I’m just a guy sick of these credit card scammers. I’m going to identify them and bring them down
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
I’m just a guy sick of these credit card scammers. I’m going to identify them and bring them down
Stopping Heather With Account Services 
Thanks for doing this! Here’s my story:
It’s either “Heather at Account Services” or “Jonathan at Consumer Services” but the computer script is identical, about lowering CC rates. I have been receiving these identical calls at least once a month, but today received three in a row! I have kept a written account starting back in September, 2007. If you Press 1, you talk to an agent and I have done so on many occasions, asking and even begging them to remove me from their list. If you Press 2, it says they will remove you, but I’ve also tried that. At first, my caller ID said “not available” but since January, it says that they are coming from Florida (but I’ve been told that even the Caller ID can be spoofed … so why does the phone company charge me for it?). I am on the National Do-Not-Call list (which IMHO is a joke!) and have reported them on-line to both the FTC and the FCC (twice) but nothing happens. Today I called the FCC (888-225-5322 and spoke to Bob), the FTC (877-382-4357 and spoke to Chris), as well as the State of Illinois Office of the Attorney General (312-814-3000 and spoke to Janet). They were all polite, but I don’t get the feeling that any of them will really help. FCC Bob was the most helpful and admitted he’s heard of “Heather at Account Services” many times. He is also the one who gave me the other two telephone numbers and urged me to report them. I also just reported the call to the Ameritech (AT&T) “Annoyance Call Bureau” at 800-769-4099 … to a computer which promised that someone would get back to me within one business day. We’ll see!
Today’s Caller ID said 407-207-0820 from Orlando, FL
1/22/08 – 1/29/08 – 2/29/08 calls: 850-475-5122 from Pensacola, FL
Prior to January 2008 my Caller ID said “Unavailable”
It is now January 4th, 2015.
IT IS EIGHT ( 8) years later… same calls, same recorded message. Nothing has changed.
The note above is dated March 12, 2008
About 8 years later… “Heather from ACCOUNT SERVICES”
STILL CALLING. EXACT SAME RECORDING.
The call was from 314-317-0658
Recorded message…”Hello, this is HEATHER from ACCOUNT SERVICES…”
They are calling from
Latitude
38° 39′ 41.9868″ N
Longitude
90° 25′ 52.0032″ W
after searching the web and you can see a nice neighborhood on Moseley Lane. It is Peerless Network according to the website.
Have asked these people both verbally as also by pressing the number option NOT to contact me any more, but they continue to do so, sometimes multiple times a day.
These are scammers.
THey want you to tell them your personal info.
If you ask them for any infor about their “company” because they are vague, they will hang up on you and continue to call again and again.
PLEASE REPORT all of these calls to the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY.
Hopefully one day, something will be done about these people
who try to do dishonest things to other people’s lives and cause them harm.
I find it hard to believe that after EIGHT years, nothing has been done to stop these people and even for the people on the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY.
Now that we know where they are, it may be time to apply some revolutionary Shariah justice. Heather just called me again. I hope she was well paid for her performance; she will need the money for lawyers.
We are receiving the “Heather” calls on our company phones daily; our home phone daily; and now they have started on both cell phones. I have made several complaints on the Do Not Call list! Man!
I have had at least 200 calls from this same “Heather” – same script. Nobody to complain to. I have tried to block their number but they keep changing their number – they’ve had at least 30 numbers in the last year. This is CRAZY!!!
I’ve been reporting the same scam (“Heather” from Credit Services) for over a year and it continues. I’ll keep reporting, if only to remind myself that we need effective consumer protection.
Wonder hoe Peerless Network would appreciate a visit from law enforcement, a subpoena from my attorney regarding a class action lawsuit, or possibly (as a last resort) a D.O.S. attack?
Heather better start thinking about retirement before one of the above becomes reality.
Unfortunately this is a huge game of whack-a-mole. While I don’t have any first hand experience, I am guessing that “heather from account services” is a plug and play software package sold on Scammer forums that anybody can buy and setup.
I am a SW dev, and if I were designing this (again, no first hand knowledge, but this is one way it would avoid detection) I would have you as the “instigator” setup the software, give it a list of numbers to call (also purchased from Scammer sites), and a list of numbers for your “agents” who you have given instructions to, and set the program running making VOIP calls.
The software will call the numbers on the first list and probably have only 1 out of 100 press a number to speak to a live agent. When that happens it calls one of the numbers on the second list and connects the two calls together. The guy on the second list attempts to “reel you in” which his script. They will get a commission if the fish on the first list actually sends them some money. You, as the instigator, receives the money from the fish, doles out some commissions to the agents, disappears (if smart) after a week or so of calling. Feds looking for the instigator will most likely turn up empty. Instigator re-appears later in a different location.
I don’t think there is a single instigator…I think there are many.
To shut this down they can try to track down the instigators, but they really need to get the software off the Scammer sites…good luck with that.
Look at the finances and see why it is so attractive to scammers…make 10000 calls, have 100 of those press to speak to an agent, and have 10 of those be fish who send money. I would guess the average fish sends in $1000-$4000 dollars which gives a $10000-$40000 return to the instigator less commissions and initial setup costs. That is probably one day’s work.
The principle named in the class action lawsuit is Harry Wahl. 2574 Sheffield Ave. Orlando Fl. Phone 407 896 7327. Business listed is Swan Marketing. I asked them to take me off of their do not call list last month and the calls from Heather have stopped.
Larry Louisville KY… THESE PEOPLE CALL A HOSPITAL ROOM NUMBER THAT MY WIFE WAS IN….A STEP DOWN UNIT FROM ICU!!!!!!!!!! This is horrible……I have reported them several times on the “no call list”
I’ve been receiving dozens of these irritating calls on my cell phone lately. I tried the phone number listed in Chester’s post and got a “Sorry this number is not in service” message.
My Pops and I get these calls on both cell phones and the home phone several times a week. Sometimes the names change from Heather, Rachael and . Always the same message, but the numbers come from a wide variety of places, mostly different. In just the past month, I have blocked all these numbers that have the same message from: Ashland City, Tn., Savannah, Ga., unknown several times, Winter Haven, Fl., Canton, Ga., Beaufort, SC, New Orleans, La., Tallahassee, Fl, Hatboro, Pa, Caldwell, Id. and Knoxville, Tn. + others with No caller ID. It seems to be getting worse instead of better as well as a huge uptick in scammer phishing, etc. emails, fake gift card scams and whatnot. I try to report them all, but it takes me about 10 minutes each day just to report the emails. I don’t know why we cannot battle and combat these terrible nuicenses and crooks.
Heather calls from all over, and from different numbers. Blocking one on my phone is useless. I’ve received calls from cities where I have work or personal relationships. Here in Texas, we have frontier justice – that’s really what Heather needs.
In time It’s going to changing the way we all use our phones, It’s already done it for me. It’s gotten so stupid that I don’t answer my phone unless it’s someone in my directory. Doing this I could miss an important call. The next OS’s need a checkbox for “Block if not in contacts”.
3 damned times a week and I do not have a credit card!
I got call from Heather from account service twice in half hour on my cell phone. I have blocked the caller but they keep calling from different numbers. How can I stop them from calling on my cell phone? Thanks.
I’ve gotta at least 8 calls today alone from “Heather from card services”. They are daily blowing up our phone – house and cell. I learned years ago that the Do Not Call List is a black hole so what can be done about these people???
Shelly – complain to your state Attorney General, the FCC, and the FTC, more than once if you keep getting the same calls.
This is what Chester posted on Feb 21 2017:
The principle named in the class action lawsuit is Harry Wahl. 2574 Sheffield Ave. Orlando Fl. Phone 407 896 7327. Business listed is Swan Marketing. I asked them to take me off of their do not call list last month and the calls from Heather have stopped.
I just called this number – 407 896 7327 –
it is disconnected
Can anyone give us the name of the court, parties and attorneys involved in the class action lawsuit involving the “Heather with…” calls?
These folks were allegedly shut down over a year ago by Pam Bondi…http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/9F1F6F650D2A068F85257FD2006E56D7
but I keep getting several calls a day. Pity Heather when we finally track her down….
