Scam Alert
Gail Morrison of Mutual 2 recently received a postcard that read: “Dear Mercedes-benz Owner,
Our records indicate that you have not contacted us to have your vehicle protection activated. This notice is to inform you that your 2010 Mercedes-benz is in need of vehicle protection in order to ensure its continued safe operation. Please Call us today at 1-888-642-9034. By neglecting to activate your protection program you will be responsible for paying out of pocket.”
She doesn’t have a warranty on her car, so she contacted her son, who advised her to disregard the message.
That’s good advice for almost any unsolicited contact. The Federal Communications Commission warns people to watch out for predatory marketing that offers extended warranties over the phone and in the mail.
The FCC calls these aggressive tactics a scam. If you own a vehicle and a phone, you will likely receive calls from scammers posing as representatives of a car dealer, manufacturer or insurer telling you that your auto warranty or insurance is about to expire. The call will include some sort of pitch for renewing your warranty or policy.
Do not provide any credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, bank routing numbers or any other type of financial information, warns the FCC.
At best, you will have signed up for a service for which you already may be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. At worst, you could be providing credit card information to a criminal, according to the FCC. Criminals may engage in caller ID
