Warning: don't fall for this. I did, and regret it.
A pop-up ad appeared on my screen a couple of days ago, saying that people over a certain age (I forget what the age was, maybe 65) could get a drastic reduction in their car insurance. Just click on the link and find out how low your monthly payments would be.
I decided to take a look and went to their link. It looks on the level, asking for the make, model, and year of your car, your zip code, and probably your phone number (not sure about the phone number part.) I filled it in, but finally decided their questions were getting too nosy, and I didn't really care that much anyway, so I exited from their web site.
Later that day, I got a very official-sounding phone call, saying they are the warranty department for my Subaru dealer. That's the make of my car. For a few seconds, I thought maybe this one is on the level, as the usual "warranty" scam folks don't know what kind of car I have. But I hung up anyway.
The next day, it got creepier. This time, it was a different voice naming my car's make, model, and year, and they knew my name. They were not the "warranty" department this time, they were "your Subaru dealer's" repair department with a special deal. I hung up again.
I looked up both of their phone numbers; of course they were not listed as any business, let alone Subaru dealers. I tried calling their numbers and just got a blip sound. I blocked both numbers. I should have realized that a legitimate car dealer doesn't call you out of the blue with "special offers." The most they would do is send an email or a snail mail, not that they have ever done that, either.
But I have a feeling this will not be the end of it. They are getting more and more clever. By using my name, and correctly describing my car, they do sound legitimate for a few seconds, and have probably managed to trick plenty of people into paying for their "services."
So, just ignore all those "reduce your automobile insurance" ads you see on the internet. They are fake.
A pop-up ad appeared on my screen a couple of days ago, saying that people over a certain age (I forget what the age was, maybe 65) could get a drastic reduction in their car insurance. Just click on the link and find out how low your monthly payments would be.
I decided to take a look and went to their link. It looks on the level, asking for the make, model, and year of your car, your zip code, and probably your phone number (not sure about the phone number part.) I filled it in, but finally decided their questions were getting too nosy, and I didn't really care that much anyway, so I exited from their web site.
Later that day, I got a very official-sounding phone call, saying they are the warranty department for my Subaru dealer. That's the make of my car. For a few seconds, I thought maybe this one is on the level, as the usual "warranty" scam folks don't know what kind of car I have. But I hung up anyway.
The next day, it got creepier. This time, it was a different voice naming my car's make, model, and year, and they knew my name. They were not the "warranty" department this time, they were "your Subaru dealer's" repair department with a special deal. I hung up again.
I looked up both of their phone numbers; of course they were not listed as any business, let alone Subaru dealers. I tried calling their numbers and just got a blip sound. I blocked both numbers. I should have realized that a legitimate car dealer doesn't call you out of the blue with "special offers." The most they would do is send an email or a snail mail, not that they have ever done that, either.
But I have a feeling this will not be the end of it. They are getting more and more clever. By using my name, and correctly describing my car, they do sound legitimate for a few seconds, and have probably managed to trick plenty of people into paying for their "services."
So, just ignore all those "reduce your automobile insurance" ads you see on the internet. They are fake.
I never called the telephone number of the supposed mailings from the dealership, so I can't say it wasn't from them. Here in PA, car registration records are open records. So, almost anyone can use them.
