Government grants scam

So a few minutes ago I got a call. Caller ID says 1-999-999-1234. Already suspicious. I worked IT at a call center and know how easy CID is to manipulate. They could have chosen something less obviously a fake. Anyway I answered for some reason and there was a guy with a strong Indian accent telling me he was calling from the "U.S. Government Grants Department" and that I'd won a $12,000 grant for being a good taxpayer. The only catch was that I must not use the money to do anything illegal. This is a new scam on me, so I asked him a bunch of purposefully silly questions while I googled "government grants scam". I gather from the results that the idea is to get your bank account number for a supposed wire transfer to the account, and they just arrange the wire to go the other way. Surely enough, my phone friend soon asked me for information about my bank and I rang off. I hardly suppose I need to warn anyone about these guys, but for what it's worth...

[Uche Ogbuji]

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330 responses
I just received a call with the same MO - wanted my bank routing number and account number to have the government deposit $5,000 - the name of the company was entitlement grant center in lake forest california.  Heavy Indian accent.  What a scam...................
— Deb
I also got a call from 808-212-0041. The man with a thick Indian accent said they found my (web design) business in the yellow pages and asked if I had a website, when I said yes, he said "have you updated it? cuz If not, we offer web design services..." I said "Really? Me too!" and hung up.



Damn scammers.
— Mike
I keep receiving calls from people with Indian accents telling me that the government wants to give me $5000 because I am a taxpayer. Yea right. I told them that i was too smart to actually believe that the government was really going to give me free money. It just aint happening. I played their game. I told them that I would not give my bank account number to them and if there was really money reserved for me they could mail it in the form of a check. And of course their answer was no no no that is too much money to send in the mail. I asked him for an english speaking person, one who I could understand. Of course they don't have any. It figures. Don't fall for it folks.
— Marjorie Zamora
Just got a call from these same people. "Entitlement Grants Center, 20988, Bake Parkway, Lakeforest, CA, 92638. He says he is from the "U.S. Gov't Dept.". And since I have been such good taxpayer, the IRS is going to 'give' me $5000 (wired to my bank)as long as I promised I wouldn't buy drugs or give it to a terrorist. His accent was not Indian, but had a middle eastern flavor. He then asked for my banks account #. I asked him just to mail it to me. He started to go ballistic and wanted to know if I was "ascare" of him. I said yes and he started the whole process over again. I don't know why he gave me that mailing address. I told him I had more money than I know what to do with, and hung up! That was my entertainment for today.
— Carl
I just got a call too from 808-212-0041

A thick indian voice.



Beware..
— MIKE
I just received a very suspicious phone call from a woman with a very heavy accent. She told me I was to receive a grant from the "Entitlement and Grant center in Lake Forest, CA. Said that the government picks 10 "winners" each year to receive this grant from it's list of taxpayers. I ask her for a number that I could call to get information about her "company". She was very adamant about not giving me any information till she had "filled out her form" (I had answered all her questions). I told her that I would not give her any information till I had her info! She rattled off my name, address, etc....... I said all that info is a matter of public record. She said that all she needed was my bank account info so they could wire transfer the $5000.00 grant to me. I told her that since she already has my address she could send me a check. She proceeded to tell me how unsafe the US mail is.  That's when I told her I work for the US mail and have every faith in it's security. Long story short, she has to check with a supervisor to see if they can send me a real check (yeah, right). She'll call me back (yeah, right). After telling her that I thought she was running a scam I told her I would call the police if she call's me again. I did a Google search and see that this is an ongoing scam. Does anyone know if there is someplace to repoet this?

Bobbie
— Bobbie Hawkins
I just received this phone call and was stupid enough to continue all the way to the end.  Do any of you know how to fix this or not make whatever they are going to do happen??
— Patrick Law
I just received a call from this number (808) 212-0041. I have Vonage and the call log said Honolulu, Hawaii. I did not answer the call, but did a Google search on this number and found these postings. Just wanted to add mine to the list.
— Craig Barnes
I also got a call from this phone#. A thick indian voice wanted to sell me pharmacutials over the phone. I have been getting alot of calls from these pushy salespersons. I have told them to not call my cell phone but they do anyway. sometimes as many times as 3 or 4 times a week.
— C. McGovern
Just got a call from 808-212-0041 today. SCAM!
— Gary Howard
Just a comment echoing what others have said. I don't know what number they called from, but they were quite good. The woman I spoke with had excellent English, and even offered her name and "employee ID" number.  They even encouraged me to contact the Better Business Bureau to "verify the authenticity of the offer."  The company was called Entitlement Pro and the address given was 20988 Bake Parkway; Lake Forest, CA 92630.  She claimed the money was from Section 108, Part 64 of the Federal Government Act.  I took meticulous notes and hung up when she wanted my bank account information for the $249.95 "processing fee."  No way!
— LS Newman
I, like everyone else, got a phone call from these people. I am interested to know how they got my cell phone number. I wonder if we all have anything in common??
— Vanessa
I received a call like this today- and I was not told of any up front fees- Crazy me fell for it- I have recently contacted the Attorney General's office here in my state ans they are helping me in theis matter. I had to close all of my accounts- B/C I fell for it. I hope that anyone who gets this call be aware that they are a scam and they will try and keep you on the phone to get all thie information that they can on you. Hope this helps anyone else. If you have fell victim like me make sure you CANCEL all accounts immediatley.
— TP Ragsdale
I just had what sounds like the same guy called me wanting to deposit $5000 in grant money to my checking account. Sounds funny for a US Government person to be working at 4:30pm on the 4th of July.  He was very persistant to get my account info.  Asked him to call back tomarrow, let's see how dumb he is.
— W Haigh
(808)212-0041  I got this call on Friday June 30th at 4 as well and did not answer.
— Astanton
I have been recieving 2 to 3 phone calls a day from "US Government Grant Program", the number displaying was 234-567-890 and a 1-800-061-3615. The call started out the same way as described in all of the other entries. A guy with a heavy indian accent called to tell me I got approved for a grant for $5,000.00, but I had to give him my name and address and then my bank account number. When I asked him why he needed it if they were sending a check by mail he got all flustered. I ended up just hanging up.
— T Crawford
I too have been getting phone calls from the 808-212-0041 phone number and found that is suppose to be a Hawaii phone number and answered the first time being as My daughter was actually in Hawaii at that time and thought it might be her and no one said anything it was just a dead line. I then tried to call the number back and got a recording stating that number was disconnected. Anyway I keep getting phone calls from the same number and will simply not answer them any longer now that I have found this sting of posts and realize it truly is a scam.



