Telemarketers- Direct TV question?

Question

My mother answered the phone today, and the telemarketer claimed he was a representative of DirectTV. My mother was persuaded to give them information (including her social security #) and see if she "qualifies" for their offer. They explained that she was not qualified and because of this they would require a certain amount of a deposit on the equipment, and at that point she said, "Nevermind."

She is worried because she gave all of her information away -including social security number- over the phone. I am also concerned about this.

Is there a way to verify that the person she talked to was indeed a representative of DirectTV? I told her to call DirectTV and see if they can verify her speaking with a representative, and also to call her bank and let them know what the current situation is if she can't verify the event with DirectTV.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

directv does use telemarketers, they do require a ss # and  a cc # , directv cant and wont help w/ this. she should probably notify her bank and use any safeguards they recommend to protect her acct. directv also collects this info but only ask for the last 4 numbers of her ss card. if she truly doesn't qualify, meaning a low credit score then you probably OK....but if she has descent credit and were trying to scam her out of some  money for a deposit then you might have a problem. unfortunately they are going to call back because they didn't get a sale out of you. so be aware next time to not talk to them

Answer 2

She was scammed, no legitmate business takes social security numbers.

Answer 3

I am pretty sure that only credit card company's and employers are only allowed to ask for your social security number.  I would keep a keen eye on her bank accounts for the next month, checking at least every other day.  Also to see if you are qualified I would think that DirectTv wouldn't need your social security number because of reasons like that.  Does your mother have caller ID?  Then she should use it and call the person who called her and took prompted her for her number and talk to them and see if they were legitimate.  You could also use *67 (I think) to track the last person to call her phone.  If there is a suspicious purchase I would then contact the bank and tell them that you might have a stolen identity.  Above all DON'T DO IT AGAIN.

Answer 4

I don't think a reputable company like Direct-TV needs to do telemarketing in the first place. It's a highly successful business. Don't let your mom pick the phone up anymore!