BEWARE OF TIMESHARE AND VACATION SCAMS::

BEWARE OF TIMESHARE AND VACATION SCAMS:

If someone wants you to go to a presentation about a timeshare or something similar, they are probably going to try to use high pressure sales tactics and make the deal sound too good to be true! One specific company that called me was called: "Nextgen Vacations". They said if I went to their presentation, they'd give me Two airline tickets to anywhere in the US I wanted to go, including Alaska and Hawaii. They would also pay for any hotel I wanted to stay at, even if it were a 5 star hotel.
I asked a few more questions, just to waste their time. Then, I set up an appointment and a time to to go to their presentation. However, I had no intention of going to something like this! I did that to waste Two seats at the presentation, that means, Two other people wouldn't be able to go and the people running the scam would be disappointed by having those Two empty seats and Two less people to scam!
They said they would call me the next day, about an hour or two before I was supposed to show up for the presentation, I said, ok, that's fine. But, I blocked their number, so they couldn't call me again!
I have heard from some people who say they had a good experience with Nextgen Vacations. I don't know any details of their experiences. But, they said it is a legit company and not a scam. They also said Nextgen did give them Two plane tickets and paid for their hotel. However, I don't recommend trusting anybody or any company like that. You would be taking a big risk. Imagine going to the airport, expecting to sign in and pick up your e-ticket to go from Detroit to LA for vacation. But, the tickets don't exist! The people at the airport don't know anything about your plane tickets either. You've been planning and looking forward to your vacation for Ten months now, only to find out at the last minute that it was a scam and the company didn't really buy you any plane tickets! Now you signed up for a scammer! The company stole your money and wasted your time! It does happen!
Keep in mind, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
If a company calls you randomly, especially if you are on the "National Do Not Call List" (DNC), and they want to sell you something, that should raise a red flag! It's probably not going to anything good. If YOU DIDN'T CALL THEM, but, they randomly called you, don't give them your personal information!
Nobody is going to give you something 100% free! Even if they did, you have to pay the tax, shipping fee, the companys processing fee, food, rental car and everything else. Yes, they may pay for your plane ticket and hotel, but, everything else is on you!
Years ago, I talked to someone about Amway
(AKA: SCAMWAY). I thought it sounded good at first, so, I scheduled a time to meet someone in a public place, I did not give them my home address! I talked to this guy about how I could make money without going to work. Sounds great right? Well, he was trying to pressure me into signing up. I would have had to pay a lot of money, buy a few books, videos and CDs to learn all about the company and how to use their high pressure sales tactics to get my friends and relatives to sign up under me. Then to get them to recruit their friends. Then, I'd have to keep going to their meetings, signing more people up, spending more money, etc!
After that, I realized, that guy was really trying to make it sound good, he was really motivated, trying to get me excited about the company and trying very hard to make me make a decision to sign the dotted line really quickly, immediately, without giving me any time to think about it! I also realized things like Amway are just too good to be true! They are going to use high pressure sales tactics and expect people to sign up impulsively.
Another time, I was in a bar, just hanging out. Some guy came over and started talking to me. I hung out with him for a while. Then, another guy came and started talking to us. This dude started talking about a company he works for and wanted us to sign up. I could smell a scam right away! It sounded similar to Amway and, again, it was way too to be true.
I told the scammer, "I fogot something. I have to go to my car and get it. I'll be back in a minute."
I grabbed the other guy by the arm as I was walking away and very quietly told him to follow me. I need to talk to you alone outside! It is really important!"
He followed me out the door. But, the other guy came out to.
We walked a few feet away from the scammer an I said, "This is a scam. He is trying to confuse us with some things he is saying. He is trying to pressure us into signing up for something stupid. He will expect us to sign up today and not think about it and the whole thing sounds bad! It is a scam! If you know what's good, you will follow me and just start running as far away from here as possible! If no, you go back and talk to that jackass and let him steal your money. I know we've only known eachother for an hour or so, but you have to trust me here and start running as far away from this place as possible, before he talks you into signing up for something stupid!
If you stay here, I'm leaving and our friendship is over!
I will not be able to stop that guy from scamming you!"
He went back and talked to the scammer. I ran as far away from that place as possible!

Absolute Collections SCAM!

