You got a robocall from someone working with the FTC with a message that promised to help you get a refund from the agency. If you ever lost money to a scam, it might have been a tough call to ignore. Turns out ignoring the call would have been the right call because — you guessed it: it was a scam.
At the FTC’s request, a federal court has permanently shut down a robocall operation run by The Cuban Exchange — aka CrediSure America and MyiPad.us — which tried to trick people into handing over bank account numbers and other sensitive information.
According to the FTC, the company made illegal robocalls and gave people a phony “seizure ID number” to enter at ftcrefund.com — a site that isn’t connected to the FTC — to claim their money. To convince people the call was official, the company “spoofed” the FTC’s consumer help number (877-382-4357), so that FTC appeared on Caller IDs.
If you think you might be due a refund from an FTC case, remember:
- the FTC doesn’t use robocalls to get in touch with people.
- the FTC doesn’t ask consumers to give their bank account information or Social Security number, or to send money. When refunds are part of an FTC settlement, the FTC provides them by check.
- even if the Caller ID says the name of an organization you know or trust, be skeptical. Scammers use technology that can display legitimate numbers to trick you into responding.
The FTC posts information about recent cases resulting in refunds on our website, including the contact information for each case.
If you’ve been targeted by someone pretending to be with the government, file a complaint with the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. For more on spotting government imposters, read Government Imposter Scams and Refund and Recovery Scams.
