUT DOWN. I also want to find out WHO SOLD OUR INFO to this outfit, that is if they didn't steal it. Imagine if we find out just HOW our info got out? Can you say CLASS ACTION SUIT??? Yeah.

If you are interested in joining the class action suit, e-mail me at rdub520 at yahoo dot com to be put on my contacts list. Then if anything comes out of this, I will have everyone's e-mail address for the attorney to contact, who will sue the fecal material out of these bastards, and send us our checks for privacy invasion. It's worth a shot.