Thanks everyone for your info!!
— CH
I just received a call from 808-212-0041, so I went to search it online. After reading all the comments, the caller left a voicemail. It was my dad who is in Vietnam right now. So, not an Indian guy or anything.
— Vincent
Got a call from my recently married 19yr old niece - a fellow named "John" from Entertainment Pro, 20988 Bake Parkway, Lake Forest, CA - 800 634 2979 or 877 227 6952, telling her she qualifies under a new Govt grant program for money to pay off any/all of her bills - talking very fast - middle east accent.  Promised her $5000 minimum for a modest $249.99 processing fee (which she doesn't have).



Not thinking - she gave him her account number - but recovered nicely the next day by quickly closing the account after talking with family who convinced her it's too good to be true.



Shortly thereafter - "John" calls back numerous times, frantic, wanting to know why the account was closed - insisting she has been prequalified.



She tells him she doesn't even have the $249 processing fee as she's broke - "John" says no problem will send her a $500 check to spend on anything she wishes - except illegal activity, drugs, terrorist, etc.  She asks if she can use the money to "process the grant" - "John" says sure.



I'll let you know if that $500 check arrives so we can all get in line!  :-)
— tjg
Got a call today from an indian accented man who said he was from the goverment grant and entitlement center at 472 south river road, St. George Utah, 31212. Same promise of $5000 for filing my taxes. Would not give me a phone number to call him back, insisting he was calling from a secure government sattelite phone. He got angry when I would not give him my bank information. I would like to know how else to report this.
— kristina
Thanks too all of you I won't have to worry about going through all this.  I missed the call on my cell phone no less and when I went on google all of your comments popped up.....it's ridiculous how these people have nothing better to do.
— Amy
I received the call from the guy with the indian accent.  The number came up unavailable on the ID, when I answered, he immediately told me that I had won $5,000.  I told him oh, yeah, how do you know that I won that money; because of my phone number?  He said that there were 10 people that were chozen in my city by the government because we paid taxes, all he needed was the name of my bank.  Of course I said no. I told him if that money is mine then send me all of the information on how to retrieve it via mail and I'll read it and if I'm interested, I'll call you back.  He said, he could do that but that I needed a tracking number for the ups guy that he could only give me if I gave him the name of my bank. When I told him that I wanted to know his name and how to get a hold of him, he gave me a fake number out of Sacramento that I called from my cell phone while I was on the phone with him.  When I confronted him about the fake number he said that it didn't work because it was the weekend, not true of course.  In the end he was very upset and told me that he had all of my information anyway and that he was gonna charge me $50.00 because he was making a long distance call to me and I was not cooperating. I got very upset and started telling him no you are not gonna charge me anything and he said well we are and hung up on me.  Be carefull with these people.  DON'T GIVE UP ANY INFORMATION!
— Maria
I have recieve two phone calls from a number 808-212-0041 and i have picked it up once and it was a dead line.....i see all of these listings and just wanted to add mine in...i am just wondering now if i will have to pay a ridiculous amount of money does anyone know?? please email me
— Rachele
So my girlfriend takes a call from the same number as the rest of you... You've won a trip to Orlando, passes to Island of Adventure and Universal Studios, the whole works yada yada.. anyway, to keep the story short, after the runaround, as soon as they asked for the processing fee she hung up... They called back seconds later, I answered, and he asked for my girlfriend, everytime I said she's not here or whatever, he said "oh my god" in his heavy indian accent... anyway, I just told the guy to call someone else and quit harrassing us and hung up.. hopefully he doesn't call back!
— Chris in Calgary, AB
Hey there everyone thanks for the informative posting and I am just adding myself to the list of people that have received telephone calls from 808-212-0041.  I didn't recognize the number and Googled it which has led me here.  Beware of this scamming company-whomever they are.  As I have registered all of my phone numbers on the Federal and State Do Not Call Lists I will be forwarding the information on to whichever Federal Investigative body appropriate. Calls were received today 7/7/06.
— Tom
I just received this call from a man with a VERY thick accent stating I too have been randomly selected to receive $5000.00 in fed gran funds. I said, "How did I get so lucky? If I am to get this $, what is my name?" He said, "I dont know, it is randomly selected based on your phone #", then rattled off my # and said you live in ... and stated my city, I said, "I am soo impressed you can desipher the city from the area code and suffix, your brilliant!", he said, "maam, dont waste my time, dont you want this money?" I said "well who would'nt want their hard earned money back from the federal gov.? However, I will need to get your info before I give you mine". After a bit of back n forth, he said his name was Noris Sillvan from Entitlement Grant Center and the company phone # is 916.420.9211 (of course in call back it was not a valid #) I told him he had reached a General in the Military's home and the validity of this must be verified before I was to give him ANY info, he got angry and hung up on me! Wow, how can these people be stopped, I fear for the not so quick elderly they could prey on!
— Michele
I got the same call a minute ago. Same Indian accent and the guy said his name was Joe Morton. I knew right then it was a scam.  Thanks for the web postings.
— Erin
I just received a call from a man with an obvious Indian accent.  The caller-id number displayed was 808-212-0041; when I Googled it this site appeared, so I thought I would pass along my experience.  The caller stated his company's name was "Entitlement Pro" and they where offering me $7,000.00.  I told him to put me on their DO NOT CALL LIST.  Had I known it was a scam I would have had some fun with this guy... giving him false info and extracting as much info out of him as possible.  Next time I'll be prepared!!!
— David
We got 2 calls today. First from a woman with good English claiming to be from the govt grant agency, telling my wife she was selected for a govt grant. My wife asked why they are caling us as we're on the no call list. The caller hung up.



a bit later, I got a call from a man with a strong accent (not Indian?) telling me I'd been selected for a $5000 grant. I told him, we're on the no call list. He swore at me and hung up.
— Smith
Over the past few days 7/8/06 was most recent, call from 808-212-0041.  Supposedly in Lihue Hawaii.  Tried to call number back & it says it's disconnected.  Googled & found these posts.  Caller does not leave a message when my machine picks up.

