willowisp | NM Folks -- Possible Scam?

[Cross-posted to

solicitors_suck.]

Today Andy and I received a notification in the mail. It is printed on fairly nice invitation-like paper and was addressed to us using Andy's formal full name. On the inside the header says "Bueno Neighbors", so someone is a bit rusty on their Spanish. The message was that they had been unable to contact us by phone and that they had a parcel for us. It gives a local number for Albuquerque and an 800 number for Santa Fe, hours to call, and says to ask for Barbara. It also gives a parcel number.

I asked a local doctor about it and she hasn't heard of any scam along these lines. She suggested it might be some sort of welcome wagon thing and might be completely innocent, then said the AG has a fraud hotline. She agreed with

callicrates that it would probably be a good idea, if we decided to call, to block our number.

When I got home I tried Switchboard's reverse lookup on the number given, but they simply said it was unlisted or might be a number for someone who had moved recently. I also searched for the number in Google, but all I found was a guy who had posted a similar message on a telemarketing board wondering what the catch might be; his speculation is that they have you call and then can claim an established business relationship for future telemarketing. No one replied, so I'm not sure what might have come of it.

I also checked out the AG's site and called the hotline; but the site was pretty much useless (they list maybe ten scams overall, including lawsuits they've won and which are in progress against scammers) and they haven't returned my message yet.

Being that I am a Cat, I'm dying of curiosity at the moment. I remember the welcome wagon stuff my parents received; Pamela and I always fought over who got to stir the big pots with the KFC plastic spoon. On the other hand, the lack of any sort of return address, company name (unless the malformed Spanglish is exactly that), or other means of identification has all of my warning sirens going off.

So, if anyone from the northern NM area might know, please tell Andy and me whether it's safe to call or not. If no one can answer either way we won't call, but if this thing is legitimate and there is a package, I want to see what it is.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I received that identical card, down to the Bueno Neighbors, and never got around to calling back. I assumed it was Welcome Wagon, but it also seemed tremendously impersonal and probably some sort of marketing campaign. I didn't think of the more paranoid possibilities, and would probably have called back if I were bored enough. It's highly suspicious in my book that you could get no information on reverse lookup.

If you can block your phone number outbound and you are this curious about it, it would take far less time to just call them than it does to do all this research and ask a lot of people and stuff. I mean, if it's not spam you want to find that out ASAP and if it is spam you want to find that out with the minimum amount of time/energy expended on your part as a result, right? I'm sure you have a lot more necessary and/or rewarding things to spend your time on. :-)

Calling someone once doesn't create an established business relationship; if you are on federal/state do not call lists, I wouldn't worry about that.

Just so you know, toll free numbers can still see your phone number even if it's blocked.

Call 'em from a pay phone.

...or quarter or 35 cents or whatever a pay phone costs now.

Call from the office. :)

Um.. It's a Toll Free number. It doesn't cost anything.

You deserve to be scammed. You're a fucking idiot for wasting so much time on this!

And you actually responed. Idiot loser!

Just moved here and got the same message. I am not that curious, since these things are usually a time waster. And let's face it, don't play coy with the new neighbors - tell me who you are and then I will respond.

This is a scam!! This company claims that they will give you a free water analysis package. By giving them your parcel number (which is printed on your card), they can determine who you are, your address, phone number, etc. I'm not sure what they use the info... perhaps telemarketing, perhaps just to send round a sales person... or perhaps something more malicious. Ignore this card... these people are full of shit.

Hi Willowisp,
I received the same note in Albuquerque, NM mailed on January 8, 2005 from zip code 87101. It was very curious and I called the number that was given and received an answering machine message. I left a message on the machine and never received a return call. I just left another message hoping to receive a return call or I am contacting consumer alerts and the local news stations in hopes to figure out what this letter is. I recently moved into my new home in December and initially thought it was the welcome wagon, but I am now quite puzzled. I am so glad I saw your posting when I did an internet search.

Thanks,
Jessica

Hello, I recently moved into my house and also received the same letter. It's exactly how you describe it. I know it's a scam but thought I'd give it a google search. Low and behold there is info on this...LOL...Google rocks. Welp, I'm tossing it in the trash anyway. "Bueno Neighbors" *rolls eyes*. I met my neighbors. I'm going to call from a payphone and say that I just saw a beaver filling out a job application. :)

I just received the same card (and they didn't bother to lick shut the envelope!!) and I did exactly as you all did and searched the numbers, then searched the info on Google (and here I am). My concern was that it was some underhanded collection agency...I have had my identity stolen in the past and had no idea there were unpaid bills in my name, and I was sent to collection, who went to similar measures to have me call them with my "parcel number" and they harrassed me endlessly...So thank you all for looking into this and posting what you found....I HATE watersoftner people..and just look at what they did to try to drum up businesses...

I received the exact same letter as you all 2 months after I purchased a new home in Delray Beach, Florida. I knew it was a scam because there was no return address . . . . a sure sign that something is amiss. I googled it and found your page. Thanks!

Супер! Все бы так писали :) (http://site-sex-znakomstva.ru/)

Чего и следовало ожидать, написавший нетипично отжег! (http://zimnyayaobuv.ru/) (http://zimnyaya-obuv.ru/)

I live in Atlanta and I received the same letter. I called and they said they would give me a $50 gift certificate and test my water for free. When talking about the water test they asked did I have a husband or if a man lived with me and how many people lived with me, that's when I hung up.

I bought my first home in May and received the same card with no return address. The card said to ask for Barbra. I called the number just to see what it was about. Sure enough I spoke to a women named Sarah who claimed to be Barbra assistant. She immediately said which prize do you want? The 3 day resort, or chili's gift card. I said none.
I honestly thought it was a welcome from the neighborhood association.
I chose not to give any information. I'm curious of how they know I purchased a home. Never got one when I was renting.

NM Folks -- Possible Scam?

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Don't waste the dime...

Re: Don't waste the dime...

your scam

Re: your scam

bueno neighbors

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Bueno Neighbor Letter

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same letter in Florida

Супер блог!

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