Fake or real

[rages4calm]

So I recieved a phone call on my cell phone, now .. i never give my cell phone # to anyone the only thing I have recently put my cell phone # on is my tax papers.

I recieved a phone call from this # 1-267-851-6441 i barely understood what they were saying but in a nutshell supposely everyone is either capable are incapable every year for a chance to recieve a grant (that you don't pay back etc) anyways they wanted to know my bank information, routing and account and asked and said that there would be a 359 dollar payment 1 time and that is it and that the recording of our conversation would be sent to the bank and the company called themselves American funds and financial or american standard funds and finacial...

They sounded legit.. but then again they always do... so either way i have till the 10th to make up my mind if i pay the 359 supposely the grant will be sent direction to my bank and it was a grant for 4,900 dollars..

weirdest phone caller ever...

They even gave me an customer account # and a phone # if i had any other questions or wanted to cancel, but hell since there not american its hard as hell to understand them any damn way.

[René]

I really hope you didnt give them your banking info or any additional info about yourself.

[rages4calm]

Originally Posted by 3CP

I really hope you didnt give them your banking info or any additional info about yourself.

Nope they already had all my information that is the weird part.

They asked me for all this stuff however at the beginning of the convo they read my name, address cell phone #, bank info.... and told me i have till the 10th to cancel and if i didn't call them and the funds weren't there in my account by the 10th id lose the deal and get a charge for not having the funds.. then they hung up on me not giving me the chance to say anything

so i tried calling back with the # they gave me and account # they gave me and it tells me there hours of operation on mon thru fri from 9 to 4

so im going to call back tommorrow get some more info, i don't want the deal either way so it will be cancelled but im going to ask them how they got that info and if they argue with me there going ot have problems.

[René]

If they have your banking info you may want to allert your bank first thing in the morning. I dont know much about grants, but dont you have to apply for those? Also, you mentioned you put your cell # on your tax return, did you put your bank info there for deposit of a refund? If so, you may want to contact the IRS and make sure they got your filing if you havent heard from them yet.

Kinda scary!

[Murph]

Nigerian Scam, based on previous ID theft or info garnered off of Public Data.com

[DoctorWu]

Originally Posted by rages4calm

Nope they already had all my information that is the weird part.

They asked me for all this stuff however at the beginning of the convo they read my name, address cell phone #, bank info.....

If they have your bank account number etc...I'd put a hold on your account immediately....

[CaptainTom]

put the phone number into google search, and I bet you get the story...

[rages4calm]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

put the phone number into google search, and I bet you get the story...

I did i put both #'s in
can't find crap

[raevyncent]

I had this happen to me a couple years ago, did the research, and it IS a scam. BTW, you say they had bank info, if I remember, they only had my bank routing # which is very easy to get if they know what bank you use and what state you are in. If that is all they have, definitely do not give them your account number. When I worked at Geico and did check-by-phone payments, we had a database of routing numbers for 100's of banks in case someone called in without their checkbook but knew their account #.

[scotthelsel]

Originally Posted by rages4calm

So I recieved a phone call on my cell phone, now .. i never give my cell phone # to anyone the only thing I have recently put my cell phone # on is my tax papers.

If they had everything they needed to steal your identity they would have already done it. They need something from you but I'm not savy enough to figure out what it might be. It does sound similiar to several overseas scams others have mentioned and I've read about.

Might not hurt to put your bank on notice, check any other bank accounts you have, and watch all of your credit cards. If you think they may have stolen your identity you need to make a police report. It won't stop them if they've already damaged your name or credit but it is the first thing you'll need to do to start fixing things.

I don't mena to sound alarmist but identity theft is a growing business. The thing that really irrates me is that the crooks don't even have to leave to comfort of their computer to rip you off. I'll get off the soapbox now...sorry about the rant.

[Hogleg 44]

Isn't this what is called Phishing?
Fishing for the real numbers so they can clean OUT your account!
Don't be tempted! As the saying goes...If it sounds too good to be true...IT IS too good to be true! You don't get something for nothing!

[kachina]

Call the FBI and report it. If you have their number, call them from the nearest FBI office with an agent listening. However, it is very unlikely that they gave you a legit number.

[mcphotography]

here is some info on the number

(267) 851-6441
Type: Land Line
Provider: Core Communications
Location: Philadelphia or Willow Grove, PA

[DoctorWu]

Originally Posted by mcphotography

here is some info on the number

(267) 851-6441
Type: Land Line
Provider: Core Communications
Location: Philadelphia or Willow Grove, PA

Doesn't really mean much, with number portability they could be calling you from a cell phone in Nigeria.

[mcphotography]

Originally Posted by DoctorWu

Doesn't really mean much, with number portability they could be calling you from a cell phone in Nigeria.

very true - just giving what's freely available online