There are many “Heather” and “Rachel” prerecorded call operations, unfortunately. But a few have been shut down by the FTC and/or state attorney generals.
Since Trump and his deregulation took over I have gone from 1 call a week to 3 calls a day. Last number for Heather was 954-210-9889 some where in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Republicans can only legislate law to protect the wealthy. If you really believe they are going to send back all those Mexicans then why in the hell is Trump’s staff at his resort 95% foreign Mexicans. You people are being duped, you’re too stupid to do a fact check and most folks i know that voted for him are still on food stamps.
Somehow I knew this would be completely about politics. So you are saying Heather has an (R) or a (D) next to her name? So stupid. Are you sure Obama didn’t do it? 😦
I sure Heather is a republican crook just like Trump and blames everything on Hillary, Obama and the poor. Just like Trump and republicans her only objective is to relieve all burdens on the wealthy. After all it’s not enough they don’t fight the wars they start they want to pay less than the guy at Walmart.
Bite me, georgie.
Obama is the creater of Heather and he laughs his way to the bank as Democrats send thier money , even if they haven’t a credit card .
You’re a typical Democratic moron. My husband and I both voted for Trump. So did most of his and my family. None of us are on food stamps or welfare and my husband earned a very good income. None of us are toothless rednecks living in run down trailers. You need to think before you show your liberal stupidity. It’s people like you who would love to have that murdering Hitlery or communist Sanders in the White House. Since you hate Trump so much, why don’t you move to Venezuela, where you’d be lucky to have a phone. Btw, I’ve been getting these scam phone messages long before Trump was elected.
As an individual there really no way for me to stop these calls….
BUT without wasting my time, I WASTE THEIRS…
My phone system has “music on hold”, so when I hear a recording, I hit the hold button. This way their computer is kept busy and not calling someone else. It usually takes a minute or two before they disconnect.
Even without a response from me some of the systems forward the “music on hold” to a live agent. And I am now very happy to be wasting the time of the live agent. ;>)
As an individual there really no way for me to stop these calls….
BUT without wasting my time, I WASTE THEIRS…
My phone system has “music on hold”, so when I hear a recording, I hit the hold button. This way their computer is kept busy and not calling someone else. It usually takes a minute or two before they disconnect.
Even without a response from me some of the systems forward the “music on hold” to a live agent. And I am now very happy to be wasting the time of the live agent. ;>)
Every time you connect to an agent, your number is getting flagged and placed on even more valuable lists. VOIP spoofing can now (since May 2017) use the area code and prefix it’s calling as part of the number displayed in the caller ID. The FCC is working on a system to prevent VOIP caller ID spoofing but it’s years away.
“Heather” calls me every day on my cell phone and I want to strangle her. It is a different number every day and I block the numbers. “She” just called me on my work line!!!! What??? How do we get rid of Heather?
I would say that we need to sanction those who sell our numbers and email addresses, but I doubt that would make a difference. With VOIP they can afford to call every number in an exchange, for example, they would call 888-555-1212, 1213, 1214, etc. Yes, I agree that congress can do something about it, but they likely will not as they are probably being paid “ignorance” money by the scammers themselves.Will Rogers said we had the finest government money can buy, I disagree. We have the worst that can be bought and paid for. I would create an entire section of the FBI that would do nothing but spy on congress to see who is taking what bribes. I want congress so afraid of this unit that they would be afraid to accept a Happy Meal from a lobbyist.
Four yrs ago when mom was dying in a nursing home a telemarketer called the phone on the table next to her bed!! I picked up the phone thinking it was one of her friends but no….
!! I told the guy go fuck yourself and hung up.these idiots need to burn like they burn their dead in india. They simply do not care who picks up the phone…if there abl
January 4, 2018 – same calls daily, even twice today, always with a spoofed caller name and number.. today – the caller ID was Cochran Carol and 706-647-7801. “Hello, this is Heather from Account Services… press 1 to speak to an account representative about lowering your interest rate…”
The only solution is to press government to bombard us through the media, begging us to ALWAYS hang up on telephonic solicitation. Only when it stops making money will it end. And this includes donations. It all violates our privacy. Just hang up!
Tom, I am having the same experiences. Today 4/8/08, at 11:40 am, I got the piped in Heather from Consumer Services. I pressed one to get a name and phone number and to tell them to put me on their do not call list (we are already on the National Registrey as well). I planned to pursue futher action. I got a guy by the name of Michael. When I told him to put us on the do not call list, he hung up in my face!!!!! They have called here at least 4 times in the last two months and I’ve tried pressing number 2 to get them to go away, and they keep on calling. The Jonathon guy you mentioned has been piping in calls to us for years (probably 6 years) under different company names and guises. You’re right, why hasn’t something been done about this unscrupulous company and who in the public is falling for their spiels only to get taken advantage of financially in some way? This is totally unacceptable!!
I called the numbers you have called to complain, but no warm body answers the phone so I filed a complaint on the DNCNR website.
I live in California, so apparently they are pestering everyone in the United States.
Why hasn’t something been done about it by the FCC?
Please advise me of what else I can do?
Regards, Beth M.
When America becomes whole again (vote for Obama) and not a corporate dictatorship (CorpMERICA) when dictator George W HitlerBush is out of office then they will begin to care. CUSTOMER SERVICE IT IS ALL IN IRAQ!!!! IRAQ THE NEW VIETNAM!!!!
Wow. I’m so impressed, considering I’ve gotten MORE of these calls since Obama has been in office! Yeah, he REALLY cares.
idiot, Obama has nothing to do with it.
How did that Obama thing work out?
Not very well, someone had to make America Great Again!
WHAT A WACKO! And this was before the delusional human filth lost their collective minds over Trump. A brief yet violent and decisive Civil War, in which the mental defect called “progressivism” is eradicated from the gene pool, may be the best way to restore American Greatness.
How did that go? Obama for eight years, was that not long enough? Still happening in mid 2017.
Wow, Obama was in office 8yrs, getting even more calls, thought it was Bush’s fault, that funny. I just gave the last one that called me this afternoon the FBI Fraud lines phone number when the idiot asked me for my cc credit number, he was mad, lol. And of course hung up on me, cowards. Last weeks one on Friday got really mad at me when I engaged in his scam with all wrong info, gave name as Kandy Kuntakiss, actually took all the info, then got mad at me when I told him he must have transposed info when he said, cant be right. I love wasting their time LOL
I keep getting these calls from Heather at Account Services and other calls similar to them. They will not stop until some AG office or FTC is motivated to act, and that usually doesn’t happen unless someone actually suffers a loss.
1. Hitting “1” and screaming or abusing the telemarketer does not work, they simply hang up. Your number is in the computer and they will call again… and again..
2. Reporting to your AG (tracing phone) will not work. The AG in my state said the number they call from is through an internet phone… not traceable!
3. Filing a complaint on the Federal No Call list does not work, for the same reasons as #2 above. Our state recently started prosecuting no-call violators because the business-friendly federal government was so lax in enforcement. The telemarketers KNOW this and intentionally violate the No Call list knowing they won’t get prosecuted.
The only way I know of stopping them is to work with the AG office, create a honeypot bank account, then give the telemarketer that account number and catch them when they tap funds from the account. -OR- change your phone number.
sometimes, if I am in a vindictive mood, I will engage the human operator for a half hour, then, just as we are about to close the deal, my cell phone signal suddenly goes bad. Probably some poor guy in Manila trying to support his family by working for Satan.
she’s BAAACK! forget about the police or the FCC or the authorities. they can do nothing. hanging up when the recording starts doesn’t discourage them. after about 6 months of almost daily harassment, i stayed on the line for a human and when he spoke i SCREAMED into the phone at the top of my lungs with a series of curses. it felt great. the calls stopped for a year, and now they have started again. i don’t feel sorry for the employees; they are criminals. i might just invest in a whistle.
Years later the same stuff. Today I got fed up with it and started laughing, told the guy he was Effin crazy if he thought I was giving him my personal info and hung up on him. Did they stop? NO. my phone started ringing non-stop from no less than 4 “local” numbers when I finally answered, the guy I had yelled at, screamed ” GO F*** YOURSELF” into the phone and hung up. Nice people they have there.
