Telemarketing Scam Tricks Unwitting Consumer Callers

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2002 — -- When most Americans think of telemarketers, they probably think of those phone calls around dinner time. But the federal government today went after a different type of telemarketer — those who get consumers to call them.

The practice is called "in-bound telemarketing" because consumers are calling into the boiler rooms themselves. The Federal Trade Commission went to court Monday to shut down 11 companies it said were misleading and defrauding consumers.

Some of the companies promised guaranteed credit, such as a loan or a major credit card if the consumers paid hundreds of dollars up front. Others offered work-at-home businesses, telling consumers they could make money stuffing envelopes or making phone calls on a business' behalf.

Consumers called the companies after seeing classified ads in newspapers, ads on the Internet, or even on telephone poles.

One person who said she was taken was Shirley Bobbitt of Chicago. Bobbitt said she saw a classified ad in a local newspaper, which promised she could make as much as $50,000 a year by billing insurance companies for doctors.

Bobbitt called the company's 800 number and reached Electronic Medical Billing, a company based in Mission Viejo, Calif. "With my history working with upper level executives they said that you would be a prime person that doctors would look at," she said.

Bobbitt, who was laid off in November, was told that for $325, she would get the necessary software, lists of doctors and marketing letters. But she said she got no letters and the software did not work.

Looking back, Bobbitt offered a piece of advice to those who may be eyeing similar offers: "If it seems too good to be real, it probably is."

A court order shut down Electronic Medical Billing on Monday after the FTC alleged the company engaged in false and misleading claims. Company executive John Moore said the company had done nothing wrong. Moore said he welcomed the FTC's scrutiny and hoped to reopen by the end of the week.