So I get a phone call last night. Asking for Chrystal, but happy to talk to me. Probably should have been my first warning.
So this guy (Nick from Georgia!) tells me “congratulations!!” Apparently Chrystal ‘won’ a fantastic vacation package to Orlando. Sponsored by Universal Studios; 7 days at a resort near all the attractions, full-access passes, rental car with unlimited mileage, then 4 more days on Daytona Beach. Chrystal and I and two more people at no extra cost! Of course I’m doubtful, but Nick starts rattling off all kinds of info: Chrystal’s email, birthday, home address. Hm. Not asking me for anything, just giving me a bunch of info, and telling me the package is in the mail, just make sure to send him a postcard!
Cost?
Oh there’s no charge for the accommodations or car, but there is a “registration fee” of $199 per person. Not that unreasonable, I guess. Nick keeps talking about sending us the info package, doesn’t ask me for anything, I’m starting to think this might be legit, I’m actually getting a little excited about everything… then I get transferred to the “shipping department”.
Now I’m talking to “Tony”. Robo-caller extraordinaire. He starts fast-talking about how they’re a very upstanding respectable company and I have nothing to worry about and they work with Universal Studios and I’ve heard of Universal Studios and if they work with Universal Studios then they must be totally legitimate and he’s confirmed that Chrystal has a Visa and it’s a 16-digit number and it starts with a 4 and if I could just read the rest of the number…
Woah. Wait. Stop. Excuse me?
“Yes I see Chrystal has a valid Visa card, it’s a 16 digit number starting with a 4.”
(At this point you’re probably thinking the same thing I am: “What the heck was in that Jamaican meat patty I just ate? Also, isn’t every Visa number 16 digits starting with a 4?”)
Also also, Chrystal doesn’t have a Visa. Red flag on the play, this one’s done. But my curiosity’s been peaked, so I’m going to drag this out a bit longer.
I tell “Tony” that I’m not comfortable giving out my girlfriend’s credit card number over the phone, is there some way they could send the info package and I’ll call back?
“We’re a perfectly legitimate company sponsored by blah blah blah… I see Chrystal has a Mastercard 16 digits starting with a 5…”
I tell him again that I’m not giving out her credit card number, do they have a phone number that I could call them back? Nope, I can’t call back without a confirmation number but they can’t give me a confirmation number until they have the credit card number because blah blah blah and what’s her Mastercard number 16 digits starting with a 5…?
At this point he’s repeated the same word-for-word script to me at least 3 times, even using some of the exact phrases that my old buddy “Nick” fed me. I’m tired of this guy now so I ask him for the name of his company. “We work with Universal Studios…” Shaddup. This is obviously a scam, what’s the name of YOUR company??
He finally mumbles out “E Tour and Travel” before I hang up, disappointed but at least relatively confident that I made the right choice here. Chrystal might have been a teensy bit upset if she came home and found out I gave her credit card info to someone over the phone.
A quick Google shows me that E Tour and Travel is some kind of super-aggressive somewhat shady looking outfit that sells timeshares (that part was never mentioned to me). Their marketing tactics are at best borderline illegal, so even if this offer (not a “prize”) was completely legit, I’m still pretty glad to not have fallen for it. To be fair, it looks like even though there’s been a ton of complaints against them, they have resolved or “made every effort to resolve” nearly all of them (according to the BBB).
I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to say that **NO** reputable business is going to call you at night and ask for your credit card number…