Try to get as much info as you can, once you find out the company name, call them over and over and over.
great post thanks for this useful information!
If the FCC would offer a cash reward for reporting the illegal calls, disgruntled idiot call center employees would collect the reward as they are exiting their job. The problem would be gone forever in a few days.
You could push the button to talk to a “representative” and tell the call center rep about the reward program.
Call the FCC now and demand they take action and offer rewards.
Got one from Heather today from the number 301 735 9982. Could not reach anyone to yell at them even pressing 1.
Mine was from 863.589.9269. Redialing that number leads to a beep and no ring tone. Would they open a business relationship with a new client with a big fat communist LIE?
Next time, I will tell their agent, “What is your name and address? I want to send the money in cash to you personally and have you handle everything because I trust you”.
Several people have gone to jail for this scheme, but it is so profitable that others have picked it up. It is one of the highest priorities for the FTC, so keep reporting the calls.
The only partly effective strategy is to increase their costs. I have a fried, who whenever he gets a telemarketing call, tries to see how long he can keep a real person on the line before declining their services. His record is 47 minutes.
If you can get a real name and address, it is possible to sue them. I did once and got $200. The lawyer got $1000.
I was wondering how effective an air horn would be…..
An air horn is not going to have the full effect you may think it would, because the sound heard is limited by the capacity of the earpiece the person on the other end is wearing.
Dear Heather,
The last time we spoke was more than a year ago, so I must admit I was relieved to hear your voice today. As usual, you didn’t let me get a word in edgewise since you were so excited about how I could lower my interest rates.
Your voice hasn’t changed a bit during the decade you have been calling to repeat your message to me. You sound just as assertive as ever, but as friendly as the daughter I remember before you joined that dreadful card services company. Don’t you ever age?
Please, come home dear. You don’t have to waste your life with those criminals. I will forgive you for the hundreds of times you called. You can have your old room back. Just please stop calling. It hurts too much.
Especially when you say, “And have a great day!”
Sincerely,
Your Dad
302-207-5335 yes she is back, Heather from account services. If you would pass a law that would charge these companies $10,000 per instance 5000 going to the government 5000 going to the call party these calls would stop overnight. It’s time to put some teeth behind the national do not call list .
I live in Ontario, Canada. Today Heather, ( whom by the way is a frequent caller) called me from my own phone number. Looking at my call display when the phone rang was a jolt as I thought how could this be possible.
Last week I received voicemail from a local number with some very loud cursing telling me to leave her alone and not to call her again. I thought that caller had the wrong number but to day after hearing Heather I connected the dots. Did Heather steal my phone number and is calling others with it? I’m not aware of how to deal with this latest episode, I guess I will start with the phone company, although from experience Ma Bell won’t care less.
My hope is Heather and her cohorts will choke on their offer sometime soon. And FYI our ‘Do not call registry ‘ here is a joke. I think it was initiated but not activated.
That’s brilliant! Heather calling your phone using YOUR NUMBER. It gets more surreal all the time.
Yes Heather has your number, sorry. Not just your’s either. She has been using just about every number, that our local company has, to call me, Some are active, some are fax numbers, some are disconnected. I complained to the company and was told there was nothing they could do about it. Alas, Heather just lives on. I am not so rude to the unsuspecting people who have answered my call backs, I just let them know their number is cloned to give them a chance to file a complaint.
There has got to be a way. In some countries there is such a thing as revolutionary Shariah justice. But who knows what country Heather is calling from? The caller ID’s are faked to make it look like Florida. I think it might be from Manila, Philippines. Best clue is to get a live agent and try to peg his accent.
Oh, yeah… I curse all of you members of the Canadian race who blow your cold air down on us here in sunny southern California! But you don’t deserve Heather.
I hope Heather was paid well for her performance. She will need that money for her lawyers some day. Maybe I could hire her to promote my telescope mirror blank and advanced technology strap buckle business…
I’m getting these calls all the damn time. I wanna go nuke a server farm somewhere!!!!!
I’ve been getting the Heather calls for several years. They use to come on my landline a few times a week. Gave up my landline and was relieved to end her annoying calls. About a year later I started receiving them on my cell. I about passed out the first time and yelled NOOOOOO!!!! It does no good to ask them to remove you from their call list, they hang up before you get the words out. One time I tried just messing with the guy and kept putting him on hold. Like I told him to hang on while I go change the babie’s diaper, or someone’s at my door, or I need to take a quick shower. The guy actually stayed on the line for hours while I went about my daily routine. Wow they’re desperate. Oh how I wish I could reach through my phone and ring Heather’s neck!
Actually these people get their phone numbers directly from these do not call lists. Don’t believe me? Go and sign up and see how soon you get slammed with these callers. The list is given out to companies so they won’t call you but scammers have found it to be a goldmine. They need to investigate everyone that requested a copy of the list and start prosecuting the criminals that are found. Give it some teeth!!!
Sep. 28, 2016, 4:37 PM – prerecorded Heather/account services call from 609-337-3157 to my landline in MD.
Familiar prerecorded woman’s voice with a familiar message I have heard recently. Started with “Hello this is Heather at account services” with a message about your account. Mentioned lowering your rate “to as little as 6.9%”, and to consider this your final notice. It gave an option to press 1 “to speak to a live operator and lower your rate” or to press 2 to discontinue future notices. I pressed 1.
A live man with an Indian accent came on who said his name was “Frank” with Credit Card Services. I asked him for a real number to reach them. He responded by saying they could call back, and asked for my name. I told him my first name, and to call at 7 PM or 7:30 PM. He said yes, or ok, and that he would call back, and the call ended. He did not call back.
Don’t worry, I guarantee that eventually Heather will call you back. She never forgets a person who needs lower credit card interest. Somehow she knows your credit account is OK and she is eager to “help” you.
Please tell me how!!! They call me 3+ times a day!!!
I’m getting these same calls at my work desk phone at least once/day. I mess with them and keep the live person on the line as long as possible but I think they’re onto me because now they hang up on me about a minute into the conversation. I’ll track down their actual name/number as I always manage to do and then post it on here so everyone can get their sweet revenge. I never let it go. Never!
From folks who say they have actually done it, the only way to get past the screeners who will hang up on you if you ask any questions, is to actually buy their service, and then file a TCPA suit.
I have been getting these 2-3 times a day too. No matter how many times I added their number to the auto reject list they just call me from other numbers
These are the numbers that called me today from California – (619)363-9151 and (628)333-6432
File complaints with both the FCC and FTC, the latter of which will do investigations if there are enough complaints.
I wish I could reach through the phone and rip their goddamn throats out
Dec. 5, 2016 – just got another “Heather” call today, to my cell phone that is on the national DNC list, with promise of lowering the rate to 6.9%. They want you to have at least $3,000 in credit card debt.
I just got the Heather robo call and have been getting these for years, (Sept 2, 2016 -843-456-6590; Nov. 8 – 818-861-0561; Dec. 7- 951-438-1725). My strategy is to keep them tied up for a long as possible without giving them any real information. I typically keep them on the phone for 3 to 6 minutes. If everybody did that they would go out of business. Each person employed by them needs to talk to around 300 people per day just to find one or two marks. By keeping them tied up for a few minutes really cuts down on the number of people that they can talk to. And when they realize what I am doing they get really angry, I have had them make rude remarks about my mother when I tell them why I am talking to them sometimes I slowly suggest that they are not getting paid enough to tell lies. Or ask them if they ever wonder why some of their callers are so upset?
I as in an elevator today and suddenly heard Heather come out of the speaker on the wall. I assume there must be some kind of telephone emergency line hook-up. I really needed my credit card interest rates lowered, so I pushed button #1 as instructed. But I only ended up back in the Lobby.
Well Heather called again, this time I was able to make some small talk with the woman I was connected with while I was supposedly looking for my credit card. She said she was in the Dominican Republic and the job was a very good job. I told her that I was sure she was a nice person but the problem is that the people that she works for are bad. When I told her I was trying to waste as much time as possible of theirs she immediately hung up. The call was 3 minutes long. But that is long enough to it to give them a little sting.