I just talked to a Lawyer about a call my sister received. about me owing money for a payday loan. IT IS A SCAM!!!
Things didn't even sound right with this anyway. First of all, I don't recall getting any payday loan or anything over the phone for a long time, especially not after filing bankruptcy.
Nobody has ever contacted me about any payday loan or anything from 2013. That sounded suspicious.
Then they told me on the phone that I used Mike Arndt as one of my references. That is a big red flag there! Believe me, if I ever do get a loan, Mike Arndt is the absolute last person I'd even consider using as reference! He doesn't like me very well and I am not a big fan of him! I don't trust him and I know he wouldn't give me a good reference anyway!
The other reference they said I used is someone I don't even  know at all!
All they told me over the phone was that the name of their company was: "Absolute". OK, Absolute what? They said they are a collection agency. Another thing that sounded suspicious about this was they told me on the phone that They were going to sue me. Then the lady I talked to told me, "Good luck in court!"
Why is someone going to tell the person they are going to sue: "Good luck in court?"
Things just didn't sound right at all, so, I did some research online about the company. I didn't find much information about them online. But, I did see one or two websites that said it was a scam. One other site that just said it was a collection agency and a website for an Attorney who fights this collection agency all the time. It said, "If Absolute Collections is calling and harassing you, call me, I can help."
So, I called the Attorney, he confirmed my suspicion that it was a scam. He told me to report them to the Florida Attorney General.
The Attorney didn't charge me anything and all it took was a 5 minute phone call.
I am going to report them to the Attorney General, police, Better Business Bureau, Ripoffreport.com, Yellopages.com, Google and any place else I can think of.

Scam baiting. A horrifying experience!

Today I got bored and looked up some phone numbers of known scammers. I wanted to call some of them and waste their time and harass them, just like they do to us whenever they call somebody. Only they take things a little further and try to rip people off! They want to sell you some service or product that you don't need or they will claim to be the IRS and con you into paying them (the fake IRS agents) money for overdue taxes that you don't owe. They will tell you that you'll be arrested if you don't pay.
There are a lot of people out there that try to do us all a favor by calling these scammers and wasting their time. The longer these people stay on the phone with these scammers, the less time they have to call other people and rip them off. It also gets the scammer really frustrated if you waste too much of their time. This increases the chances of the scammer getting frustrated with the job and quitting. When people call and waste a scammers time, it is called: "SCAM BAITING".
A lot of people don't support scam baiting, because, it just gives the scammer more experience in dealing with difficult people and doing their job. However,  it is a lot of fun!
I looked up a scammers number on Google and called them. On the first call, I got one guy and told him I had a problem with my computer and needed his help to fix it.
He immediately told me to F off!
I said, "What the hell jackass! I am calling because I have a virus on my computer and it sent me a pop up message saying to call this number so you can fix it! This is Microsoft Tech support isn't it?" He immediately hung up on me!
So I called back about a minute later. I got the same guy this time.
I said, "Why did you hang up dude, I need your help getting rid of a virus." I was nice about it.
He cursed me out some more and got really mad. Then he hung up again!
So I called back a third time. I finally got a different person on the phone. I told him I had a virus and needed his help. He asked a few questions about the virus and he was nice about it.
So, I gave him a fake name. I didn't want this scammer to know my real name. I said I was John Simons.
He said  "Ok, turn on your computer."
I told him I had my computer on, but, I didn't really have it turned on. Then I tried to act like the dumbest person in the world who didn't know anything about computers at all. (For the record, I am not a computer genius. But, I do have some basic knowledge about them and I've taken a basic computer class.)
He told me to do a few things to give him remote access to my computer. I told him I didn't understand and asked him to repeat the instructions. He did repeat the instructions. Then he hung up. I was on the phone with him For about 20 minutes.
I called back and got the same guy. I talked to him about my fake computer virus for a few minutes, then he told me he was in Las Vegas. I said , "No you are not! You are in India and you are a scammer!"
Now, the guy started laughing!
I told him that I don't have a virus, I was just wasting his time!
He hung up again. So, I called him back. Now he said I am making him mad.
I didn't really have a virus , I was just doing this to waste his time anyway.
This was when things got really scary for me!
I was really lucky I did not have my computer turned on at all right now. Because now this scammer tried to hack into my ISP!
First of all Mr Scammer said, "David, why are you wasting my time?"
I thought, "How the hell does he know my real name?" I asked him, "How did you know my name is David?" He said it was a lucky guess.
I said, "Do you know my last name?"
He told me to tell him a last name randomly and he would tell me if I gave him my real name.
I said, "Smith."
He said, "No."
"Jones"
"No."
"Williams."
"No."
"Thomson."
"No."
"Arndt."
"Yes."
I thought, "Oh shit, he has caller ID and it works in India. He can get my name and number all the way over there. No big deal."
At least, that's what I thought at that moment!
He proceeded to say, "David Arndt Jr.
XXXX Signal Hill Rd. Orlando, FL. 32922.
Phone number: (407)XXX-XXXX.
ISP: 12345678900000
Email address: XXXXXXX@yahoo.com.
Your bank is Sun Trust in Orlando, FL.
You make $35,000/yr.
As soon as you turn your computer on, I'm going to get into your internet connection and on your computer and drain your bank account!"
I thought, "Holy shit! All that information is my OLD info! Luckily, the only two things that are still valid are my full name and phone number! The rest of it was valid a few years ago! Since then, I've moved to a different city, closed that bank account and went to a different bank, I no longer use that old email address, I have a different ISP and, even back then , a few years ago, I was not making  $35,000. But, I got really lucky that he did not have my current information! He must of looked my name up on the internet!"
I am not going to call that number again! However, proceed with caution if you want to scam bait this number!
It is a fake computer tech support company.
The number is:
1-877-786-2227.