Seems odd.  Terri in the U.S.
— terri
According to the call directory list on my phone, I have received eight calls within the past seven days from 808-212-0041.  I've never been at home when they've called, but am looking forward to the day that I am.  I'll be answering as "Honolulu Police Department." ;-)
— Betty
I recieved the same call from this strong accent person, claiming that I would also receive  $5000.00. I was stupid to give them my information and regret it greatly.They continue calling asking for me, so I can verify the information. Since then, I have been harassed from this person. My family is also being harassed and I am going to do something about it. I am very upset and I plan to report them to legal authorities or the Business Bureau. They have my information and can possibly use it for identity theft.
— Patricia Cruz
These nice folks called me too. Must be the same Indian man who's calling everyone else. Started off the same way - said I had won $5000, yada yada. It smelled of a scam, so I immediately said "I don't believe you, I think you're scamming me." MAN, he was awfully rude to someone he was trying to give money too ;-)
— Kelley
Just got a call from the same number. Thanks to everyone who posted this info! I'm glad to know I'm not alone.
— Lindsay
I got the same phone call. It sounded so legitimate. I kept asking the guy if this is real and to give me all of their contact information. Sure enough they did. I didn't have internet at the time but I could have called the additional numbers that they provided to verify the information.



This is the first time that I DIDN'T listen to my instincts. Now I feel completly stupid! It's good that they didn't call me, But now I have to change my bank account #.



I guess your allowed one stupid mistake in your life!
— Aki
I have just got a call from 808-212-0041. An Indian guy named Subhajit Majumdar started with some offering from Dish Network. I have received a similar call two days ago from the same number. I am not interested in any Dish Network so I told them to take my name off from the calling list. As I have received a second call today, I told the guy not to call me. To my surprise, he said it is not going to happen as they can not take my name off, and added that I may sue Dish Network if I wish!



Can something be done to stop this nonsense?
— Mitra
I had two missed calls from 808 212 0041. One to my house and one to my personal cell. How are they getting this info????  Luckily I Googled the number!
— Jim
I also received a call from 808-212-0041.  A man with an Indian

accent said he was from Time Travel.  I told him I was busy and not interested.  He asked me what I was doing - I hung up on him.
— diane
Got a call from (808)212-0041 ... said his name was Kevin and that he was calling from Online Pharmacuticals - calling to confirm my credit card number.
— erin
Nobody here has posted this caller ID I just had from the thick-accented Indian guy: 136. That was it. 136. I'm a receptionist for a living and have zero patience for telemarketers, much less scammers. This guy asked my name. I didn't tell him. The only words I understood were: Taxpayer, won money, your bank account. That was enough! I said "Whaddaya think, I was born yesterday? Go to H*** and don't call me again!!". Felt great! Then I came & googled 'scam bank account' and found you all! Thank you. What's clever here is that they know people are just receiving their tax refunds and maybe more likely to fall for it. This guy actually had the nerve to call me back and leave voice mail of the background noise of his nasty hole-in-the wall room he called from. Probably wanted my name. It's not on my voice mail. Ugh! I feel like washing my phone!
— E Harper
Got these calls today, didn't reco number so dumped to VM. Googled to see who it was and here i am.. soooo glad to know its a scam before i talk to them... i will answer the phone "Chicago Police Department - Fraud and Scam Department".. or was thinking of "Entitlement Grant Center, Governtment Division.. how may i help you".. eh, something to just mess with them.
— dolson
i get at least 2 calls from the (808)212-0041 number for about 2 weeks now. everytime i pick up, they hang up. i dont understand what the purpose of that would be? i got nervous b/c i do order a lot of stuff off of ebay and stuff like that and i hope it has nothing to do with that b/c they have all my credit cards and account info. its so anoying im really about to call the police and file a police report. i already called verison and they told me there was nothing much they could do other then change my phone number.
— michelle
Received several calls when the answering service that I have through the phone company, there was no message.  I picked up the call one night and the person said they were from customer service asked me my name and I told them they had the wrong phone number and hung up
— Jeanne
Searching for area code 808, prefix 212:



same scam/same indian man.

  he used a VoIP call this time,

(its the third time he has tried this scam on me,first my son answered the phone and said dont call here again thinking it was a telle-marketer. second time my wife answered the phone, she heard him out while looking up scams on the internet. she found your site and knew it was a scam but she told the man to call back when i got home which was in one hour. and the idiot did )

BIG mistake i was able to almost fully trace him...

Here are my results and some info.

Area Code: 808

Prefix: 212

Location: LIHUE hawaii

Address: Unknown

Other Info: CLEC

I was not able to procure his address. If he is stupid enough to call me again and stay on the phone a little longer like 40 seconds instead of 23 i will be able to get an address.

when i tried to view his ip address he blocked me from his end,and closed the cpu call.

Who ever he is he is good with cpu's. I should know im pretty good at hacking.



CLEC - Competitive Local Exchange Carrier



CLEC prefixes are used by businesses or Internet providers who do not wish to use regular telephone companies (Verizon, Qwest, Bell South, etc). Note: With Local Number Portability, there can be more than one type of service on a particular prefix. Example: regular landline on a CLEC prefix or a cellular prefix.