3 minutes does not sting them.
they’re not scamming someone else for 3 minutes. If everyone wasted their time then the whole system would be cumbersome. That’s what I intend to do from now on. I’m going to waste as much of their time as I can until they take me off their list.
I believe 3 minutes will hurt them, a typical call lasts less than 60 seconds once you are connected. Each person they employ connects to about 300 people per day just to find one or two marks, each of those calls is less than a minute So keeping their employee on the line for 3 minutes cuts down the number of true potential marks by about 3 people (1%!), if everybody did this it would really cut into their bottom line. I don’t believe that filing a complaint with the FCC or FTC will make a difference since we don’t have any real information to give them…. Unless you can convince the telemarketer to give you a number that you can call them back on. I have tried that but they are too smart for that so all we are left with is to fight fire with fire and waste their time.
Their dialer keeps dialing whether you talk to them or not, and it is the constant auto dialing that is the problem. If you talk to them a very long time, like 20 minutes, and then hang up, then you might irk them some. But they are use to and expect short calls like 3 minutes, because it takes them that long to see if you are a legitimate prospect, whether you are or are not.
I keep getting these calls but no way to transfer to a person. Every time the call it’s from a different state. I’ve probably been called by someone in every state at this point over the last year. I block the numbers and the call with a new one 😡
Have you filed a complaint with the FCC or FTC? You can do so here:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID=35&Url=%23%26panel1-5#crnt
“Heather” has been calling for years and years, and is going as strong and obnoxious as ever, despite however many people take a few minutes of their time to hold them on the line. So what does that tell you about how spending 3 minutes of YOUR time is effecting them? It is not stopping them.
The FTC does go after people if enough people complaint (the FCC does not really take any effective enforcement action), so the FTC, and a few handful of State Attorney Generals, are really about the only way the Heather will stopped. Spending 3 minutes to talk to them just wastes 3 minutes of your time.
Yes, I’m the martyr! Why so negative we can at least try?
Instead of wasting time talking to illegal gangs, people should spend 3 minutes to file a complaint with the FCC or FTC. You can do so here:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID=35&Url=%23%26panel1-5#crnt
No kidding. I have gotten no less than TEN calls in the last two days, each appears to be from a different number in a different state. Every time I request the do not call, and then I block them ln my phone. Holy schnikey…..somebody help me get this to stop.
You can help get the calls to stop by filing a complaint with the FCC or FTC. You can do so here:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID=35&Url=%23%26panel1-5#crnt
I have filed 6 complaints with the FTC over the last 3 years. Heather still calls. Any other ideas?
Just received another call from the lovely Heather. It supposedly originated in the Chicago area 872-281-9013. Been receiving these calls at least three times per week for 8 years. They originate from all over the U.S. Another fine example of another useless government agency with supposed oversight in this arena that lacks the manpower with the technical expertise and the appropriate mission to track down and eradicate these criminals.
The caller ID is almost certainly spoofed, and not a true indication of where the call originated from.Have you filed complaints yet with the FCC, FTC, and your state attorney general?
this is just plain dumb.somebody catch this bitch
Heather got temporarily stopped in 2012 but she’s on the loose again. So even the FTC can’t stop her permanently.
http://www.startribune.com/heather-from-card-services-gets-slapped-by-ftc/168839436/
Today, Feb. 16, 2017, the FTC hosted a town hall/internet webinar about robocalls. They said they get thousands of complaints ever month, but that they read them all, so don’t think they ignore them if they re not able to respond to you individually. So file complaints with the FTC, with as much detail as you can.
The FTC mentioned recent success in dramatically reducing the number of those IRS scam calls, by working with the IRS and (I think) the Postal Service. They answered a question about the technology telemarketers use to make your number appear on your caller ID in a call to your own number, called mirror spoofing, and that this is used to evade everyone, including even the telephone carriers from finding out who they are. The FTC said the number of spoofing technologies is ahead of the development of anti-spoofing technologies.
One FTC staffer (male) went through the numbers, which were something like this: long distance calls are so cheap now, that telemarketers can make millions of calls. He said for every million calls, they might get one person to fall for their scam (whatever the scam or product is). Even with those odds/conversion rates, the staffer said they can make hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The bottom line is the FTC cares, but they only have so many resources, which don’t look to increase under Donald Trump.
I don’t know if the FTC will reply the webinar, or make a transcript available.
Mikey, screw you for your Trump quip.
Wow, Trumps on a roll this week. First telling Boy Scouts about his rich friends yacht sex and then encouraging police brutality. I’m sure honest policeman are horrified that many folks that don’t want to be brutally beaten by police will be more likely to choose to get them before taking a chance of not being severely beaten. And yes our youth need more encouragement to have sex and cause more abortions. You’re a great person Mina!
I get at least 1 call a day from these folks. A whistle sits by the phone and EVERY Time they call me I wait for a connection; Yell do not call list and blow whistle REAL LOUD. I want to ensure they get my message. I invite them to track me down so I can sue them. LETS ALL DO THIS, get them the message as nothing else seems to work. You would think that the power of the US GOVT, FTC and assistance from the NSA that can catch them would do something… That would be a real public service.
Well Heather called yet again! I pushed one to talk to someone and somebody asked if I had over 3,500 in credit card debt and I said yes, (not true, I have no debt but my objective is to waste as much time of theirs as I can) I was connected Michel and he repeated the question and asked how much debt I had and I said $10,000 pretty quickly he wanted my credit card number and I told him I need to go find it. While I was supposedly looking for my credit card I asked if he had a number I could call him back at if we got disconnected and he said yes 305-482-1213. So while he was waiting for me to find my card I dialed that number on my other phone and got a message saying “The Google subscriber you have called is not available leave a message”. I asked Michel if that was a real number and he said yes and hung up. Well I did keep their line busy for 3 minutes.
From “no-more-calls.com”
How does wasting a telemarketers time cost them money?
Simple. Time is money. The equipment is cheap and the robo-dialer program costs nothing. They’re in business to make money and when you hang-up on them (or don’t answer the phone), you make them more profitable.
If everyone spent 2 minutes talking to every telemarketer that called them, telemarketing as an industry would go out of business in a few days. If nothing else, wasting their time will increase the odds of actually getting added to their do not call list. Learn more about why telemarketers keep calling you.
The math of an illegal telemarketing scam is pretty easy – minimize the cost to find a sucker. It works like this:
Dial 10,000 phone numbers with auto-dialing equipment at a cost of $0. 1 in 10 people answer, so that’s 1,000 connected calls.
The average talk time per call is 10 seconds because most people hang-up.
If they pay $5 / hour, then it only costs them about $14 to connect 1,000 calls.
If 1 in 1,000 people spend $100 with the telemarketing company, then their profit margin is 86%!
Now, if instead of a 10 second average talk time, we increase the talk time to 2 minutes because everyone wastes their time. The math now looks like this:
The average talk time is 120 seconds.
If they pay $5 / hour, then it costs them about $170 to connect 1,000 calls.
If 1 in 1,000 people spend $100 with the telemarketing company, then they now lose $66 on every order!
So next time a telemarketer calls, answer the phone and waste their time. Need ideas for wasting their time? Read our page on
How to Waste A Telemarketers Time.
I just got two of these “Heather” calls today. Have received many in the past few months, it seems like about a call a day – usually from a different number each time. The 2 I received today, burning my cell minutes, were from 931-717-2009 and 972-737-8146. I am so sick and tired of this crap. I call the # back and get a “press 9 to not receive any more calls”. Yeah, then they come from a different number!
You need to complain to the FTC and FCC, which you can do online.
Heather is so annoying I have an iPhone and every time she calls me I go into my settings block the number Heather has many many many many phone numbers so as many times as you block her she will continue to call you on a different number. I think this is a computer calling System similar to a computer virus.
I got call from “Heather at Account Services” today at 1:41 PM chicago time. From 469-771-2028 I reported these call to “do not call” national registry many times. my phone is on the do not call list from 2008 and I get these call all the time. This do not call registry is a joke.
