The caller reaches you at home, on your cell phone — even at work.
Your car warranty is about to expire. It is urgent that you contact this number for an extended warranty. This is the final notice you will get.
"It's scary," said Latasha Doss of Atlanta. Even though she recently purchased a Nissan with a five-year, 75,000-mile warranty, Doss said she received calls at home and on her cell phone for six weeks, sometimes three a day, warning her that her warranty was coming to an end.
A U.S. senator says these unsolicited, computerized phone calls are a form of harassment and is calling for a federal investigation into the practice.
"This is an annoying scam whose perpetrators have found a way around the do-not-call list," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday at a Manhattan press conference. He called for the Federal Trade Commission, which operates the national do-not-call registry, to work with state and local authorities "to find the scam artists and shut them down."
The calls have become such a nuisance that officials in 40 states, including Georgia, are investigating the companies behind them.
Bill Cloud, spokesman for the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs, said his office has received more than 150 complaints since December.
The Better Business Bureau said it received more than 140,000 complaints last year about the car warranty calls. The companies also send out postcards and letters that target almost anyone, regardless of whether they have warranties or even own cars.
"All they're doing is casting a wide enough net of about a million people to get a thousand warranties sold," Cloud said.
Doss, who is registered with the national do-not-call list, became suspicious after the operator she was transferred to asked for her name and the make and model of her car.
"That gave me the inclination that this was not legit," she said.
Sherri Cruz, an Atlanta native now living in California, said the calls to the medical office where she works are non-stop.
"We average three to five calls from these cretins per day, going through every single phone line in the office," Cruz said by e-mail.
"I just bought my car last year and still have about 30,000 miles left on my bumper to bumper warranty," she said. "I know my warranty isn't about to expire."
Cloud said the calls tend to increase when the economy is struggling. When a person returns the call, the companies offer contracts similar to insurance policies, pledging to pay for car repairs in exchange for up-front fees.
"We deal with unfair, deceptive acts and practices," Cloud said. "If someone creates a sense of urgency, then that makes it a deceptive act."
In many cases, the companies don't let people see the contracts until they agree to pay. Customers learn too late that the warranties do not cover the repairs promised.
"You lose your money," Cloud said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Avoiding warranty scams
If you are notified that your vehicle's warranty is expiring, check your own records.
A separate company can provide a vehicle service contract, but only a manufacturer can extend its original warranty.
Always ask to see the contract in writing before agreeing to pay.
Closely evaluate whether the price offered is a good deal.
Do not give out bank account information or your social security number over the phone.
If a company won't provide you detailed information about the service contract or the name of the company, don't give them your money.
Check with the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) to file or check for complaints against a company.
Source: Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs
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