Beware of con artist telemarkers calling telling you that you qualify for a grant for up to $12,000.00. That's the PITCH. The CRIME is that you have TO PAY a processing fees for up to $300.00 - $6,000.00 or whatever the con artists can accessed you could afford. This is the SAME group that are populating the internet.


Grants Service Incorporated-GSI
Address:

British Columbia British Columbia
Canada
Phone Number:
250-271-0131
902-412-0256
866-999-1896
Fax:
1-877-545-6305


I am writing about GSI (Grants Service Incorporated). What a scam!!!I have recieved so many phone calls from these people. day after day my phone rings. So I finally talk to awomen who tells me I am eligable for a grant for 6,000.00. The catch is you have to pay a processing fee of 298.00. I stupidly believed what she had to say. They are good. Be careful. She then transfered me to a guy. I had gave the guy my routing #, bank #. And when I started to really think about this whole ordeal, it just seemed to good to be true. Conviently, the phhone had hung up before I had even got the whole confirmation. So I'm thinking about what just happened and realize I just got ripped off. First of all the # they were calling from was a canadian #, and when you call it back it is a french recording, and the goes busy. The same guy called me back about an hour later. So I asked him every question in the book. He had answers for all.

I still didn't have a good feeling so I told him to call me back. I then went online to see if I could pull up anything. Sure enough found testimonies with just about the same exact stories. This is just not right, and it needs to be put to a stop!Thank goodness I didmy homework, but what about the next girl????Let's stop this scam!!!!

Casey
Littleton, Colorado
U.S.A.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff160829.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff159530.htm

Grant Services Incorporated Grant ripoff over the phone! British Columbia Canada *EDitors Suggestions on how to get your money back into your bank account!

Company
Grant Services Incorporated
Address:
BC
British Columbia British Columbia, Canada
Canada
Phone Number:

Fax:


I have had non-stop phone calls for weeks now - I finally answered, and the lady on the phone told me about how there was a $6000 grant waiting for me and that I had to pay $298 for it. I would receive the grant 21-28 days after my payment.

I asked EVERY question in the book and she explained very well; I ran this lady through the ringer! So when she asked for my bank name and city I gave it to her. Then she asked for their routing number and I gave it to her, but when she asked for my account number I grew hesitant. She reassured me of everything and told me there was a 100% guarantee. So, I gave it to her.

Smooth move ex-lax! I should have known better but she gave me her name TIFFANY EDWARDS, her personal ID# 3113, a cusstomer service number 1-866-999-1896, and a tracking number but I still was feeling uneasy about what I just did.

I sat down at my computer and looked up government grants and could not find their name on the approved list anywhere, but down a little further I found all these scam reports on them AND I FELT SICK. I closed my checking account before I even typed this letter (which was less than an hour after it happened). I really should have known better, but hard lesson learned and point taken.

Nicole
Winona, Minnesota
U.S.A.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff158964.htm

FTC, Partners Put Stop to Canadian Cross-Border Frauds

Commission Works With Toronto and Alberta Strategic Partnerships to Fight Advance-Fee Schemes

The Federal Trade Commission today announced federal court action taken against two groups of Canadian-based defendants, each allegedly engaged in widespread cross-border fraud schemes. In the first complaint, FTC v. Centurion Financial Benefits, the Commission alleges the defendants placed unsolicited outbound telemarketing calls to U.S. consumers, falsely offering them pre-approved MasterCard and Visa credit cards for an advance fee of $249. The second complaint, FTC v. Pacific Liberty Benefits, alleges the defendants engaged in the same type of fraud, with the company’s telemarketers promising credit cards, as well as an array of “complimentary” gifts, for $319. The FTC alleges that in neither case did consumers actually receive the credit cards or other goods that they were promised, and in each U.S. consumers lost millions of dollars.

“The Commission continues to work diligently to monitor, track, and prosecute cross-border fraud cases,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We value the assistance of our local, state, and international law enforcement partners in bringing these important cases to help protect and inform consumers both in the United States and abroad.”

In each case, the Commission contends the defendants’ conduct violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), as amended. Judges in the U.S. district court in Chicago, Illinois have issued temporary restraining orders barring the alleged illegal conduct and freezing the assets of defendants. In each case, Canadian law enforcement agencies also executed criminal search warrants and made arrests.