Since putting my number on the DNC registry I have been getting many MORE of these calls. I wonder whether the bogus telemarketers use the DNC registry as a source of phone numbers to call.
I’m depressed after reading these postings. Heather is like death and taxes and apparently no one can defeat her. Perhaps we can download her on the Iranian phones and the North Korean phones. I’m sure they would send a hit squad to wipe out those involved.
Heather called yet again! To play along I pushed one to talk to someone the computer said if I had over $3,000 in debt to push 7, so I pushed 7, (not true, I have no debt but my objective is to waste as much time of theirs as I can). I was connected Shawn and he repeated the question and asked how much debt I had and I said $10,000 pretty quickly he wanted my credit card number and I told him I need to go find it. While I was supposedly looking for my credit card I said I’m not sure I should give my card number to him because I knew nothing about him or their business. He said, in an authoritative voice, “this is Card Services LLC!” I said well can you at least give me a telephone number of you company and he said this location is not receiving calls and that as soon as I gave him the card number he would transfer me to a financial manager who would answer all my questions. I said you need to think about what kind of people that you work for that don’t give out telephone numbers. He said he did not know much about what the financial managers do. I said well I will tell you; they will charge $300 on my card and then give me some advice that will in most cases not save me any money. I said that I hope he was getting paid well to rip-off people and if not he should go look for a better job. He hung up on me. I probably kept them tied up for maybe three minutes.
I just got another call from “heather at the dealer dept”. The call came in at 12:26 PM chicago time, from 903-206-1112. Now I waited to hear the whole message. Asked me to press either 3 or some other number. When I did not press any number, heather hanged up on its own. This is like the 30 times in the last few years I get call from heather. I am on the “do not call” Government registry, which is the most useless Government registry ever. I wonder how much of our tax money go to hire people to maintain this useless registry which do not work.
Comments like this from Steve H. need to stop. The do not call registry works, but will and does not work on criminals, scam artists, and others who refuse to use or honor it. Since there are unfortunately many of those types of persons, many people like you will receive calls despite having their number on the DNC list. What you don’t know and can not measure, is all the calls that you are NOT receiving because your number is on the DNC list.
Compare this to the police. Crimes happen despite laws, and despite the police, and despite the fact that some people go to jail for violating the law. But you would not comment about the police and the laws they enforce the same way that you do about the DNC list, would you?
A more useful contribution would be to contact your elected representatives, and ask them to increase funding for the agencies that enforce consumer protection laws, and to increase the penalties for violating those laws.
Sounds like Michael works for the “Do not Call” people.
Your defense of these worthless programs that rely on “honor” is misplaced and pathetic.
If the govt isnt going to stop the “criminals” then why bother paying them to pretend to do so.
The “Do Not Call” registry is a collection of numbers that the government will provide to businesses operating telemarketing services. Those businesses will filter those numbers out of their auto-dialers. This was intended as a service to help you, as a potential customer, avoid being called about business services you didn’t ask for. The DNC registry was not intended as a law enforcement tool.
These “Heather” calls are using the same auto-dialers, but don’t care in the least to filter any numbers out. They are operating illegally and have enough layers of code between the dialers and the actual people that they don’t care about any consequences.
To create a law enforcement effort behind this, you would need to create a new agency, or divert another investigative body to track this down. Not to minimize, but this is small potatoes from a law enforcement point of view.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll keep robo-dialing a Mafia don and he’ll track them down and slaughter the entire call center. When that news got out, it may slow them down.
And Heather called yet again! To play along I pushed one to talk to someone the computer said if I had over $3,000 in debt to push 7, so I pushed 7, (not true, I have no debt but my objective is to waste as much time of theirs as I can). I was connected Carter and he repeated the question and asked how much debt I had and I said $10,000 pretty quickly he wanted my credit card number and I told him I need to go find it. While I was supposedly looking for my credit card I said I’m not sure I should give my card number to him because I knew nothing about him or their business. He said once I was confirmed he would transfer me to a financial adviser who would answer all my questions. I asked if he could transfer me to the financial adviser and he said no, you need to be confirmed first. I said I can’t give out my credit card number to someone who I have no information on and said just give me a number. He said he just need to confirm my number and said it starts with a 4 (as if he had already had my number). I said no give me a number and he said have a nice day and hung up. I kept them tied up for three minutes.
I get at least 5 calls a day like this. Always from a different number/state.
I’m wondering if everyone pressed 7, then when asked for card number, told them to hold on then just put the phone down and walked away. Probably kill 2-3 mins before they hang up. It would suck up so much of their time that it would stop being profitable. If every call had to be answered by a real person. That would kill their phishing game.
No, pressing 7 will not make it unprofitable, and if a lot of people actually did it, they would catch on. You need to complain to the FTC and FCC about the calls you get.
I agree with Dmitry.
OMG, shut up about the FTC/FCC already, Michael! You sound like a dang parrot. Do you work for them or something?
I’ve filed complaint after complaint.
It. Does. Not. Work!!
The FTC has announce their largest ever $280M enforcement action against Dish Network for telemarketing calls: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/06/ftc-doj-case-results-historic-decision-awarding-280-million-civil
I have filed over a hundred complaints about Heather and Rachel over the years. I’ve been on the do not call registry since it began. I have called and pestered the government’s do not call registry personnel and all they can tell me is that the criminals spoof the caller ID, that they are usually operating from the Bahamas or Panama or Croatia or somewhere else the US law cannot get to them even if they found them, and using VOIP calling on a VPN which is untraceable. The registry only stops legitimate callers who will take you off their lists when asked, anyhow. So the registry is useless, and we are paying decent tax monies to maintain it when it does not work.
I wonder why there is no software work around to stop them spoofing caller IDs, and why government or the software giants are not working o this 24/7?
The DNC list registry is funded by the telemarketers who must pay a regular fee, although it does not appear that the people behind the “Heather” credit card interest rate reduction calls, and other robocalls, are paying what they are supposed to pay for the list.
This is making me crazy. At least the old “Microsoft” scam gave me someone to scream at and it would stop for a few months. “Heather” is calling every day, multiple times a day on my home phone and cell phone. I can usually tell because it’s a random number I don’t know from a state where I don’t know anyone but it still doesn’t stop the phone from ringing.
Find them and destroy them. – Agent Smith
So I thought about prolonging the call. I know you’re not supposed to answer “yes” so I answered “no” and Heather hung up on me. Rude. 😉
I blocked so many numbers and they still call me. At least 50 now. It’s so damn annoying! It stops for awhile then they call me for a few days and at least 3 times a day. And sometimes so early in the morning they wake me up. -a long pause- “hi this is heather calling from your dealer…” I scream “get me off your damn calling list!” (Along with other curse words I won’t mention) and hang up. I’m so damn sick of it! And can’t believe this same scam has been going on for years and they haven’t been caught!
Make sure to file a complaint with the FTC and FCC, which you can do online: https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx
Your “file a complaint” response gets tiresome.
these calls have been bothering people since 2008 and nothing has been done to stop them. and blaming Trump for not continuing to throw money at the FCC is ridiculous. if they haven’t figured out how to stop this in almost 10 years they may as well save our time and money by closing down that wasted dept. probably hundreds of people with six figure salaries accomplishing nothing.
The FTC and FCC base their enforcement on the number of complaints, and the FTC has taken action against some of the credit card debt companies They have also recently had success in going after the threatening phony IRS lawsuit scam calls. No one at this site can stop these companies, no matter how much you complain here, as the people behind the “Heather” and “Rachel” calls are too well trained.
So is there a solution?
I get at least five calls a day from”Heather at account services” these people are useless pieces of filth but it’s cool karma will get them.
The FTC and FL just shut down and got a judgment and injunction against All Us Marketing LLC and the rest of one big operation responsible for “Card Services” calls. You can read about it here: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/142-3256-x150048/all-us-marketing-llc-formerly-known-payless-solutions
Well Michael since June I have received at least 10 calls on my cellphone and I don’t know how many on my landline (I at least have nomorobo on that line) so Heather must have posted bail or went out the side door.
BTW none of that recovered money comes back to us taxpayers or the long suffers of Heather.
By now she must look like that picture of the old woman who smoked all her life.
