This could have been a lot worse

The NBC affiliate in Wichita, Kansas reports on a man who didn't win a Wal-Mart sponsored sweepstakes:

For Raj Divicha, a Friday afternoon phone call seemed like the perfect way to end a week as the caller on the other end said he was a winner.

"Due to your recent purchase in Wal-Mart, your number has been entered in a sweepstakes, and that's how we are calling you up," Divicha was told.

The caller, a representative of Easy Saver, said Divicha would receive a free 25 dollar gift card from Wal-Mart and a 25 dollar gas card. All Divicha had to do was pay shipping an handling. Something he agreed to. However, once off the phone, Divicha began to question the offer.

"After the call was over, it strikes me that Wal-Mart never takes my number," Divicha said.

Hooray for Raj. I'm sure he wishes he thought of that while still on the call.

My personal opinion is that his call was from a telemarketer giving a deceptive sales pitch. The company likely sells some entirely different product, and the person who called him was probably behind on quota and needed a sure-fire way to make sure his next phone call resulted in a sale. Lying is not always discouraged in the telemarketing industry.

But, as the title says, this could have been a lot worse. Raj could have found his entire bank balance drained away. Instead, only one charge for a totally different amount was made to his debit card. This is why I think it wasn't a true scammer, but a person desperate to make a sale.

If you ever receive a phone call like this, please be aware that no legitimate sweepstakes administrator would make you pay shipping and handling on a prize win. That just doesn't happen. Raj's own red flag applies as well. Only a handful of the stores I visit ask for my phone number, and Wal-Mart isn't one of them.