Next-gen vacations scam. Beware!

Do me and everybody else in the world a favor and please call this number: 1-888-321-3840. Next-gen vacations. There in Kissimmee, FL. They called me to schedule an apt for tomorrow  afternoon to go to a seminar and promise me two free airline tickets anywhere in the US! It's obviously a damn scam! To hell with them ass holes! Yes, I did schedule a time to go to their seminar with my GF. But, hell no, I AIN'T GOING! I did that just to waste their time! I also wasted about 10 minutes on the phone with them to!
Now, they want to call me tomorrow before my appointment. But, I am going to block their number!
This is too good to be true! They will not give anybody 2 free plane tickets on any airline they want to any destination in the US to use anytime within the next year and let you stay at any hotel you want in the US at their expense (Including a 5 Star hotel), all at their expense!
But, please, everybody, call them and bomb these jackasses with calls! Also, schedule fake appointments like I did! Then block the number so they can't call you! Then you call them again! Call them often to!
Again, that is:
888-321-3840.

Their address: 5000 Ave of the Stars.
                            Kissimmee, FL. 34746.

HOW I DELT WITH A MICROSOFT TECH SUPPORT SCAMMER:

HOW I DELT WITH A MICROSOFT TECH SUPPORT SCAMMER:

I got a call from a Microsoft tech support scammer in India, they left me a message saying Microsoft has detected a problem with my computer and I had to call them back. I knew it was just a scam. I have gotten calls like this several times before. I usually don't return the calls. But, today, I decided to have some fun and waste their time! The longer they talk to me on the phone, the less time they have to call other people and actually call somebody who believes that it's true and they have to pay these people to fix a nonexistent problem with their computer!
He asked if I was a "Thirdtender"? (SP?) What's a "thirdtender"?

