No, this is not a political comment.
I have become sick and tired of these anonymous calls offering to lower my credit card interest rate. I have tried to get my phone numbers removed and found the people to always just hang up on me and move on to the next one. Yes, my numbers are on the "Do Not Call List", but that doesn't seem to work on these people.
Today in The Haggler column in the NYT business section, we find out the depth of the problem in trying to reach these people who have figured out a way to use far off phone numbers, shell companies, and other forms of anonymity to commit fraud with no ready way to find them guilty of a crime.
Believe it or not, some people have fallen for these guys and paid them $1,000 or $2,000.
How do they do it? Well the column has not yet gotten to the bottom of it, but they did learn a few things. The person who was part of the fraud gave up a name of the company: Account Management Assistance ("AMA"). The phone number that started the trail was on a website called "800notes.com" and had a lot of complaints. The Haggle posted a note and invited people to contact him.
One woman who was defrauded out of $1,000 had a P.O. Box in Florida and had tried to get Florida's anti-fraud enforcers to help her. She also had the name of someone at AMA and a phone number to call him. When The Haggler tried to reach that person he was given the run around and when asked what company he had reached, was told Elephant, Inc and that they were in Hawaii.
The AMA does not have a website, and no existence beyond the P.O. Box. The Florida Better Business Bureau does a have record for AMA and shows it to be owned by another Florida company called Your Financial Ladder, and includes another company called Economic Progress. Economic Progress was created by someone known as Brenda Helfenstine. She and her husband Tony were sued by the Arkansas Attorney General, but it is not clear what became of that lawsuit. Since the Helfenstine's hide their identity, that may not even be there real names.
The Haggler's research found an address for them and a phone number, but phone calls were not answered nor returned after messages were left.
So The Haggler tried to prompt Florida consumer protection people to find the Helfenstine's. They did investigate a bit finding the address for one company was a residence with no evidence of a business being conducted there so they stopped. But The Haggler found out the address is where the Helfenstine's live. So Florida could at least start to investigate these people. There certainly is enough evidence for that. I don't know about a conviction. You would have to prove who ordered all those false phone numbers, PO Boxes, and any real incorporation documents.
That is why this may be the perfect crime. If you can hide everything under false names, how do the authorities come up with the hard evidence to convict. Right now, they seem so strapped for funds due to government financial woes, they cannot even investigate the crime.
As for the Helfenstine's, you are despicable human beings. I hope you rot in hell.
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