More car warranty

A friend sent a link to an interesting thread about Automotive Warranty Solutions, one of the sketchy Florida-based warranty shops I’ve previously blogged about. Check it out if you get one of those pushy sales calls out of the blue trying to mislead you into parting with $2500.

Oh, and I got yet another email from a friend this morning with more information on the company. Thanks for your contributions, folks!

Incidentally, my blog gets a lot of traffic about this racket. Its probably the biggest search-engine referral I get right now. (Oh, if only one of my siblings had started a web-analytics company and then sold it to Google, I would have a way to track my site statistics.)

New phishing scam targets Latinos

Got a hangup call this evening from the number 503-898-9988. No message was left, so its the same M.O. as the car warranty scams I’ve blogged about before.

A perusal of 800notes.com shows the calling party plays a Spanish recording telling the caller he’s won a prize and to press 1 for an operator. I’m not sure what happens next as no one’s posted anything, but it sure sounds fishy. Apparently speaking English to the calling party is enough to get you disconnected, from what people have said.

The calls are targeting the Triangle, Colorado, and the San Francisco areas, according to the posted reports. My Spanish is nonexistent, so I can’t bait these guys like I might’ve done for Great Atlantic Warranty.

If you’ve gotten a call like this, please send me a comment describing your call. And please post on 800notes.com, too!

Car warranty phishers get back to work

Thanksgiving is over now and the crooks at Automotive Warranty Solutions have wasted no time in dialing for dollars again. This morning’s call came from 208-844-6519, a number not yet listed on 800notes.com (it is now…heh). I was betting the number was a fake CallerID and I was right.

I’m thinking of calling Automotive Warranty Solutions’s CEO, Ralph Mancusco, at his home number (561) 865-2294 and giving him a piece of my mind. That wouldn’t be right, though.

During a related search, I found a nice writeup in this month’s AARP Bulletin discussing this sleazy company.

NY Times visits MT.Net

This morning I noticed my work against car warranty scammers has garnered the attention of readers of the New York Times blog. Apparently, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been getting the calls as well. Schumer is calling for a national investigation.

For Schumer and any others who may be interested, I have collected a lot of evidence regarding these calls (browse my Meddling category for examples). I have also tried to get the North Carolina Attorney General’s office interested as well as the Florida Attorney General’s office. The result has been absolutely no action. No response, nothing. It seems that no one cares. Meanwhile there are plenty of little old ladies who have been bilked $3000 for a car warranty that in some cases exceeds the worth of their cars.

Should you be visiting my site for the first time and are in a position to actually do something about these shady calls, contact me and I’ll give you enough information to gain a warrant or subpoena.

Tuscany Industries calling again?

Judging by the huge spike in Internet searches bringing people to my website, it looks as if the scammers hiding behind the fake “Tuscany Industries” Caller ID are back in action. I chronicled my experience with them two years ago in a number of posts, which have now bubbled up to the top of the Google search for Tuscany Industries.

Since the calls for me personally have stopped, I’m not sure what scam is being run now. Is it the “lower your credit card debt” or “OMG your car’s warranty is expiring!!11!” Either way, it doesn’t matter: it serves as a wake up call to me to proceed with my lawsuit against these scumbags.

Yes, I have a good idea where they are. And yes, I’m pissed enough to get a piece of them. Let’s get going.

If you’ve gotten a call from “Tuscany Industries” and interacted with the lowlifes on the other end, drop me a comment here and let me know the scoop. The more info I can gather for the lawsuit, the better.

Slashdotted!

I got back from the James Taylor show to find MT.Net has been Slashdotted. Seems my Caller ID sleuthing in relation to Automotive Warranty Solutions caught someone’s attention.

I also see that I’m missing out on some big money. According to the NC Attorney General’s office, these warranty calls could be worth $500 to $5000 apiece! That’s some serious change in this down economy. Even better, I could invest that money in a lot more SIP phone numbers with which to snare even more fines. And I wouldn’t have to lift a finger to collect (well, I would have to show up for court, but I could earn potentially +$25k for each court case).

Hmm. Passive income paid by scammers … what am I waiting for?

Tuscany Industries now ‘Alpha Service’

Remember the Tuscany Industries car warranty telephone scam I’ve been following? They’ve now calling from a CallerID claiming to be Alpha Service with the number 702-520-1274, and leaving the toll-free number 877-700-5880. Once again, the pitch is to “extend your car’s warranty.” An MT.Net reader claims these calls originate from Great Atlantic Warranty of South Florida. Wouldn’t surprise me.

If you get calls from these clowns, please report your call at 800notes.com under the appropriate number. And, please, don’t reward these crooks with your money!