but this indian man is using the computer/VoIP services to make these calls.
— Sean
Got a call from this same number, 808-212-0041 and the man with a heavy Indian accent asked if I had a mortgage and would I take a survey for a mortgage company. I told him I didn't take phone surveys and hung up.
— Peg
I just recieved the same call that you all got. The guy claimed that he was from the Entitelment Gov. Center.  He said that the goverment wanted to give me $5,000 for being a good taxpayer.  I gave them the information but when they wanted to record it I hung up. I was hoping it wasn't a scam but I had my gut feeling.  When I looked up them up I found this.  I wish I would of found it a little sooner.  I feel so stupid.  I learned my lesson the hard way.
— Darla
WOW...these people are sick! I don't have the same number as all of you, but same story...the indian accent, the 5,000 dollars and all that good stuff...EXCEPT for, they asked me what time I would be at home tomorrow so that they could deliver the money to my home. I then asked them what address they were speaking of....and he repeated my home address...I did not give any info...but im still a bit freaked out.
— Neex
I am originally from Hawaii and when I missed a call from 808-212-0041 I thought omg one of my family changed their number. Low and behold I tried calling it right after and got a recording saying " the number you have called has been disconnected and no longer in service " soooooooooo.......I thought it was weird and typed the number in google.com! Thanks for the postings here I now know not to answer it.  But, ewwww how dare that person use Hawaii's area code, I hope the creep gets caught!!!!!!!!
— Lita
same call, same indian accent, same rush, same government grant/tax payer/$5000.00 crap. So i entertained him long enough to google it, and here i am... he is now continually calling back, 5 times so far. only in my case... he read my routing # and account # to me...after i had refused to tell him. THAT is friggin scary. Whats to stop him even if i didnt give him my info?
— freeway
I just rec'd a similar call- I was told the same thing as the above comments.  This was also a strong middle eastern voice wanting my bank account information.  I told him if this was ligit and it was truly being paid by the gov't then there would be a paper trail. For him to send me all info in writing.

He was Nathan Brown Agent #8442 472 S. River Rd St. George, Utah 84770
— Jennifer
Got a call from 808-212-0041 today.  The SCAM continues.  I didn't answer, let's see if they call back...
— Hog
SAME NUMBER... DIFFERENT STORY..... I got a call from 808-212-0041 Today at work. They have calledf several times int he last week. Every time i answer i get a hang up. So this time... no hang up... just a ver THICK Indian accecent. He says he's from "Health Solutions" and wants to know if i'd like a perscription for Viagra. yes VIAGRA!!! he said he's send me 34 pills for $120.00 US. I told him i'm 23 and don't need viagra. So he made a counter-offer of Ritilan. I said no thanks I don't have ADD either.  He said the address of his company was 39 Hampton Way Tampa FL 33043. I doubt he was sitting in FL though. It sounded like he was sitting over in India. He had to say the name of his company 4 times before i could understand him. This is what makes me hate those little brown people. Anyway... just though i'd give you a HEADS-UP on my call from the infamous 808-212-0041. Thanks
— Dave
same call, same indian accent, same rush, same government grant/tax payer/$5000.00 crap. So i entertained him long enough to google it, and here i am... he is now continually calling back, 5 times so far. only in my case... he read my routing # and account # to me...after i had refused to tell him. THAT is friggin scary. Whats to stop him even if i didnt give him my info?
— freeway
I keep getting calls from this 808-212-0041 number, but they just hang up when I answer.  I have had some Indian guy named "Michael" (yeah, right) tell me a few months back that the government had $10,000 in free grants to give me.  I told him I wasn't interested but he persisted in going on about how could I turn down free money.  I finally hung up on him only to have him call back a few days later with the same spiel.  Same result.
— Derrick Jones
I saw this dude's number pop up for the second time since last week (see my comment ^^^^), SO I decided I would have some fun with him. He was selling drugs this time! New scam? seems to be a common theme to the notes everyone's putting in here. Anyway, I asked him where my money was? He replied that he had no idea what I was walking about. I told him we talked last week and he was going to call me back with confirmation of when they were going to deposit my $5K. He got awfully testy and I hung up on him :-D
— Kelley
re:808-212-0041



rec'd one call this A.M.-didn't answer

rec'd 2nd call this P.M.-after reading these comments-  Indian male wanted to set up an appointment for home improvement services, said was located in San Ramon, CA- I asked him if he wasn't sure he was supposed to ask to give me $5K.  I asked to verify his disconnected Lihue, HI phone number.  He gave me a phone# 866-828-2089 (which comes back to a real estate company in WA). (He also couldn't tell me the name of the mountain, Mt. Diablo, on the outskirts of San Ramon.)



He finally admitted to calling from New Delhi, however the company he was representing was in San Ramon, CA.  He said the temperature there was 38 Celcius.  To his credit, he did keep coming back to trying to get me to sign up for home improvements.



I have actually either talked to him, or another similar sounding gentleman, representing to be from the same company, several times over the last several months.



Computers are wonderful.
— kent
Glad I found you guys! I have been recieving calls from this gentlemen for over 3 months!!! Same Indian accent, same 808-212-0041 phone number.  Except he calls looking for a Claudette, well there is no Claudette, then he spatters off an address, which is not ours. He then says that Claudette has an account at Academy Bank and has $5000. So this time I asked for his name...Rick Foster...from American Lending Network. When I asked for his number he wouldn't give me one. He then started talking very sexual to me (totally gross) so I explained he was being recorded since they would not stop calling us; he hung up! I did file a police report, and will show them all of these blogs and see what can be done! My sister also recieved a call from these people stating they can lower her mortgage rates.  I called my phone company and they said they could change my number...what a pain!
— Lanae
We have been getting calls for the last 2 months from this number (808) 212-0041 try to sell Dish Network. They have been leaving obscene voice mails.



