[Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Sat Nov 19 20:43:52 PST 2011

Wayne, these "Rachel" and "Card Services" or "Card Member Services" or
"Cardholder Services" or "Credit Services" have absolutely nothing at all to
do with the CMS you are referencing & provided a Web site link to.  The
outfits "Rachel" is calling for aren't real company names at all - they are
just phony "generic" names the current primary goal of identity theft.

You didn't try calling back the number displayed on your CallerID or you'd
have learned that the number is spoofed & not even a live number.  This is,
according to the FCC, why they haven't been able to stop these outfits'
violations of the TCPA.

Check out this news article:

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/07/31/business/card-member-services-or-not/

And, for a previous - pre-identity theft mode - incarnation check out:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/asiapacific.shtm

Note:  I'm not defending Chase here but rather pointing out that the
"Rachel" calls have absolutely nothing to do with Chase.  

Saundra

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Art Deco
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 7:35 PM
To: Vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Very confusing.

This week I received another call from the sparky Rachel.  The caller id was
877 298-8855.  I am tracking some of these annoying calls with my smart
phone.

Here's some info on this number:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-298-8855

Read the third entry. This ties this number to CardMember Services.

At http://www.callercenter.com/877-298-8855.html DHL notes about calls from
877 298-8855:

"Credit Card Member Services.  Hung up when asked for postal address. In
Short - Credit card fraud.  

The caller was identified as a Scammer/Fraudster that has been reported 19
times in the past.

Reported 17th, Nov. 2011"

CMS is a very large business who does the credit card issuing, accounting,
and solicitation for a large number of clients including LFCU.
https://www.cardmemberservices.com/cmsindex.html  CMS is part of the Chase
Bank financial network.  Chase bank was implicated in the Madoff fraud as
well as for other fraudulent practices.  As the parent company they may not
be "officially" aware that CMS is soliciting for a client or clients that
are scam artists.  [Some patient Googling will show how depraved Chase Bank
is.]

I did not intend to insinuate that LFCU is to be blamed for these "Rachel"
and similar calls.  CMS runs a very large, very aggressive credit card
solicitation business for several clients, and it uses many, many techniques
to find live, plausible telephone numbers.  

However, my other remarks about LFCU stand.  As far as I am concerned the
problems started shortly after they hired from outside a new chief
executive.  I didn't understand this hire because in my opinion they had an
excellent in-house candidate who understood the membership and the business
very well, and in whom I had a great deal of trust -- she kept LFCU out of
trouble when many banks and credit unions found themselves in deepening
holes.

w.

From: Saundra Lund <mailto:v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm>  

Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 5:51 PM

To: 'Art Deco' <mailto:deco at moscow.com>  ; Vision2020 at moscow.com ; 'deb'
<mailto:debismith at moscow.com>  ; 'Carl Westberg'
<mailto:idahovandal1 at live.com>  

Subject: RE: [Vision2020] This Rachel person NOTHING TO DO WITH LFCU!!!

Sorry, but Rachel from Card Services has nothing to do with LFCU!!!  The
whole thing is a well-recognized identity theft scam & we've been getting
calls from Rachel for a very long time now & I've continued to file
complaints with the FCC.  I'm not sure the info Ron posted is accurate, but
it could well be - I personally was given different information about the
origins a year or two back.

Until recently, the calls were made with spoofed (both name & number)
CallerID info likely using VoIP or PRI lines, so calling back (and even
tracing) is impossible - typically, the phone number displayed would be
blank or wouldn't be a real number (pretty easy to spot).  Further, the
calls seem to come from a variety of "outfits," so it's not like there's
only one outfit behind the calls.  And, if anyone has pushed through to talk
to a live person, odds are you've been subjected to their standard verbal
abuse, lies, & just being hung up on.

More recently, I've been getting a slightly different script from Rachel &
her robocalls, along with the standard old ones.  On 11/10, Rachel called
for "Credit Service" with the standard line, but there was a new addition:
an apparently valid phone number (1-701-661-1003) along with an option in
the script to "opt out."

WARNING:  do NOT be tempted to opt out either as a part of the script or
when calling back the supposedly "valid" phone number because if you don't
fall for the identity theft part (intrinsic in the "lower credit card rate"
scam), then opting out will flag your phone number as a "live" number (the
initial calls are made by sequential auto-dialing) & they'll sell it all
over the world, so you'll get even more unwanted phone calls.

Thus, at least one of "Rachel's" gigs has figured out a way to make money
off consumers who don't fall for the identity theft component.

Of course, I still get the standard "Rachel" calls from outfits who haven't
yet figured out that despicable twist & still are violating the TCPA by
spoofing CallerID info (two in the last 24 hours:  one displayed no phone
number & the other displayed a phony number.)

For those interested in filing complaints, here's a starting place:

http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm?id

Be aware:

Thank you for contacting the FCC regarding possible violations of the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") and the Commission's
telemarketing and junk fax rules.   Information provided in consumer
complaints like yours helps the Commission to combat abusive or unlawful
practices in these areas, including taking enforcement actions against
individuals or companies. In this regard, the Communications Act authorizes
the Commission to issue citations and, in some cases, impose substantial
fines upon entities that violate telemarketing and junk fax rules.  

Although the Commission does not resolve individual complaints, each
complaint is individually analyzed and assists us in enforcement actions to
protect consumers like yourself.  You should be aware that the TCPA also
provides for enforcement of the telemarketing and junk fax rules by state
attorneys general and by individual consumers.  With respect to the latter,
the TCPA permits individuals who have received certain unlawful
telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the
violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each
violation.  

We invite you to visit the FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau's
Internet web site at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb for more information. You may
also call the FCC's Consumer Center toll free at 1-888-CALL-FCC
[1-888-225-5322], TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC [1-888-835-5322].  

Sincerely, 

Sharon C. Bowers, Division Chief 
Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau 

HTH,

Saundra Lund

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Art Deco
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 12:39 PM
To: Vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] This Rachel person

The company is CardMember Services.  The same company that issues Visa cards
for Latah Federal Credit Union.  This card is a real rip-off.  LFCU switched
from a card one that was reasonable and with fees that one would expect from
a credit union, not a greedy bank.

If I were going to be in the area longer I would sever my connection with
LFCU.  The customer service people are very nice, but the organization has
moved from credit union practices to those more like a bank.

w.

From: Carl Westberg <mailto:idahovandal1 at live.com>  

Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 12:01 PM

To: vision2020 at moscow.com 

Subject: [Vision2020] This Rachel person

>From "Credit Card Services" is starting to tick me off.  Over the last few
weeks, I've received my "second and final notice" to answer this urgent call
approximately 1,137 times.  I'm beginning to not like Rachel.......and how
in the world do these crooks get away with this?  

  _____  

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