Well, I have received hundreds of these calls too over the years, with them steadily increasing in frequency. I just got another one yesterday and already one this morning. Looks like “Heather” has gone independent!
Non-personal VoIP numbers need to have some sort of public registry that ties to the corporate owner, and all VoIP/Telco providers should not allow non-subscribed VoIP phone numbers from being set by their clients to prevent fake caller-id numbers just like most decent Internet Providers strip out bogus RFC1918 Source IP Addresses and other improper source addresses from IP networks.
What can you do ? BS Them right back. Waste their time on the phone. Because now its 2017 an the registry does NOTHING on you side. If there is a news report about a lawsuit it is most likely bogus or filled with lawyer talk to actually make you THINK they are doing something..
I agree with john doe. If everybody just wasted 2 minutes of their time they would go out of business. And it really pisses them off as Ryan demonstrates below!
Got the call today. Opening line I tell them, “I have $670,000 in credit card debt!” She say to me, “You’re a lying cunt” and hangs up. Lmao
That’s what I have been saying; customer service just doesn’t exist in this country any more.
I am getting these calls 3 – 5 times a day. I am a lawyer in Texas. If someone can get me the name of the company responsible, I will happily file a class action lawsuit.
J.L. Van Dyke – If you would like to join a like-minded discussion group of lawyers and non-lawyers who are very serious about stopping and suing telemarketers over robocalls and other telemarketing calls, you can do so here: http://tcpalists.com/mailman/listinfo/prerecord-l
6625461635
4087032776
When you find them, let me know…
Those 2 numbers are likely spoofed. The call from 662 area code is apparently about car warranties, not card services: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-662-546-1635
6625461635
4087032776
When you find them, let me know…
Billions spent every single year by Homeland Security, but they can’t even stop our elders from getting scam calls from India. A f*cking disgrace. They are more concerned with spying on their own citizens, shitting on the constitution in the process, than they are about billions defrauded from their own citizens.
FTC says on their website in FAQs that the FTC cannot enforce the no call list when the originating numbers are “spoofed”.
Jay – if you could provide the link to where the FTC says in its FAQs that it can not enforce calls that have spoofed Caller ID, please provide that. Thank you.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0108-national-do-not-call-registry#calls
Thank you James. It does not exactly say that the FTC can not enforce against spoofed Caller ID calls, just that it is difficult for the FTC:
“I gave you the phone number that called me illegally. Why isn’t
the FTC doing something?
Current technology makes it easy for scammers to fake or “spoof” caller ID information, so the number you reported in your complaint probably isn’t real. Without more information, it’s difficult for the FTC and other law enforcement agencies to identify the actual caller. Nonetheless, the FTC analyzes complaint data and trends to identify illegal callers based on calling patterns. The agency also is pursuing a variety of technology-based solutions to combat illegal calls and practices.”
I had developed a deep and meaningful relation with my darling Heather. I so looked forward to her calls, but realized i needed to break off the relationship as our numerous daily calls were affecting my work at the mental institution. She seems to have taken it badly and has become obsessed. I explained my dilemma to her but she persist in trying to rekindle the magic we had, calling me more often than ever. Oh my love for Heather yet I must be strong.
I hope that she signed a “residuals” contract when she made the recording.
Thisis what Chester posted on Feb 21 2017:
The principle named in the class action lawsuit is Harry Wahl. 2574 Sheffield Ave. Orlando Fl. Phone 407 896 7327. Business listed is Swan Marketing. I asked them to take me off of their do not call list last month and the calls from Heather have stopped.
Here’s a link and an excerpt of the lawsuit:
Defendants’ Rate-Reduction Campaign
51. In numerous instances, Defendants have initiated, or directed others to initiate, telemarketing calls that deliver a prerecorded message that offers consumers a chance to lower their credit-card interest rates and instructs consumers to press a number on their telephone to be connected to a live representative. When a consumer presses the number on their telephone to be connected to a live representative. When a consumer presses the number on his telephone keypad, he is connected to a live representative who works for Defendants.
Sounds familiar??
Click to access 1606lifemanagementcmpt.pdf
Thanks for the link!
I receive so many calls from this recorder Heather person from Account services. I’m sick of it I have had at least 50 calls. I keep blocking the numbers but they call from other numbers. I press 2 to be taken off the list and they still keep calling. I press 1 to talk to someone and ask them to stop calling me and I always get some awful person that swears at me I would love to record how disgusting these people are and what they say to me. Surly they can’t get away with this.
I have this real pain in the ass neighbor. Because I know his name, phone number, and address, I give that info to the operator and ask them to send me some marketing info at my house and then call me back after I have had some time to read it over.
I get “Heather” to waste some time with me and my neighbor and spend some time and money sending junk mail and making live phone calls. I also annoy my neighbor. Two birds, right?
Doesn’t that make you Heather?
I’ve started receiving repeated calls on our google voice number from “Heather with account services” – but they’re always from an unknown number, so we can’t block them. Google voice needs to put in a block feature – or a feature for rejecting ALL unknown callers, which they apparently don’t have, either.
“Heather from account services” was put in prison in 2009, according to an older news article.
No, I don’t think it was the actual Heather just the company that was using her voice.
If we somehow threatened the phone servicer carrier and Heather would the phone service carrier sue and and then we get Heather to become subpoenaed as well?. Heather needs to show up as part of a lawsuit and if she doesn’t or the parties behind her calls there can be no case. Let’s annoy the phone service carriers that allow Heather and Rachel to use their services. By the way blowing a whistle doesn’t work when speaking a representative for some unknown reason.
Rather than threatening the phone service carrier, which to start with, you would have trouble identifying the correct originating carrier for the telemarketing call, instead file complaints with the FCC, FTC, and your state attorney general, and let your own carrier where you get the calls know that you are getting lots of telemarketing calls – I believe they can block a specific number.
Sorry Michael, there is a lot of sense in what Mike is saying. We go after ISPs for distributing pornographic or stolen material why not the phone companies? Instead of paying billions of dollars for mergers and marketing how about investing in something the taxpayer wants. Although you will have trouble getting it through Congress (any Congress) just take a look at the TCA of 1996 passed by a Republican congress and signed by a Democratic President.
I have been getting these calls for years. Different phone number, city, state and sometimes even out of the USA. I even got a call from MY OWN PHONE NUMBER !! After that I went to Verizon worrried my number was being used to scam other people, they couldn’t explain or help. My father actually works for FCC and I have also contacted other federal agencies and Verizon, my only advise has been to ‘change my phone number’. It’s 2017, I think we can do better. I literally feel I am being harassed by these people
They call at least two times a day. Today with an “unknown” number and 386-219-2855 having the same pitch:
This is Heather from account services. There is no problem with your account, but it is important that you contact us about lowering your interest rate…
The crazy thing is that I find that exact text already in internet posts
from April 2008, that is almost ten years!!!
Why is this even possible, in many countries they had this kind of robocalls maybe twenty years ago but that all stopped after legislation was changed. Is it not forbidden in the US? This causes incidents of people picking up the phone while driving, wakes people up and is just huge amount of lost time and resources.
Unfortunately she changed he name to Sarah!
I receive calls all the time, but was wondering, has anyone tried to send back a FAX signal. I was wondering if that might remove you from their list. I may give that a try.
Just got a robocall from someone wanting to lower my cc debt (of which I have none) and the rep said she was with MMG. MMG Holdings is a debt consolidation/collegtion agency. Just filed a complaint with the FTC\FCC. Called into the FTC consumer complaints hotline and spoke with a rep who said that it can help to talk to these people and get their information as well as file a complaint. Got a phone number for the company and called them back and there is no answer or dial tone. These people can burn.
Hi Wiley – I get calls from MMG as well. I talked to them today in order to figure out how I can get them to stop. Did you get any feedback from the FTC / FCC ??
Keep voting for congress persons that have only one agenda, getting tax breaks for the rich and hold your breath about those phone calls getting stopped.
The problem is that members of both parties have that as their agendas. If you want to go political, there arte more Democrats in Congress at the millionaire’s trough than Republicans.
Six calls from Heather since 9am—- we are being harassed. Nothing works to keep the calls from coming.