Has anyone tried to get the law enforcement in the picture?
— Fin
Wow, this is strange.  I've been getting calls about once a week or so at work from 808-212-0041.  I answered it once and no answer.  So ever since then, I've let it ring.  They have never left a voicemail, so I don't know what the deal is.  The caller ID on it says something like Kowalski.  Weird that alot of people have had a similar experience.
— Conor
First thing that clued me on this call was he had asked for my mother-in-law (whom I live with) and when I said she wasn't home, he asked if I was a family member i replied yes then it all started........A man with an Indian accent told me I am eligble for a grant through the "Goverment Grant and Entitlement Agency" for beinf a good taxpayer.  I kept him on the phone awhile asking him why he couldn't mail me the information then I would call him with the Bank Info.  He continued to tell me that I would recieve my confirmation with the Legal Documents I needed in a few days but he couldn't process my grant without my account number.  I told himr that if he sent the info i would call him back with the account number or he could send a check, he said he couldn't.  I told him that even the goverment wouldn't expect people to dish out there account info without something in writing.  He gave me a whole story on how he couldn't withdra money without authorization (yeah if your doing things the legal way) and how if I wrote a check without a signature the bank wouldn't cash it.  Well come on we live in 2006 people just about anyone can get money from your account with the info (automatic withdrwal's, direct debits, automatic payment's)  Do not fall for this, I am not sure if anyone belives that the goverment is going to track you down to thow 5,000.00 at you, I wish.  Beware of these scams I am not sure if there is anything I can do to help this situation but I am going to do whatever I can, think of the people that fall for this being trusting.  Thank you everyonr for these postings, I kept this guy on the phone then did a search on his company.  I finally read him these statements and how people have recieved the same exact calling saying the monies could be used for anything that is illeagal, and he just hung up.  BE SAFE, IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT IS......IF SOMEONE IS TRYING TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING FOR NOTHING YOU'LL GET NOTHING.
— Jennifer
My wife got the 808.212.0041 this afternoon.  Guy claimed to be with Dish Network.  I got one this evening at 9:01 p.m. caller id unknown, just after we got the antsy 2 year old to go to sleep.  I was ready to go to war (or the bank) since we are on the do not call list.  I was pleasant to try and tease some info, but the call soon ended - more like a dropped cell or internet call ending.  So this dufus named Neil Johnson, employee #2 (how original) calls back at 9:27.  By now the 3 month old is also peacefully snoozing.  So what do I do, bellow FY etc.  so loud from the office that my wife downstairs comes up to see what is going on.  My kids are sound sleepers, but Neil heard me in Bangalore, Lagos or wherever he was.
— les
We just received three calls from this same 808-212-0041 but did not answer.  Just noticed this web log and wanted to post info here.
— No Name
I just got scammed too. I actually was to stupid to realize it though, I already paid the 249.95 so I guess I'll just see what happens. The same company you all are talking about Entitlement Pro. addresse 20988 Bake parkway, Lake Forest, CA, 92630. However I talked to a nice american lady named linda, job ID# epalol. Protell Communications is evidentally the parent company and that guy was Indian accented all the way. The supervisors name was Charrollett, and she had a thick English acsent. They said that the grant was issued under section 108 of the federal grant act, and the grant itself was for $7,500. I havent check this out yet but I'm guessing now that I got screwed.
— scott caesar
i just want to know how they are getting our numbers! i am also on the do not call list and i just got two calls from 800-061-3615. i answered the first time but they hung up. after i googled the number i read what all of you had written. so the second time i ignored it. wonder if they'll KEEP calling..
— Lena
Got a call from the same number at 5:12 Central time.  No one was one the line.  I'd just love to have him call back.
— Namvet
Got a call from an Indian accented gentleman.  Said he was from the "Government Grant and Entitlement Center" located at 113 Applegreen St., Freemont [sic], CA.  Phone 916-635-2520.  Said I had been selected for "100% tax free and no interest" grant from the government.  Went along with it to see where it would go (slow evening on TV).  He asked for bank routing # and acct #.  I provided phony info.  Then transferred to supervisor by name of "Simon Jones," again with heavy accent.  I asked him for nearest city to Fremont.  He responded (after long pause): Sacremento.  I asked how far it was to Palo Alto, and he remarked that city was not in the United States.  Told him could not find his address on Google; reply:  located in a "goverment secure" place that cannot be accessed on web.  We then moved to a verification process which was to be recorded.  A female voice in good english asked verification of info, and concluded with acknowledgment of a "processing fee f $249.95 on July 27, 2006."  At this point I balked and was immediately interruped by Mr. Simon.  He sternly admonished me to not ask questions while being recorded.  As soon as I did shortly thereafter, the line went dead.
— Dick
I too just got a phone call from a man with a thick Indian acent. Saying he was from the Groverment Grant entitlement center, saying that I was chosen to receive $5000.00 from the groverment. So I gave him a fake checking account number, and kept questioning him. The more I questioned him the angery he became.  I told him that if he was from the goverment he wouldn't be getting mad at me, and that I felt it was a scam.  When I told him that it was a fake account number he became very angery with me, and told me that he has ways of finding out who I was.  So I hung up on him, and moments later got another phone, but this time it was his superviser, and that he had fired the person taking to me.  Anyway as I had him on the phone I was searching the internet for scams, and found this web site and read some of the comments to him, and told him that this was a scam and I was going to report them. Beware out there.
— Katherine
Like others even I received 2-3 calls during day time from a man with thick Indian accent. I hung up. He again calls me but this time in the middle of the night 1:00 AM. I heard about in the news too, so I knew what he was trying to find. He was getting upset and was very rude because I was not letting him talk.
— No Name
I received a phone call Wednesday at 7:30 pm from the number 808-212-0041 also.  We were not home and I am glad.  I decided to google the number, and it brought me here...  I would really like to know too how these people get away with this.  is there  way we can stop it?  I am anxious to see if they call back and what he tried to say to me...  I will keep you posted.  Thank you for your comments, it helped alot of us out!!
— R
got the same phone call.  Didnt answer because i am not about to answer numbers that i dont know.  Sounds like i did the right thing.  Thanks guys.
— pbizzle
I have had a similar experience with a number of 866-552-9411...unlisted I guess as there is no info that I can momentarily find on these people. I actually had requested info on a grant of $40,000 but they promised a minimum of $5,000. They asked if I filed taxes last year..(yes), if I was 18...(yes), and if I had a valid checking acct. to which I answered no. The cost was a mere $299.95 for them to submit applications but was promised my return in 6-8 weeks. I did get a name and ID number. Can anyone please help me with this?
— Joy
LOL I got the same call 3 times today from # 808-212-0041. Whats funny is my boyfriend picked it up x2 and said he wasnt interested. So the third time I picked it up (cranky after working 12 hours) and told him to go F*** himself. You will never believe what he said...."F*** you". Same thing, thick Indian accent. Wish I could meet them face to face!!!! If there is a way to stop it, please be sure to fill me in. I looked it up in the BBB and couldn't find complaints. When I have more time I am going to file a complaint!
— Jamie
Lousy people called me at 7am this morning (on my day off!!) Don't care, want to kill him!
— Kelley
I received two calls this morning from 808 212 0041 at 3am. we did not answer the phone because my wife thought it might be her work calling trying to get her to come in early. well when i woke up i *69 and it gave me this number. I reconised the 808 area code as being hawaii and since i had family there i decided to goggle it and this is what I found kind of weird
— James
I just recieved a call from 808 212 0041. Thick Indian accent. He said he was from time travel and me and my family have been selected to recieve a free vacation. I didn't believe him and told him I wasn't interested and he got rather rude. So I let him speak to my husband. When my husband got on the phone the Indian man gave him some sob story that he's having family problems and he's just trying to make some money so he can marry his girlfriend whom he's also having problems with. My husband actually felt bad for him for a second and asked if he could call back later. Now after reading all these comments, I don't feel bad for him at all!
— Carol
I just recieved a phone call with a new flavor.  They now are saying that my number was randomly selected to recieve money due to telemarketers being sued by the U.S. Government for calling people.  They said they were to deposit $1200 dollars into my account.  I told them to send a check.  "We dont do that anymore" he said.  I asked for his name number and bosses name to call.  My call suprisingly got disconnected.

