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You’ve probably shared your contact information online to, say, get details about a job opening. Usually, that’s fine. But sometimes you might be looking for one thing and wind up getting something else – like calls about stuff you never asked for or wanted.

Lead generators are companies that collect your contact information, then sell it to marketers who use it to promote their own products and services. While some lead generators are upfront about what they do with your information, others trick you into sharing it for their own profit – regardless of what you asked for.

The FTC sued Day Pacer, LLC for allegedly making unwanted calls as part of a scheme that used just this kind of bait-and-switch. According to the lawsuit, Day Pacer is a lead generator that got its leads from websites with convincing graphics and language to make people think they were in the right place to get what they needed. People went to these websites and shared their phone numbers to get help applying for jobs, health insurance, unemployment benefits and other assistance. But that’s not what they got. Instead, people got unwanted phone calls from Day Pacer with sales pitches to enroll in post-secondary and vocational schools operated by its clients. The company disturbed millions of people with these calls – even though their numbers were on the National Do Not Call Registry.

When you search online for jobs, benefits, or government assistance, you want to be sure you wind up where you need to be. So, once you have your search results:

  • Check out the URL before you click. Search online for that URL, plus the words “review” or “complaint.” Do the same thing with the company name, if you can find it. That will tell you what other people have experienced with that site.
  • Look for sites with “.gov” in the URL. Of course, there are many reliable, non-government, online sources. But government sites are the safest bet. So, for example:

And if you know someone who’s gone through this kind of bait-and-switch, report it to the FTC.

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It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

Dannyjoejones8897
April 12, 2019
All my money was stolen
nisqually
April 12, 2019
While searching online for jobs I used the popular and hot jobs sites, Indeed and Monster. Before I knew it I was getting scam phone calls and even emails. These are "legit" and very popular job search engines but I guess they must sell info too! I no longer use them. I also had to change my phone number.
Mpetersen
April 12, 2019
“Even though they were not on the do not call registry” I’m on the do not call registry and it makes no difference at all. I block calls on my mobile phone and that doesn’t do any good either. Last week - in 1 day - I counted 12 robo or unwanted calls. Nothing works. And by the way I also was not fooled by but was the recipient last week of a grandparent scam call. Something has to be done to fix this!
Mpetersen
April 12, 2019
“Even though they were not on the do not call registry” I’m on the do not call registry and it makes no difference at all. I block calls on my mobile phone and that doesn’t do any good either. Last week - in 1 day - I counted 12 robo or unwanted calls. Nothing works. And by the way I also was not fooled by but was the recipient last week of a grandparent scam call. Something has to be done to fix this!
ShirlB
April 13, 2019
I have a recording of a telemarketing caller. I told her to please take me off the list and she told me to go to # 9 which I did and it lead to her supervisor who asked my why was I on his line. I told him why. I that same day got a threatening call left on my answering machine. I hope she either got fired or obviously got into trouble. I know not to answer these calls. I guess I just figured I would answer and give them a piece of my mind.
Unemployed Lilly
April 13, 2019
Getting a lot of text messages from people that want to do an online interview in Google Hangouts. These are scams!!!! Real HR representatives call you, they don’t text you to do online interviews. They say they represent real companies and even sent me a fraudulent check. Upon verification with the company and the remitter of the check, the person didn’t work there and that company did not cut that check. These scammers are going online and getting info on real companies and using them to falsify checks. They ask you to cash them thus getting your banking info. I didn’t fall for it thanks to being smart and verifying the information prior to action or releasing any personal information to them. I even asked for their tax ID # which they didn’t have. Never flow business funds through your personal bank accounts. Hope this helps someone ......
Helpful Info
April 17, 2019
Thanks FTC for all that you are doing. It's impossible to catch them all, but hopefully winning lawsuits will be a deterrent. As for scam calls, check with your provider for home and cell. I have discovered there are tools you can activate to block many of these calls. The key here is that the consumer must make the activation - the provider doesn't do it automatically
Groot
April 17, 2019
An incoming call on my cell phone showing it’s from_(my first name). The robo called stated they were from AT&T and said my service has been suspended and they need some information to restore it first question wanted my zip code, I gave it to them. After that it struck me as weird so still on the phone I asked my husband to call my # and sure enough it was not suspended. The second question was, what’s your pin #, didn’t provide and hung up. They called several more times, but I wouldn’t answer nor allowed a voicemail.
Pippi
May 17, 2019

In reply to by Groot

I received a call like that too--except it was from "verizon", they spoofed my phone #, said my service was suspended. I knew right away it was a scam. Also- I don't answer calls on my cell from numbers that begin with my area code and exchange.