August 10th 2017…. She won’t stop.
Receive calls every single day … always from different numbers/cities/states … today from : 407-896-7327 (Orlando FL), 434-212-1189 (Scottsville VA) earlier this week from 914-698-6402 (Mamaroneck NY), 561-349-8222 (Pahokee FL)
I found this page where one can send a message to the company that “owns” Heather’s calls:
https://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/swanmarketingoforlandollc-orlando-fl-2663075.html
and I left this message for them to send to the business owner:
“Swan Marketing – after much research I have uncovered that your firm is responsible for all of the “Hello, this is Heather ….” Please respond and work with me to CEASE and DESIST (AKA DO NOT CALL) for all of my family phone numbers”
More numbers where it was originating.
(903) 200-1587
(469) 998-9690
(440) 219-0753
(404) 907-1404
(828) 229-7850
Thank you for posting. ‘Heather’ has passed the borders of harassment I am a disabled senior and would very much like to file a suit against this company.
This is not a company. This is coming from a group of well hidden scam artists. It is more than just one group, finding and suing one will not stop this.
This is the main point to understand for many posting here. This is not a company so the DNC registry doesn’t matter, there are several different operations, independently using the same recording so there is not a one time action that can take it down. They won’t quit on their own as long as it is profitable.
The only way to make this stop is to waste their time, and educate enough people as to what this is so they don’t get their 1 in 10,000 payday.
No the only way to stop it is to force the carriers into rooting out phishing. However with an industry tool in charge of the FCC these scams will continue.
Correction: there are companies involved, but they are just very hard to identify affirmatively. Wasting their time will not stop these companies. The FTC occasionally, sometimes in conjunction with state attorney generals, shuts these operations down. Here is one recent example from May 2017, which names the companies involved:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/05/ftc-florida-halt-massive-debt-relief-scam
I think there is an initiative to do something useful about all the spoofed and fake caller IDs, I think perhaps that might stop the calls from going through unless certain data matches or can be confirmed.
Repeat texts, calls, and 5 second voicemails from numbers all over the country, California, Texas, Florida, new Jersey, Philadelphia, and others asking for Heather Davis. Added to DNC on 30 of them but a 100 more keep calling, spoofed non 1 800 numbers all from smucks in the Phillipines.
Go after the phone carriers! Number spoofing is a feature that the carrier has enabled. The carriers get kickbacks to any services purchased through your phone account. Read that again: THE PHONE CARRIERS GET PAID FOR ALLOWING THE SPAMMING TO CONTINUE. Spoofing is a feature of the system that must be enabled to work. Tell the carriers enough is enough. Kill spoofing and kill the spamming for good! Similar with M$. They only have security holes because they were left there to be patched or exploited. M$ has to look like they are doing something other than just scrambling the screen around every 2 years and listing drivers as incompatible.
Also, give them almost real credit card numbers. They will get flagged as trying to run fake numbers and investigated. I have several cards I could mess up reciting (stinking dyslexia).
Forget your carriers go after your elected representatives. If you don’t think that they are in the Carriers’ pockets take a look at the TCA of 1996 and following decisions by the FCC.
Instead of spending billions of dollars on mergers and marketing stop the spoofing.
Interesting: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/1606lifemanagementcmpt.pdf If in fact the Wahl’s of Florida are involved, they do have a history of scheming through telemarketing.
Calls every other day with fake numbers, getting sick of it, who gave them my number.
I’ve started to press 1 to talk with someone. then I waste as much of his time that I can before he realizes he won’t get anything from me
I get calls from Heather 6 and 7 times a day always a different phone number on my caller ID always a local number here in Colorado and always attached to either someone else is home number or the best one was this morning it was a number associated with an optometrist office!
I block the number every time and make a report to the FTC and the Do Not Call Registry.
How are they using someone else’s number to come up on my caller ID?
There is a solution that might actually work. DNC lists and FTC complaints are mostly worthless, do humans actually work there?
What you do is write your turdfondling congressional weasels and ask how, as the “representative” of the people a country that build a stealth aircraft, put men on the moon and send probes to ferret out the secrets of the moons of Pluto can’t stop spoofed robocalls?
Let them know if they fail to start solving problems as egregious as this (the first post was over 8 years ago!) that you plan to vote for anyone who runs against them.
Vote out the incumbents, it’s the only message they can’t ignore.
Somebody please find Heather and kill the bit@h. Lol…really total harassment over years of time.
I wish we could start an account with a trusted funding source to stop these people. Hire full time investigators to publicize the information of all involved in HEATHER FROM CARD SERVICES. Forget our useless FTC,FCC and DNC and we the people use our funds and reverse terrorism to put an end to this harassment we have been subjected to.
Offer rewards leading to the direct locations of call centers and homes of anyone involved.
These people are terrorists and our government isn’t going to help us. Were on our own and ‘we’ have to put an end to this.
THE folks that answer the phones are probably pd $10 / day… Wastin 2 minutes of their time also wastes 2 minutes of mine…
ANY Answered Call moves me up the Priority Call List…
NOT ANSWERING calls from numbers I don’t recognize works for me… (Any legit biz will leave a msg….)
BUT an unanswered call (hopefully) costs someone somewhere a millionth of a cent…
PLUS it costs my carrier a penny of lost revenue…
Someone above sez – These scams are changing the way we all use our phones….
I agree with YAWN – if you don’t recognize a number, don’t answer it and have it go to voice mail. If you don’t get a voicemail alert it was a scam call and you’ve gained a small victory by wasting there time without wasting yours.
I installed an app on my phone called Truecaller and it brings up the name of the caller even if you don’t have them as a contact. also, if it is spam, you can mark the call as spam, even give it a name and you can see what numbers others have marked. so the call will come up saying “327 reported spam” can you ignore and block the number. not completely free of annoyance, truecaller makes a minor chirp when blocking a call. but then you can open the app and see just home many times the call was blocked. I have blocked Heather 8 times in the last 10 days
Hey! I have been dealing with Heather for months, at least 5 times a week, all from different area codes I have lived in the past few years. I am totally unsure how to deal with it.
After months of quiet, I’ve gotten about a dozen calls from our friend Heather in the last few days. And their system spoofs phone numbers from the same area code and exchange as I have.
I believe i found out who this is there’s a company called National Debt Relief – i was able to coax the guy on the call that is was interested, i asked him the name of their company, they indicated National Debt Relief , although the message said account services, I did a quick BBB lookup and found them. I called, them, they acknowledged that they had my number. Then tried to get my name, email, etc. Told them to take me off their list, or i will put together a class action law suit. There’s plenty on this blog to start one. Keep track of each call, each instance is a federal fine. Anyway, here’s the info. call them and tell them to remove you. I will keep track to see if they call me again.
BBB info on them
https://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/credit-and-debt-counseling/national-debt-relief-llc-in-new-york-ny-110899/reviews-and-complaints
Enough_of_Heather,
Can you state the date of your call, and describe with some more detail the content of phone call you received which you say that you linked to National Debt Relief, LLC? There are a variety of different robocalls being made in or using the name “account services” or “card services”. Thanks.
That voice message keep calling me, im in NYC so they call me all the time with the 917 area code, i work with clients in a company so i need to answer those calls because has the same area code, its annoying!!!
I have received three calls today from “Heather with Account Services” who is offering a reduced credit card rate for a limited time. The numbers are 512-396-1965 and 512-887-3053.
I doubt that you can identify them. They spoof phone numbers, so there is no link between the caller ID number that you see and the spammers.
The best I’ve been able to do for the past two years is continue to the person by pressing 1 and reel them in by sounding interested. When they start to aggressively demand my credit card number, I throw out awful insults that get them cussing. I’ve made it to a second live person several times and got a few going with fake account numbers. It’s become something of a hobbie if I’m able to talk at the time. I actually now look forward to them calling because I know the script by heart and know exactly how to keep the call going for 10s of minutes. The things I say would get me in legal trouble if they were a legit company. I can’t track them but they can’t come after me legally either. They don’t like when I talk about them eating bacon from the pigs that fly out of my @ss because that’s when they’ll get any legit info from me.