Dont fall.
— david
I have been receiving calls, about 9 in the last 24 hours, from a 1-800-061-3615.  The first two times i picked up and there was no answer on the other side.  The last 7 or 8 times they called i did not pick up.  ITs quite annoying tho.  I googled the number and it brought me here.
— Alex
I received a call this morning from (808) 212-0041. when i hung up on him he started calling me back every few mins. I called the (808) 212-0041 number and get a message thats its disconnected. Now he is crank calling my cell from that number - 5 times in 2 hours so far. Im glad I was able to google (808) 212-0041 and find this page. helps know what its about.

to bad there is no way to find this scum to handle it.
— Joe
Similar scenario - except our Indian friend was looking for "the homeowner"...(I had answered because we have two properties in Hawaii, and recognized the Area Code).  My brillant hubby told the man that we don't own any property, thanked him for calling & hung up!
— Scott
My husband have received a phone call from this  number: 1-281-537-7993 with the name Clark T. A man with an indian accent told him that he was chosen by the goverment to received $ 5 000. My husband said good. He asked him for his name, my husband gave him a fake one, he asked for his bank name and bank account #, again my husband gave him a fake bank name and a fake bank account #, he also gave his cell number as the bank phone number. The next day the same guy call my husband cell phone and ask if it was Savanna bank (the fake bank name my husband gave him) my husband said yes, He said he wanted to find out what his balance is so my husband fake his voice and said yes sure, What is your name and social securite number, he gave the fake name that my husband gave him the day before and the fake social securite number, date of birth etc. My husband told him that he as $ 55 000 in his bank account. He call back the next day asking if it was Savanna bank and this time my husband said no, he hung up and call back, asking the same thing and again my husband said no, he call back a third time telling my husband that he gave him a fake bank account # that he was going to call the FBI and bla bla, "you don't have to my husband replied because the police is already on the case  I  have called them and told them about your phone call". He Hung up and called back 5 minutes later, I took the phone he was yelling at me, telling me that I was going to jail because we gave him a fake name and bank account #  and bla bla. I hung up and call the police
— JL
I've also been getting calls from the 808-214-0041 number but the man is speaking Arabic or some other Indian-Pakisatanian language..He calls everyday after my mom leaves for work around 8:30-10:00am. He also leaves many messages 2-3 a day..Its to bad I have no idea what hes trying to say..I dont know If I should answer the next time he calls..I guess I will and see what happens..maybe he will stop calling once he finds out I speak English =]
— Amelia
Have recieved two calls so far but have not answered the phone.  How they get the cell # is sad as my parents don't even have the #
— Jon
Have recieved two calls so far but have not answered the phone.  How they get the cell # is sad as my parents don't even have the #
— Jon
I love this site... I too after receiving several calls from this 808-212-0041 number did I search on the 808 area code and came up with Hawaii.  I don't know anyone in Hawaii, so why would I answer it and besides that, no voice mail.  Frankly, if the call isn't important enough to leave a message, the forget it.  Just as an FYI I also get calls from these numbers: 877-469-4643 and 866-731-8620, also Online Pharmacutical companies.  Both of these others have been reported to the FCC, the FTC and the Attorney General.  Good luck in us maybe trying to get these scams off our back.
— Janice
We too were scammed by this company. They called us stating that we were eligible for a $5000 grant and that we would be receiving paperwork in the mail that would be sent out in 2 days. Once the forms were filled out and the payment was received then we would receive the money directly deposited into our checking account. However he already had our information on the account and a few days later we were charged $249.95 and then had to argue with the bank that this was a scam and that he was not authorized to debit this amount. The bank told us that we were lying about the charges and that they would have to contact their fraud department to get it taken care of and that it would be up to them to refund the money. Just filled out the form and we will wait to see if this works. The people that I spoke with were strongly accented. Became disconnected and then they called back. Stupid us we fell for it. Don't be as stupid as we were.
— Melissa and Effie
I just got a call from (808) 212-0041. I was sitting at the computer when the phone rang and Googled it as I was answering. There was no response and they hung up. I to am on the Do Not Call List and have an unlisted number. They must have "obtained" a customer list from somewhere.
— Smurfe
This mofo keeps calling me but nobody is on the other end. How do we stop him?
— JBall
That same weird number called my phone three times today. Thank god I decided to research it before I answered the phone.  I tried looking it up with the Federal Trade Commission and this is all I could find:



FTC Consumer Alert



PDF Version



Putting Cold Calls on Ice



While many telephone sales calls are made on behalf of legitimate organizations offering bona fide products and services, some unsolicited phone sales calls can be frauds. That's why the Federal Trade Commission encourages you to be skeptical when you get a "cold call."



Fraudulent telemarketers may get your phone number from a telephone directory, mailing list, or "sucker list," a directory of consumers who have already lost money to fraudulent prize promotions or merchandise sales. Sucker lists include names, addresses, phone numbers - even how much money you may have spent on telemarketing scams. Unscrupulous promoters buy and sell sucker lists on the theory that consumers who have been deceived once are easy prey for additional scams.



The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule helps protect you from abusive and deceptive telephone sales practices. The Rule restricts calling times to the hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., and puts other limits on telemarketers, too. For example:



Telemarketers must tell you it's a sales call, the name of the seller, and what they're selling before they make their pitch. If they're pitching a prize promotion, they must tell you that no purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win. The federal government has created the National Do Not Call Registry - the free, easy way to reduce the telemarketing calls you get at home. To register, or to get information, visit www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. You will receive fewer telemarketing calls wwithin three months of registering your number. It will stay in the registry for five years or until it is disconected or you take it off the registry. After five years, you will be able to renew your registration.