I'm not sure how it's spelled or the exact pronunciation. But it sounded like the Microsoft scammer was saying: Thirdtender. I couldn't understand the guy very well. He is obviously from India and I was talking on the phone with Mr Scammer. He told me he was from California.
Then he said someone in Chicago was using my Internet connection. I said, "Really? How is that possible? I live in FL."
He said, somebody hacked into my Internet connection, not my computer, my Internet connection, all the way from Chicago!
Then he wanted me to turn on my computer and let him have remote access to it. He asked if I was near my computer, I said, no, not right now. He went on and asked if I've let anybody else use my computer lately. I said, "Only one person, a close friend,  I hope he didn't do anything to it! OMG! I am getting a little nervous about this now!"
I started acting and talking as if I were really nervous.
"Do you know who it is that is hacking into my Internet?"
He said, "Well no, but we would like to find out."
I said, "I hope you can figure it out and tell me their address, so I can sue them!"
He asked if I was a "thirdtender". What is a thirdtender or something that sounds like that?
I got a message on my phone to call Microsoft. I immediately knew it was a scam, because Microsoft will never call you and tell you that you have a virus or any other problems with your computer! They never will! Neither will Apple or any other computer company. The IRS will not call you either. The IRS will usually send you a letter, probably certified mail, if they suspect you of tax fraud or other legal issues.
I called the scammers back just to waste their time. I had him on the phone for 11 minutes and 16 seconds! I just played along with it to waste the scammers time!
At the end, I kind of felt bad about doing this, because I told him I knew it was a scam and I was just playing along to waste his time. The scammer actually was being very nice after that. He even complimented my acting skills and said I should move to Hollywood! Because, he believed I was serious and I was having issues with my computer, I was panicking and he believed I was really scared, nervous and concerned that my Internet and computer were really being attacked by hackers!
When I was talking to him and acting really scared and freaking out, he told me to calm down and Go drink a glass of water! I waited about One minute, then came back to the phone, I told him I was fine now.
I couldn't think of anything else to say at this point, so, that us when I let the scammer know that I didn't believe him and I knew it was a scam and that I knew he was probably calling from India, not California. Then I looked at my phone to see how long I was on the phone. I told him that I just wasted 11 minutes and 16 seconds of his time!
This was the point where he started acting really cool and nice. He told me I was funny and I'm a good actor and I should go to Hollywood!
Their number is:
(888)609-1426

Computer tech support scam (Sophie Softech Solutions).

A (SCAM) computer tech support company called: Sophie Softech Solutions called me and said they found a virus on my computer. They said they found it the day that they called me. Actually, they said Microsoft called them and notified them of a virus on my computer. They said Microsoft found the virus on my computer when I was online recently.
I knew it was a scam right away, because I had not used my computer at all for about a month at that time. Usually when I use the Internet, I use my cellphone, which is Android, not Microsoft.
I checked my computer anyway, just to make sure nothing was wrong with it. There was no virus, my computer was OK.
I was still on the phone with this scammer when I checked my computer. I told him my computer was fine. But he said, "Oh no, there is a problem with it. You need to give me remote access to your computer so I can fix it."
I asked him a few questions like: What's their companies name? Where are they located? How much do they plan to charge me for their services? What's wrong with my computer? How long will they take to fix it? Etc.
He said he was with: Sophie Softech Solutions and they were in Florida. It will take an hour or two to remove the malware on my computer and he'd install an antivirus program. Then, I'd have to send a payment directly to him in India! I'd have to use Western Union to send him $250 US dollars!
I could tell from his voice that he was in India.
I said, "Wait a minute, you sais a minute ago that you were in the US! Now you say you're in India?"
He said, "The company is in the US, but the call center that he's at is in India."
From all the bull shit he was saying, I knew it was a scam.
I don't ever want to give remote access of my computer to anybody in the first place, except, MAYBE, to a close friend or relative! But, even then I'd have to think twice about it! You never know what they will do to it!
To make a long story short, I didn't give him access to my computer. I told him I know it's a scam. I called him an ass hole and told him don't ever call me again! Then I said, "Your English is terrible, you have poor grammar and I can't even understand you very well because of your damn Indian accent!" Quit trying to scam people!"
Then he started to repeat everything I said. I again said this is a scam. He repeated that and said, "This is a scam." I said, "Yes and you're an ass hole! he repeated that to along with some other things.
Then I insulted him and the company a few more times and he continued to insult and curse at me as well.
I told him I was going to report him to the Attorney General, Better Business Bureau, Rip off report, the FCC and a bunch of other places.
I have reported them. I have also filed a report about them on: WWW.ripoffreport.com.

(Before I reported this company to anybody, I did a little bit of research on Sophie Softech Solutions. I found out that they do have at least one office here in the United States. I think it is in California. However, that does not mean it isn't a scam. The people they hire to call you and rip you off are still in other countries.
Microsoft will probably NEVER call you nor will they tell someone else to contact you to tell you that you have a virus or any other problems with your computer!!!)

Just remember, if someone calls you like this, don't give them remote access to your computer! More than likely its a scam. They might even mess up your computer or give you a virus if you do that! Then they will trick you into thinking they've fixed your computer and charge you a lot of money after they damage it! Then it will be almost impossible to get your money back!