Heather called me from MD this morning and from FL just now. She really gets around fast!
Heather is and account services unwanted calls must be stopped.
Did some research and found this pending lawsuit. Don’t know if it’s related to Heather and her calls, but it’s something.
http://www.monitronicstcpalawsuit.com/
The Monitronics class action lawsuit is about calls soliciting home alarm system services. It has absolutely nothing to do with calls from Heather, Rachel, or “Account Services”. Search the FTC cases if you want to find enforcement actions and suits against credit card debt services.
What about following the money. They charge your card if you fall for the scam. Where does the money go? Credit card companies know who they are paying out to right?
Yes, but you have to be willing to let them charge your card, and then dispute the charge afterwards.
This may appear elsewhere in this lengthy thread, but here’s another take on Heather with Account Services and their associated caller ID spoofing.
I live in FL, within one of the area codes that others on this thread have listed these spam/scam calls as originating from.
In my case, although it may have just been a coincidence, Heather and her partners in crime were able to spoof a few numbers of some of my associates, neighbors, and/or other numbers I do business with. So instead of calling back to a disconnected number, I call back a colleague or a business who advised they never called in the first place. In other instances, I answer the call, anticipating it to be one of those colleagues, neighbors or businesses, only to be greeted by Heather again. In fact, in one instance where I did not answer, my cell phone was called by…you guessed it…my own cell phone number!
Of course, this further complicates matters for investigators and law enforcement attempting to deter these scammers.
There is apparently a name for spoofed numbers which look like local numbers, neighbor spoofing. https://www.robokiller.com/blog/local-call/
Heather called again! I was beginning to feel a little rejected, she has not called me since April. I pushed 1 to talk to a real person but either their system or my phone was not working and the system did not seem to be registering my key press and system timed out and hung up. So, I was only able to keep the line tied up for 44 seconds.
This time they displayed a number on my caller ID with the first five digits matching my telephone number (Spoofing a neighbor’s telephone call). This is the first time they did this making me think a new company is using this recording.
Can someone please call in a drone strike on Heather??!!!!!
But seriously, she calls from spoofed numbers. How it the hell can she be identified and stopped? Does anyone know the company behind this harassment? I can’t believe this has been going on for so long (for me like 2 years).
Just got one of those Heather with credit card services call. They call me often but always with a different number. This time they called using a known telephone number. They are spoofing telephone numbers to get through. Hiya app is no match for these clever scammers.
Has the Hiya app helped stop or reduce telemarketers at all?
2 Times a day every day for the last month all from a local number to the Austin TX Metro area.
Just demand petition your Congressman get out of the telecom’s pocket and devote some of their merger billions to stop phishing.
Must be from somewhere in the M.E. or maybe scamming to fund terror. They keep calling I got Pissed and said f.. you, FK muhammad, and FK allah. The guy totally lost it SCREAMMING! So at least I know how to annoy them
Great idea thanks!
I have received these calls for years and after pressing “1” to speak to someone about it, the same Phillipine sounding male answers. This probably is originating outside of the US. Since I’m retired, I started playing the dummy by telling him I’m interested and to please hold on while I find my wallet. My record is stringing the ding a ling on for 45 minuets! Had a good laugh over it and thought maybe he’d remember me next time, but he called again two days later!
It is highly unlikely it was the same caller 2 days later. The accents I hear are Indian, or possibly Pakistani. Not sure how you concluded your callers sound like they are from the Philippines.
can we go after the telephone companies, to stop allowing spammers from using IP addresses to send calls? if all users threatened to quit Verizon if they don’t do something to protect our numbers from this maybe they would step up and do something. anyone (or know of someone) who works for one of these major phone companies?
Stop HEATHER – your best bet in the short term is to file complaints regularly with the federal agencies (FCC and FTC) and your state attorney general.
I just got another call from Heather, this time on my cell phone! The thing that really pisses me off, is that they were using the caller ID from one of the business lines I OWN! That will make people think the call is coming from us, which it is NOT.
Let your phone carrier know what happened, and ask if they can tell you anything further, or do anything about it, at least in the future.
I get a call every week or so. Sometimes more than once a week on my personal phone and work phone. I told the guy I have 0% interest rates on my cards, if he can do better than that let me know. He hung up. Sound Pakistani.
They are clever and call from local different numbers. When I have time I screw with them. Heather never answers, it’s always a foreigner. I either ask him for his cell number so I can harass him, or I play along with phony names and numbers to waste their time. These idiots won’t stop. I wonder if people fall for this
I’ve been receiving these calls to on my home and cell phones. I just asked the FBI to PLEASE do something. https://www.facebook.com/FBI/
Actually, something does get done about this problem. The three original Heather scammers are at this very moment doing time in the Federal penitentiary system. One of them won’t be out until 2026. So the question now is: who are these new Heather scammers and do they have any relationship to the first crew?
When you hang up and try to call the number back listed on your caller I.D….YOU GET A MESSAGE THAT SAYS THE NUMBER ISN’T IN SERVICE!!! That means they are using ‘ghost’ or ‘spoof’ numbers which hide their real number on your caller I.D.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caller_ID_spoofing
After doing a lot of reading and culling of facts here is what we know..
1. They are spoofing caller ID numbers – so those numbers belong to innocent people, its a waste of time to report them.
2. They have been doing this since 2008
3. There are multiple groups involved in the scam, so multiple channels will have to be attacked, they might not all be funding the same activities
4. the only way to find them is to follow the money.
The only way to stop this is to: 1) pressure regulators and phone carriers to stop allowing caller ID spoofing, 2) follow the money to their accounts and find them, 3) mass public education to make everyone aware of it so that they get 0 money from the scam, for those who have given them credit card information, report it to the bank so they can go after fraudulent transactions.
If regulators won’t do anything (its been going on for 10 years.. they don’t care), one technique the community could use is individuals can open a low limit credit card used for nothing but fraud tracking. The transactions can then be reported (and stopped) and payees found with no other personal financial risk. We could create an anti-fraud vigilante group to share information and ferret these jerks out!
I just had a Robo call from “Sara” from Card Services calling about credit card interest rates (the caller ID showed a number with the first six digits the same as my cell phone). I pushed one to talk to someone (my objective is to waste as much time of theirs as I can). I was transferred to a guy with maybe an Indian accent who asked, “how are you today” I said I am fine. He asked several questions about my credit debt (I have none) and I answered yes to all his questions. He wanted the expiration date on one of the cards I made him wait 30 seconds while I pretended to go fine the card. He then wanted me to give him my credit card number and that is when I said You have a great job, how did you get this job? He said I have a job for your mother you M@#$%^ F@#$%^! And he hung up. I kept them occupied for 3 minutes. This is the second guy in three days to curse at me!
Got a phone # you can try which is supposedly customer service- Give em hell!!!!
419-9854389
Same ass-hat shit here too. Call Blocker app is filled with random numbers from these fat ass-hat fuck-tards. I would gladly spend life in prison to catch the mother fucker who started owns this and end once and for all.
Sick of Heather and all her calls and don’t forget that Johnathan Smith name also. Would like to see them both brought up on charges just like drug dealers and hung by the neck.
These Robocalls will stop as soon as you figure out a way for the Clinton Foundation to make money stopping them.
Robo call it was “Lisa from Card services” the caller ID showed a number with the first six digits the same as my cell phone. I pushed nine to talk to someone, a guy with maybe an Indian accent came on the line. I let him talk, he said they had been monitoring my usage and I qualified for an interest rate as low as 6% for life. I asked him how they could do that and he said he was the head of VISA. He wanted my credit card number I stalled I kept saying I already gave it to him. And acted like the connection was bad. He hung up I kept him busy for 4 minutes
I guess heather retired with all her residuals. Seriously this will never be resolved with Verizon now doubting phishing as a business asset.
saludos, me encanta lo que publicas. veo que …es intere…es de interés pues escribo un portal de geriátrico donde divulgamos temas del adulto mayor, cuidados, salud, alimentación y otras cosas. Me agradaría subscribirme pues está bueno el contenido. te dejo mis datos: https://medellingeriatrico.com/ mis mejores deseos.