It's illegal for telemarketers to lie about their goods or services; earnings potential, profitability, risk, or liquidity of an investment; or the nature of a prize in a prize-promotion scheme.

Before you pay, telemarketers must tell you the total cost of the goods they're selling; any restrictions on getting or using them; and if a sale is final or non-refundable. In a prize promotion, they must tell you the odds of winning, that no purchase or payment is necessary to win, and any restrictions or conditions of receiving the prize.

It's illegal for a telemarketer to withdraw money from your checking account without your express, verifiable authorization.

Telemarketers cannot lie to get you to pay, no matter what method of payment you use.

You do not have to pay for credit repair, recovery room, or advance-fee loan or credit services until these services have been delivered.

It's illegal for a telemarketer to call you if you have asked not to be called.

You may not be able to put a freeze on cold calls, but you can learn how to spot those that spell f-r-a-u-d. Here's how:



Say no to high pressure sales tactics. Legitimate businesses respect the fact that you're not interested.

Tell callers if you don't want to hear from them again. If they call back, they're breaking the law. You can feel comfortable hanging up.

Take your time when you're presented with a sales "opportunity." Ask for written information about the product, service, investment opportunity, or charity that's being pitched. Don't talk with a salesperson if it's not convenient for you. A reputable salesperson should be willing to call you back at a time you choose.

Talk to a friend, relative, or financial advisor before you respond to a cold call. Any investment you make may have serious financial consequences for you - and the people you care about.

Hang up if you're asked to pay for a prize. Free is free.

Don't send money - cash, check, or money order - by courier, overnight delivery, or wire to anyone who insists on immediate payment.

Keep information about your bank accounts and credit cards to yourself - unless you know who you're dealing with.

Hang up if a telemarketer calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. That's a tip off to a rip off.

Check out the company with your state and local consumer protection office before you buy any product or service, or donate money.

If you suspect a scam, call your state Attorney General.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
— Michelle
I got 8 calls on my cell in two hours last night from (808) 212-0041. I didn't pick them up because I don't pick up for numbers I don't recognize...but I'll tell you it was ridiculously irritating. Also for me, the googling brought me to this page.
— Zug
I just got my call from the "US Government" at this 808-212-0041 number. They gave me the whole song and dance, about how I, as a good taxpayer, was entitled to receive free grants from the US Government for school, business or just to pay off my current debts. Basically, free money, and all I had to do was give them my social security number, birthdate, and bank information. I told them I would be happy to receive the money from a paypal transfer, and that all they really needed to do was send me a 1099 at the end of the year showing I was paid this money. Well, this wasn't what they wanted to hear and they hung up.
— Kara
This #800-061-3615 is on my caller ID atleast ten times, within 10-15 minutes apart - I refused to answer any of the calls
— Dorothy W. Osborne
How random!  My phone rang at 12:35 a.m. I was too late to answer but, when I checked the caller I.D. I noticed it was this 808 number. I tried to call it back but said it was disconnected.  He better not call back!
— Tim
Well well well im not the only one... ok well same story as everyone else... when the man asked me do i work, i told him yes. i am in the military, he said ok, "so you just do work for a living" come on now... anyone else would of asked what service :D  USMC anyways this is so sad! lets make this known though.. anyone know who to report this to?
— Deshaun
I received a call a few weeks back from a woman claiming to be from the Mackenzie Group offering me a grant for $5,000, they also said that if the grant was for any less than $5000 they would refund the difference back to me.  I also was asked whether I was 18, filed taxes and had a valid checking account.  I was told that their fee is $299 because they do all of the work for me but I did not have to pay it upfront.  I told them that I needed to do reseach on their company.  I received a call a few days ago from the 866-552-9411 number this Rep. was named Alan Jackson of the same company. This time I was given an address of 1320 State Route 9, Champagne, NY 12919. 



I'll tell you one thing criminals sure are thorough and persistant.
— Tiffani
Some lady called early in morning saying i'm qualified to get $5000.00, but I had to pay one time fee of $299, please just hang up if you receive this type of call.
— Brenda
I received a call from the 808-212-0041 number as well today, mine though was for a free vacation valued at...you guessed it $5000, the same as almost all the rest.  They wanted my name, number, address and then my credit card information.  I refused to give them any credit card info and told them to put me on the do not call list, which I am supposed to already be on, and then hung up.  They called back 10 seconds later and asked what happened, told them Im not interested and not to call me anymore.  they said they were in clearwater, FL and gave me a call back number of 1-866-301-7936.  The company name used was TIME TRAVEL VACATIONS.  Hope they dont call again.  Anyone seen that Adam Sandler movie where something like this happened...?
— cory
forgot to mention, wasnt a guy, it sounded like 2 Asian ladies...so beware, she said her name was sheeva
— cory
Received call tonight at 9pm from man with indian accent claiming to be from entitlement grant company that was hired by the federal goverment to call 9,000 people selected for a $5000 government grant for being good taxpayers.  He wanted to verify some information before sending me the paper work that I had to sign to receive my money.  I asked for a phone number to call back and if he could send me some information in the mail and he said he had to verify personal information so he could fill out the forms that he will send me.  I told him that I wanted more information and had to think about it.  He said he understood and would call me back the next morning. I am glad I asked the questions and did not give out more info.  Thanks to this site, I know it's a scam (just like my insticts told me.) I wish there was a way to report these guys.
— amho
Received a call from the 808-212-0041...they did not leave a message...



