Pages tagged with 'calling card fraud'
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Calling card fraud is a serious issue that is costing consumers millions of dollars per year.
The two main calling card problems that consumers experience are:
Receive far fewer minutes than advertised
Hidden fees drain cards of value in mysterious ways
As a result of these problems, recent studies have shown that in some cases consumers receive no more than 50% - 60% of advertised minutes. A report by the Hispanic Institute gives some specific examples of some phonecards that deliver far fewer minutes than advertised (pdf).
As you might expect, these studies have...
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For additional calling card fraud information, please check out some of the links and resources below.
From the Federal Trade Commission
The FTC is the chief enforcer against calling card abuse and fraud in the United States. In addition to the links cited below, you can also search the FTC site to find many additional articles and reports about FTC calling card actions.
FTC Testifies on Prepaid Phone Card Fraud - Excerpt: "The Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that while the FTC will continue its aggressive law...
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Calling card fraud is a major problem for the consumers. Shady calling card companies frequently market cards in deceptive ways that lead consumers to believe they will get more than they actually do.
Most calling card scams involve situations where company marketing materials indicate higher call minutes and/or lower per minute call rates than are actually realized by consumers in practice.
In the United States, at least, the practices can be so flagrant that various state Attorneys General and/or Federal enforcement agencies like the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) step in...
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $1.3M settlement with Clifton Telecard Alliance One (CTA) for calling card fraud. Also named in the settlement was Mustafa Qattous, the owner of CTA. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the FTC against Clifton in April, 2008.
The FTC charged that CTA "misrepresented the number of calling minutes consumers would get with its calling cards, charged hidden fees, and failed to disclose that consumers’ cards will be charged whether or not the calls are connected".
As part of the settlement, Clifton is ordered not to misrepresent...
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If you have experienced a problem with a calling card or prepaid phone card, you can file a consumer complaint in several places.
In the US, there is no definitive single place to do so, but the best places to start are with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or with the Attorney General in your state. There are also a number of consumer groups and websites where complaints can be lodged.
To file a complaint, you will want to have some basic information about the card handy - company name, card name, where you bought it, when you bought...
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On July 29th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a permanent injunction against Diamond Phone Card, Inc. of Elmhurst, NY for calling card fraud. The complaint alleges that Diamond sold cards that delivered dramatically fewer minutes than were advertised.
The owner of the company and a key employee were also cited individually. The case was filed in the US District Court in New York.
Diamond Phone Card sells prepaid calling cards through retail outlets. It markets primarily to recent immigrants to the United States.
The FTC charged that Diamond Phone Card "advertisements made bold...
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Calling card scams are, unfortunately, very common. They lead to a huge number of consumer complaints every year - and legal action by federal and state authorities is common.
Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to avoid calling card scams. We describe these steps below.
The basic idea is to find one or two reputable vendors, and then compare a few cards from each to make sure you are getting the cheapest card for your needs.
As well, you want to avoid cards with complicated pricing schemes - simple pricing and 'clean' cards are the way to go.
To help you along,...
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Total Call International (TCI), a Los Angeles based telecommunications provider that markets prepaid calling cards and other services, has settled a calling card fraud suit brought by the State of California.
"Total Call International has raked in profits by advertising bargain basement prices then charging exorbitant fees when their cards were used." Attorney General Edmund G. Brown said. "Today's agreement safeguards California's consumers by forcing this company to fully disclose hidden and deceptive calling card fees."
Among other items, the suit against Total Call International (...
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The District of Columbia filed suit against AT&T in an effort to claim the unused balances remaining on old prepaid calling cards.
It is estimated that 5% to 20% of the purchased value of calling cards goes unused - for calling card users, it is hard to time calls exactly to consume all the purchased time and/or people simply forget they have the time.
The suit is based on the idea that the unused balances are 'abandoned property' which the city is entitled to collect under District law. This is similar to how the city would handle, say, a residential property that was abandoned...
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