Dec. 19, 2008 - Smarter than the ave-r-age bear

Telemarketing and what you should know

Sitting at home while the snow fell this afternoon, I received an unexpected telephone call.  Red flags went up as soon as the woman on the line called me by name in a questionable voice. She identified herself and stated who she worked for. She asked had I heard of them. I hadn't.  After several leading questions, my gut told me whatever she was selling, I didn't want.

She was making what is known as a "cold call" to solicit a sale.  What was she selling, you ask?  She claimed to offer a business to business lead generating service for JUST $249 a month.  The "offer" was to provide to me prospective home buyers and sellers who were ready to work with a Realtor, here in Somerset. You know, there is something to be said for getting money the old fashion way....earning it.

To make a long story short, I didn't take the bait and told the woman, I would contact her, after researching the company, if I were still interested.  I did a quick online search at the Better Business Bureau and the Ripoff Report.   The results were not good and the general advice was to run, not walk,  away from this business.

Be like Yogi, and be smarter than the "ave-r-rage" bear.  Times are tough for many folks. There are people who will attempt to capitalize on that fact and offer what usually seems to be too go to be true.  A pretty good rule is NEVER purchase anything from anyone who made the intial contact without doing your homework. 

Here are a few useful links to help protect yourself: 

• FBI  Federal Bureau of Investigation
• FTC Federal Trade Commission
• Lectric Law Library