# Another "Is this a scam" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749 "2010-01-20T21:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/1 "2010-01-20T21:53:13Z")
Yesterday my husband got a card in the mail, wishing him “Happy Birthday,” With a “call this number for your gift.” His name is spelled wrong and it isn’t his birthday. It claims that if he calls the number within 72 hours, he will receive: 1. Two round trip tickets to any major international airport within the US 2. Three days/two nights at any Marriott property in the US 3. A $75 Walmart gift card 4. A $50 AmEx gift card 5. A savings book for thousands of dollars in savings to various retailers, hotels, restaurants, and attractions. There is no company name anywhere. There is a tiny disclaimer that “This promotion is not sponsored by or affiliated with Marriott or Walmart, but they are a major supplier.” It screams scam to me, but he wants to call the number. Any ideas? I’m afraid calling the number will put a big charge on our phone bill. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/2 "2010-01-20T21:55:29Z")
What’s the number? Is it a 900 number? Do a reverse telephone look-up. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/3 "2010-01-20T21:58:27Z")
Is the card saying that he’s going to get all of those things, or just one of them? Because if it’s just one, I’ll bet he’ll get the last one. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/4 "2010-01-20T21:58:31Z")
call from someone else’s phone. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/5 "2010-01-20T22:00:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is the card saying that he’s going to get all of those things, or just one of them? Because if it’s just one, I’ll bet he’ll get the last one. Or he can have them all… for the low, low price of $XXX\*. \*Certain exclusions and limitations apply. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/6 "2010-01-20T22:03:27Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > What’s the number? Is it a 900 number? Do a reverse telephone look-up. No, it’s an 800# **Dewey Finn** , it says he’s to get all of them. **not\_alice** I told him if he must call, to do so from work. On other thing that doesn’t ring true to me is the “Call within 72 hours.” How could they possibly know when we received it sinces it was sent by regular mail. It’s postmarked from W Palm Beach FL ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/7 "2010-01-20T22:03:31Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > call from someone else’s phone. Best response so far. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/8 "2010-01-20T22:06:30Z")
I just googled the # and got [this](http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8005075010). So, thanks for the help. This should convince him to throw it away. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/9 "2010-01-20T22:06:37Z")
I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a scam. The question is, what type of scam? ETA: And I see that now we know what type it is. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/10 "2010-01-20T22:11:45Z")
Embarrassedly, I admit to calling one of these numbers. For a free cruise. I did indeed get the cruise. How it works is: 1. The callback number charges you. A lot. 2. The free vacation/whatever, is real, but doesn’t include all other sundries, such as food, drink, administrative surcharges, etc. And you have to get to the cruise ship at your own expense. In the case of the OP, it’s guaranteed to be #5, which is no doubt also known as “a book of almost unredeemable coupons”. ETA: I am wrong, not the same thing (though similar). I let my idiocy stand though. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/11 "2010-01-20T22:26:44Z")
Rule of thumb: look at the postmark of any such mail. If the stamp area says “Presort” or “PRST STD” or somesuch, that means many hundreds of thousands of people got the same message. It’s junk. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-thread/525749/12 "2010-01-20T22:38:59Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Rule of thumb: look at the postmark of any such mail. If the stamp area says “Presort” or “PRST STD” or somesuch, that means many hundreds of thousands of people got the same message. It’s junk. An interesting thing about this one is that, while it is a presort, what you can read on the front of the card says “Standard US postage.” The fold covers and obliterates the “presorted”