Centurion Financial Benefits

According to the first complaint, since at least 2004, the Centurion Financial Benefits defendants have used outbound telemarketing to contact consumers in the United States, falsely offering major credit cards, such as MasterCard and Visa, to people who agreed to have the defendants electronically debit their bank accounts for an advance fee of $249. The defendants typically claimed that the credit cards would have a $2,000 credit limit, zero percent interest, and no annual fees, and often targeted their offers at consumers with poor credit histories. Consumers who provided their bank account information to the defendants did not receive a major credit card, but instead were sent an application for either a “stored value card” or “cash card” that had no line of credit associated with it and could only be used if the consumer first loaded funds onto the card. The complaint also alleges that the defendants violated the law by calling consumers on the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry.

The Centurion matter, filed on September 21, 2005, involved a number of corporate and individual defendants. The complaint names the following individuals as defendants, both individually and as corporate officers: Sean Somma aka Sean Soma, individually and as an officer of corporate defendants Centurion Financial Benefits LLC and 1629936 Ontario Ltd, also dba Spectra Financial Benefits; Antonio Marchese aka Tony Marchese, individually and as an officer of corporate defendant 1644738 Ontario Ltd., also dba Sureway Beneficial, Simple Choice Benefits, and Oxford Financial Benefits; Tony Andreopoulos, individually and as an officer of corporate defendants American Getaway Vacations Inc., Credence Travel Processing Inc., and Topstar Media Inc., also dba Integra Financial Benefits; and Dennis Andreopoulos, individually and as an officer of corporate defendants American Getaway Vacations Inc., Credence Travel Processing Inc., and Topstar Media Inc., also dba Integra Financial Benefits.

The complaint also charges the following corporations as defendants: Centurion Financial Benefits LLC; 1629936 Ontario Ltd., also dba Centurion Financial Benefits; 1644738 Ontario Ltd, dba Integra Financial Benefits; American Getaway Vacations Inc., also dba Integra Financial Benefits; Credence Travel Processing Inc., dba Integra Financial Benefits; and Topstar Media Inc., also dba Integra Financial Benefits.

The Commission vote to issue the complaint against the Centurion defendants was 4-0. The complaint was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, on September 21, 2005, and the Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the defendants that day. The seal was lifted on September 26, 2005.

Pacific Liberty

The complaint in this matter alleges that the Pacific Liberty defendants also used outbound telemarketing to call consumers in the United States. For an advance fee of $319, which they electronically debited from the consumers’ bank accounts, the defendants promised they could deliver Visa or MasterCard credit cards, along with free gifts such as cell phones. No consumers who paid the money received either credit cards or “complimentary” gifts, instead

getting only a “member benefits” package with items such as booklets on how to improve their creditworthiness. Some also received a “member merchandise” card valid for purchases only from a catalog supplied by the defendants. Most recently, the defendants called consumers offering them a brand-name personal computer if they agreed to have a fee debited from their bank account. No one received the promised computers. Instead they received certificates supposedly redeemable for off-brand computers but that required payment of additional fees.

The Pacific Liberty complaint, filed on September 19, 2005, also involved a large number of individual and corporate defendants. The complaint names the following individuals as defendants, both individually and as corporate officers: Oleg Oks, aka Oleg A. Oks and Oleg Alex Oks; Aleksandr Oks; Philip Nemirovsky; and Boris Pekar.

The complaint also charges the following corporations as defendants: 1530605 Ontario, Inc., also dba Pacific Liberty; 159927 Ontario, Inc., also dba Pacific Liberty Group and Pacific Liberty W Group; 1565205 Ontario, Inc., also dba Pacific Liberty and Pacific Liberty W; 1585392 Ontario, Inc., also dba Liberty Wide Info Services, Liberty Wide Info Services Group, Liberty Wide Services; and Liberty Wide; 1620142 Ontario, Inc., also dba Liberty Sun Info Services and Liberty Sun Info; 1619264 Ontario, Inc., also dba C & B Communications Group; 1629930 Ontario, Inc., also dba Atlantic One Info Services Grp and Atlantic One Info Services Group; and 1485635 Ontario, Inc. (dissolved), also dba Nationwide Credit Service Inc., Nation Wide Information Services Group Inc., and Nationwide Information Services, all of which are corporations based in Ontario, Canada.

The Commission vote to issue the complaint against the Pacific Liberty defendants was
4-0. The complaint was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, on September 19, 2005, and the Court issued a TRO against the defendants that day. The seal was lifted on September 26, 2005.

Law Enforcement Assistance

The FTC appreciates the considerable assistance of several U.S. and Canadian law enforcement partners, including the Toronto and Alberta Strategic Partnerships, in conducting these investigations. In both Pacific Liberty and Centurion, assistance was provided by the Toronto Strategic Partnership. In addition to the FTC, the Toronto Partnership is comprised of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Canada’s Competition Bureau, the Toronto Police Service Fraud Squad’s Telemarketing Section, the Ontario Provincial Police Anti-Rackets Section, the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services, the York Regional Police Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading.

