(WTOL) - An automated call is going around the Toledo-area, offering people a free stay at a Marriott Hotel.
It sounds great, but don't be fooled, it's a scam.
Even some of our WTOL 11 News team got one of these robocalls, with an automated voice that said something like this:
"We've got a wonderful deal for you, one night in a Marriott Hotel for free," said Dick Eppstein, local Better Business Bureau president.
It then asks you to press one to hear more or press two for them to stop calling.
Eppstein says don't press anything, just hang up.
"These people want active phone lists. They want phone numbers that they can sell to other brokers," said Eppstein.
Eppstein says it's possible just answering the phone lets the scammers know it's a working number, so don't answer a number you don't recognize.
"Just let these things go to the answering machine," said Eppstein.
Even if the number looks local.
In this Marriott Hotel scam, it appears the scammers make the number they're calling from look like the first six digits of your phone number.
When attempting to call back, some numbers were disconnected.
In other cases, the scammers had masked where they're calling from with a number that actually did belong to someone in our community.
Eppstein says you can't stop the scam calls , and being on the 'do not call list' doesn't work for a simple reason.
"They're criminals. They're not following the law. They don't care if you're on the 'do not call list,'" said Eppstein.
Eppstein says virtually all robocalls are scams, so don't trust them.
Report scams here.
