Since that time, I've received several comments on the original post from people who said they had had some dealings with Bank Card Empire and after they went to the Better Business Bureau to complain, they received threatening phone calls.
Less than a month ago, one of my readers advised me that the President/CEO of Bank Card Empire then opened a new business, formed as an LLC under the name of Sentinel Business Services. That reader contacted the Arizona Corporation Commission to ask how someone who was under federal investigation would be permitted to open a new business venture in the state. The Arizona Corporation Commission responded:
"If a document submitted to the ACC meets statutory filing requirements, then it would be approved without regard to the background of the individual person submitting the document."Today, I discovered a report that aired on ABC affiliate WXYZ TV in Southfield, Michigan about a local grandmother who found out the hard way about a scheme to earn money that ended up costing her over $25,000. The company's name that she dealt with? Bankcard Empire. In exchange for her $25, 500 investment, which she charged on two credit cards (according to the story she agreed to pay for the work at home opportunity after a hard pressure sales pitch over the phone). In exchange, the company told her, she would get $500 for each referral she sent to the company when that referral purchased a credit card scanning machine, plus a percentage of all amounts charged on the machine sold. She was also supposed to receive marketing materials that would help her get those referrals.
According to the ABC story:
"She never got any of the email marketing blasts that were promised... she never got any business... She says all she really got, was the run around."Also according to the story:
- "The Better Business Bureau gives F ratings to Bankcard Empire, Davidan Corporation, Automated Business Group LLC, and Edgemont Productions LLC. All together, the BBB registered 487 consumer complaints against the Arizona companies."
- "The Michigan Attorney General says they've received 10 complaints in the last 2 years against Bankcard Empire...And the state of Illinois issued the company a Cease and Desist order - forcing Bankcard Empire to stop offering or selling business opportunities in that state."
So far, consumer outrage doesn't seem to do much. Neither does shutting down the business in one state. Nor, in most cases, does there seem to be anything to prevent scammers from setting up shop under another name.
It's no wonder that work from home scams are so widespread. Many of us mistakenly believe that only unscrupulous overseas con artists can get away with scamming people: We have laws to protect us. Sure we do. Tell that to the grandmother in Michigan. And, by the way, if you have $25,000 I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Just put it on your card.
What do you think? Is there enough being done to protect the public from work at home scams? Should the burden be on the victim to do due diligence?
Related:
- Original Post: Work from Home Scammers Nabbed in Phoenix
- WXYZ Report (with Video): Work at home scheme costs local grandmother money, credit
- Reporting Work from Home Scams to the Better Business Bureau
- Getting Even with Work from Home Business Scam Artists
- FAQ: Do You Put Out a List of Legitimate Work at Home Businesses?
- Scam Victims: Tell Your Story
Randy, I do not have any faith in the Better Business Bureau. They have not posted a warning on their site about Bankcard Empire and the other businesses involved in this fraud or concerning the raid and charges of fraud and forgery. They closed complaints based on the word of Marci Bennett, Senior Legal Representative for Bankcard Empire, leaving no recourse for the consumer. Ms. Bennett then used the telephone numbers listed on the BBB complaints to call and harass the consumer that complained. Following Ms. Bennett’s assault, a man named Robin Phillips called and raised the bar on the threats, stating that he would see people in court, in Arizona, on defamation and other charges.
YES, people must always THINK before giving out their credit/debit information to TOTAL strangers. This were ex-cons who had perfected their skills while spending time in jail without nothing better to do but become better (worse) criminals. Jail is a education system for every kind of con job out there, and they know how to intimidate and harass like pros.
Remember the legitimate program was used as a jumping off place with the forgery of signatures to credit card invoices that were never authorized. They even recorded the original transactions, they cut and pasted them to sound like the people agreed to the charges. These recordings were then played to the credit card company representatives, who took the voice as the owner of the card, and would not help the consumer dispute the charges based on these tapes.
This company was only the tip of a much larger syndication of crime, it will only get more wide spread as people get more desperate for money to make ends meet. Help us all from the fools we can be!
BJ:
The BBB is imperfect, I’ll agree. But they have also prevented thousands and thousands of people from getting sucked into something they shouldn’t have.
If true, this certainly sounds egregious and mind-boggling. It’s a crazy world out there, isn’t it. I think it was Ben Franklin who was credited as saying, “All the world is crazy but you and me, and sometimes I wonder about thee” or something like that.
Randy D.