In the Centurion matter, assistance was also provided by the Alberta Partnership Against Cross-Border Fraud. The Alberta Strategic Partnership consists of Alberta Government Services, the Calgary Police Service, Canada’s Competition Bureau, the Edmonton Police Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The FTC alleges that part of the Centurion telemarketing took place from Calgary, Alberta.
(Centurion-Pacific - 9/27/05)

The Commission also appreciates the assistance of the State of Iowa Office of the Attorney General in conducting the Pacific Liberty investigation.

NOTE: The Commission issues or files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the named parties have violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.

Copies of the Commission’s complaints are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Mitchell J. Katz
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2161

STAFF CONTACT:

FTC v. Pacific Liberty Benefits et al.
John C. Hallerud
FTC Midwest Region - Chicago
312-960-5615

FTC v. Centurion Financial Benefits LLC
James Davis
FTC Midwest Region - Chicago
312-960-5611

For either matter:

C. Steven Baker
FTC Midwest Region – Chicago
312-960-5634

(FTC File Nos. 052-3072 and 052-3004)
(Civil Action Nos. 05 C 5442 and 05 C 5389)

(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/09/pacif...ycenturion.htm)

Let me show you what you're up against. That way, you won't waste any more time or money on this.

The names they gave you are all fake. Skip traces are worthless.

The person who picks up the money is called a “runner”. They pick a person who has absolutely no connection to the con. That way, if anyone grabs the fool up, he can't lead them back to the main players. The pickup guy has almost nothing. No names. No descriptions. Maybe he gets a cell number to call once he has the money.

The phone numbers are all prepaid cells. No names or accounts needed. You can buy them at Wal-mart.

The emails are spoofed. Faked. Untraceable. Or public wifi.

There are hundreds of western union locations available for the fraud to pick up the money. How can you stake out each and every one of them?

The ID used at western union is fake too. All it has to do is fool a clerk.

Good luck tracing the web site. That's another dead end.

But there is a way. You make the frauds come to you.

Once you understand the principals of deception you can con just about anybody. Even con men have needs and desires. What are they? Money? Drugs? Vanity? Self esteem? *****? The list goes on and on.

If I wanted to catch somebody like this, I'd sit down and come up with a long con. An intricate con. The kind that you never see anymore, because nobody is willing or able to sit down and think them up.

There is a way to draw these people out in the open.

It's just like a snapping turtle, really. Once it pulls into the shell, it's immune from attack. But, once you give it something to grab onto, it'll bite down and hold on. Then, you simply chop its head off.

Frauds work the exact same way. Give them a reason to come out.

It's not easy. An obvious bribe like money will never work. They're much too suspicious for that. Instead, you want to provide details of your life. Show that you have something they want or need. And, make it look like you're a dumb ass who can be conned out of it.

You need to assess the situation and find their vulnerabilities first. There's a movie called House of Games (1987). Joe Mantegna. It will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about here.

The frauds used a little bit of that in this advance fee con. Let's face it, almost everyone who applies for one of these loans has no intention of actually repaying the money. There might actually be one complete jackass who would consider sending in the payments. But the rest are planning to stiff the “loan” company. That's why this con works so well. People think that they'll send in $2100 and get $15,000 in return. They are so busy thinking about how they plan to cheat the lenders that they never see that the lenders are con artists themselves.

Remember this. In the best scams, the victim actually cons himself out of the money. All you do is set the stage for him to act it out on. Human nature will take over and do the rest for you.

Actually frauds are some of the easiest people to con. They feel so superior to others. They let their guard down. Or rather, they never bother to put their guard up the first place. ****ers waiting to be picked.

That's how you get these people. You lure them out into the open. Then, you do the same as with the turtle.

Paul - Anaheim, California
U.S.A.
Rebuttal Consumer Suggestion
Submitted: 10/15/2005 9:15:16 PM Modified: 10/15/2005 9:15:16 PM

http://ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff160900.htm

unfortuantly i have been taken again for the second time in a week with pretty much the same scam but the company that called me was called United States Incorporated. The scam was ran pretty much the same way they called gave me false names and asked for my checking account and routing numbers and like an idot i gave it to them, but i did i have my bank stop payment on the buisness name. They said all i had to pay was a $229 dollar processing fee and they would even send me a $500 cupon to cover that along with my Grant of a minum of $5,000 and could even be as high as $25,000.

the numbers they used were:
516-213-2688 NY number
718-301-0875 NY number
1-800-999-1896

All are fake numbers