KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana |Local Man A Target For Scam

Local Man A Target For Scam

May 5, 2004
Reported by Marty Briggs

If you've never heard of a company called Utalk Unlimited, pay close attention to this story.  A Lake Charles man was contacted by Utalk Unlimited over the weekend, and was offered free long distance service, as well as over $200 worth of gasoline for an incredibly low monthly fee. Suspicious, he called the Better Business Bureau, and found out that he saved himself a lot of grief and aggravation, not to mention a whole lot of money.

David Self was enjoying a quiet day at home on Saturday when his phone rang.  On the other end was a representative from Utalk Unlimited.  "Well, this guy made me an offer that was too good to be true.  He offered $200 worth of coupons for gas at any service station, plus one month's unlimited long distance service for $3.95," says Self.

Self says he was suspicious from the very beginning, especially when he was told that in order to receive his coupons, he'd have to surrender the number to his checking account.  "And, of course, he kept reassuring me that it was a promotional and they were just avoiding a lot of other expenses by just doing it this way."

Not satisfied with that explanation, Self called the local office of the Better Business Bureau, who referred him to their branch office in Las Vegas, where Utalk Unlimited is located.  "The Las Vegas Better Business Bureau told me right up front that there were over 200 complaints against this company, that they had scammed people for as much as $400 out of there checking accounts."

Self says he's heard from a persistent Utalk representative for each of the past three days, and says some of the conversations have been quite contentious.  "They kept reassuring me that there was no way they could scam anyone or take more than $3.95 out of their account.  They just kept arguing with me that, even today, when I told him all that I had discovered, they still argued that there was no way that they could be doing that."

Self says he's glad he wasn't scammed, and wants to share his story with other people in this area so that they, too, can protect themselves from being ripped off.

The Better Business Bureau, as well as law enforcement officials, urges you not to give out your credit card or checking account numbers to anyone who contacts you.  If you're truly curious about a particular service, you can always ask for further information in writing.