Victim Location 90008
Total money lost $189
Type of a scam Phishing
I started a non-profit, it has no employees and is primarily online. I have received both postal mail and a phone call from this business, but the phone call is what got me. The postal mail comes and makes it look like you have to purchase Federal Labor Law compliance posters from the organization in order to be compliant and avoid fines. In light light gray on the back of the letters it notes that you do not have to purchase from them, etc. Several months later I received a call from this company (not realizing it was the same as the letters); the agent in question said that I was in a registry as non-compliant and that I could be levied fines at $***. They said that in order to be compliant I needed to purchase from them, and that (because I mentioned I was at work and could this wait) if I did not purchase that an investigator/inspector was scheduled to come to my home (currently the basis for my non-profit) and that purchasing through them and registering was the only way to avoid penalties and government action. I mentioned I had gotten no official government documentation in regards to this and they said they had sent information out. This entire time they essentially lied and said they were a government agency/affiliated with a government agency. When I mentioned I had received letters (from what I thought were other companies) they said that THOSE were scams to just get money and get you to purchase (the irony). The telemarketer gave me a fake "agent ID" when I probed to see if they were a real government agency, a call back number, and said that I would receive an official receipt. However, when I got the receipt and saw that it came from a ‘.org’ address I knew that was fishy. Upon googling them I found this has been an ongoing scam for years. They charge $*** for posters that you can get free through the OSHA website or actual government agencies. I shudder to think what else they do with your personal information, I had my card canceled. They use fear tactics and veiled threats to get you to pay for a service you don’t even need to pay for. The number they call you from shows as "User Busy" if you try to call back. The number they provided immediately disconnects/drops your call if you try to put in the Agent ID they give you. If you choose an operator option or to speak with a Senior Official (dial tone options) it sends you to a voicemail they’ll obviously never respond to. If you email the support team they send passive aggressive emails about how the calls are recorded and monitored, and that after reviewing it they find themselves well within legal guidelines. I’m not sure if they gave me a refund because I contacted my bank and reported them to the FTC and reported legal action, but I did finally get one. For many people they probably wouldn’t be able to do that, and I’m curious to see if the refund actually goes through. I also requested the recorded call so I’d be curious to see if they forward me that as well. This is a scam, and they are awful for doing this to people. The repercussions for this seem enormous with the information they get from you. They end up getting not only your address to deliver the posters, but email, first and last name, Debit or Credit card information, etc.