An Arizona company accused of selling bogus identity theft protection programs has settled charges filed by the Oklahoma Attorney General and has agreed to stop doing business in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed suit against the Consumer Benefit Group (CBG) of Mesa, Arizona, in September 2004, accusing it of violating the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, the Commercial Telephone Solicitation Act and the Oklahoma Telemarketer Restriction Act.
"The company was not properly registered as a telemarketer, and it was calling Oklahomans who are registered on the state's Don't Call list," Edmondson said in a prepared statement. "We filed our suit to stop these illegal practices."
CBG is a telemarketing firm that says it sells identity theft protection services that protect consumers from thieves operating outside the United States.
CBG founder Corey McCormick said U.S. consumers have almost no protection against identity theft outside U.S. borders.
McCormick said CBG has access to over 50 lists of Americans that have a greater risk of being identity theft victims. From those lists, CBG calls those people and persuades them to buy the $299 CBG protection plan.
McCormick insisted in statements to ConsumerAffairs.com that Edmondson "dropped" the charges. However, according to Edmondson's Web site, the case was settled after McCormick promised to stop calling Oklahomans and to pay $3,500.
"I think they were mad because we were doing their job -- protecting U.S. citizens," McCormick said. McCormick said he did nothing illegal but decided not to go to trial because his lawyer warned him he would probably lose.
Attorney General McCormick might not agree that McCormick did nothing illegal.
"Identity theft is quickly becoming a high-profile crime," Edmondson said. "We alleged CBG took advantage of the public's concern about this issue to make a quick profit."
In a series of emails to ConsumerAffairs.com, McCormick continued to insist that the charges were "dropped."
"The alleged claims were all invalid, therefore the case was dropped," he said, insisting our 2004 story was inaccurate. "If the article is not removed immediately, an injuction will be filed against Consumer Affairs to do so," he said.
"Your article has prevented some victims of foriegn [sic] fraud to not get the help neede [sic] to remedy unwanted foreign solicitations and schemes," he said.
Maybe, Maybe Not
It's sometimes difficult to sort out claims like McCormick's because there are so many companies with similar names.
For example, the Better Business Bureau in Spokane, Wash., issued an alert -- also in September 2004, just as Oklahoma's Edmonds was filing his charges -- about a company called United Consumer Benefits Group.
A Yakima, Wash., woman received a call saying her identity had been compromised and she would need to call her bank, Washington Mutual in Yakima, close her account and reopen it. "SCARY PART IS: Kelly had the woman's routing number & account, making it seem as though the caller had been telling the truth about her account with Washington Mutual!" the BBB alert said.
The woman's bank account was debited $395.
Said the BBB: "We could not find anything listed for this group at BBB.org. Anything close to the name 'United Consumer Benefits Group' listed had an unsatisfactory record attached to it."
Some of the "fraud protection" items offered for sale on McCormick's Web site, www.cbgonline.us, when we checked it today include:
• A $77 "Tele-Zapper," which supposedly "eliminates unwanted telemarketing calls."
• A $127 "Stress Check Computer." The Web site states that this handy gadget will "Measure your bodies [sic] temperature to the excact [sic] degree."
• A $137 "Information Removal System." McCormick's Web site states that the "current system can help eliminate the circulation of your personal information via phone, mail and e-mail." Just in case it doesn't, a "consultation with one of our trained counselors" is included.
In case none of this is quite clear, the site also offers a "Sparco Illuminated Magnifier" for $19.56.