After Googling...got here.  Thanks for the tip!!!  If they call back I will be armed!!!
— Barb
Well Im glad I hesitated and looked it up on the computer while talking on the phone. It is the same story acking for my account info, I gave him my bank name and asked to talk to his supervisor. It sounded like a tellamarketing agency. Heavy Indian accent and I could barley understand him.He said his name was Simon Jones with the gov grant center. I continued to talk so he could unvail that it was a scam. He continued to say are you interested? Of course I would be interested in $5000.00 so mail me the money or send it to my bank. He hung up..lol well shucks I guess I was a tough mark.Dont be fooled.
— David
i recieve 3-4 calls a day from 800-061-3615 sometimes one with a 410  i never ansewer and a machine leaves a mess to call back never saying what company they are with just a # to call back i answered today and a guy with an indian accent was on the other line so i hung up but today they have called 8 times already so i googled the # and found this site how do we make them stop calling ive bee getting calls for 2 months everyday
— megs
I have received MULTIPLE calls from these people. The first time I answered it was an Indian man, and listened to his "pitch". Same thing as everyone else here. I told hime that he is an idiot for thinking that I was going to give him my banking information over the phone. Then I googled the "Government Grant and Entitlement Center" that he said he was from and found this site. He gave an address but refused to give a phone number. After I questioned him multiple times and told him to just send me everything via mail, he hung up. Then I got another call and my caller ID came up "Out of Area". When I answered, the Indian lady identified herself as Michelle from the Government Grant division, blah, blah, blah. I told her to take my name off the list and not to call me again.
— Joe
I am absolutely astonished, and upset.  Check out this similar scam...  I actually applied for a government grant through social security for my disabled daughter over a year ago.  When I applied SSi had me go to www.grant.gov and apply which I did.  I got this call today from a man who sounded american with no accent.  He said that my grant application had been selected and that I had been approved.  The thing that got me was this:  He had the letter I had wrote regarding why I was requesting the grant.  Word for word he read it to me and it is in fact what I had wrote.  So, I thought it was for real.  He said we were guaranteed 5000.00 but could get up to 20,000.00.  He asked me if I was over 18, and a US resident.  I even asked him if this was a scam.  He said " Mam your the one who wrote that letter about your daughter, not me.  I truly believed him.  Then it came... He asked for my checking or savings acct info, because the government needs proof of deposit.  I told him that I do not have an acct.  He told me to open one up and then give him a call back.  His name was James Price from the Makenzie group grants and aids.  The number he gave me was 1-866-552-9411.  When you call it, you only get an answering service.  I called SSI.  What they told me was that when you go to www.grants.gov that indpendant processing agencies can review your applications and then process the grant. So, that is how this stupid company got my number.  They also told me that if you were truly approved for a grant you would never under any circumstance have to pay anything for it.  It is a grant and its free.  I guess the sadest thing about it all, is that we really needed this money for my daughter, and it makes me sick to think that there are people out there that would be so low.



Thanks for posting this site.
— Shandra
A few weeks ago we received a call at 12:30 at night from this Indian guy with the government grant scheme. I ripped him a new one at that time, because he called so late, and he said, "I'm calling from Hawaii".  told him I didn't care if he was calling from the moon, he had no business calling someone that late at night. Then, yesterday, he called six times. This time he was 'Jim Mitchell' and instead of the gov't. grant he was calling about refinancing my mortgage. I told he we weren't interested and hung up. 15 minutes later he called back. Same heavy Indian accent, same voice, but now he was 'Richard Andrews' and he was the mortgage underwriter. He called with different bogus names up until 10pm, when I told him "Don't call here anymore! Do you UNDERSTAND me? Yes or no? Do you?" I must have flustered him, because he said he was sorry and hung up. However, based on what the rest of you wrote, I'm sure this won't be the last I hear from him. I'm on the Do Not Call list and went on their website and submitted a complaint. I have a relative who works for Homeland Security - I think I'll have a conversation with him about this and see what he thinks.
— Sharon
I recieved a call on 8/2/2006 saying that I will recieve 5,000 in free goverment funding and asked me what my bank information was stupid to give it to the indian lady, the number that was given to me was 866-247-1234 and there is no such number. don't believe them and hang up!!!
— Mike  - Chicago
Dear Members,

  I have gone through the experiences of the scam you people have gone through in THE GOVERNMENT GRANT ENTITLEMENT PRO and i could only advice you people never to give out your routing and account numbers over the phone no matter how authentic it sounds always insist to see the paper works first and then only you say you will pay and as soon as the caller says that he could not send papers before you pay, there itself get alarmed of the scam.

  if at all u fell prey to the scam and then realise your mistake immidietly go and close your account of the bank u gave info about do that before the date u had authorised to pay the processing fee $249.

  all u guys must be wondering who i am and im giving u advice how to work it out let me tell u im your well-wisher and part of this scam and i know the loop holes how to save the $249.I have heard people deciding among themselves the happiness of receiving the $7500 which would help them pay their debts or their childrens education.

  let me tell u guys the main target are indians,bangladeshis,arabic,spanish, and english ladies more than men as men know much details while all ladies are not aware.so this is and alert for all the people who fall in this catagory.
— nancy
Have been receiving phone calls from British Columbia number. We had applied for a government grant and thought this was the real thing. We even received a check for $5000.00 dollars wfrom a legit. company that then came back as account closed. This check was from a "sponser" that would give the money to help pay for the government fees.  Needless to say the check came back "Account Closed and we had already used the money to pay the fees as after 4 days the check appeared on the account as available.  This guy also has a heavy Indaian accent and is called Mr. Samson.  We are now out $4250.00 as the rest of the check was for us to use.

It's a sad way to learn but you do.
— lin
My story is the same as all the others, but I stayed on the line over 30 minutes trying to get some verification that they were legit.  They informed me only way I would get a confirmation # was after I gave my banking info., which I didn't do.  He offered me his banking info as a good faith type gesture.  I then spoke with his manager who had an even heavier Indian accent and just got the same story.  I told him that if something seemed too good to be true, it usually is and that nothing is ever free.  He kind of chuckled.  He then offered me a web site to verify what he was telling me.  Check out www.govermentgrant.com.  Anything look familiar?  They remained calm and collected as did I and I said thank you and I hope your next call works out and that I may be sorry for declining his offer.  He said I had been a gracious listner and we hung up.  What a scam.  What can we do about this?  Is there anyone this can be reported to?
— Cindy
What a crock of you know what. I got the same story as just about everyone else. A man with heavy indian accent named David Jones. He couldnt have come up with a more american and phony sounding name. It all sounded good until he told me that he needed my bank information. I told him the must think I was an idiot. He told me that the government would either send me a certified check or do direct deposit but they already had down that I would prefer a check. I told him that both were wrong I would prefer direct deposit (it is faster) and I would never give out my bank info to someone on the phone.  He told me that my bank info was not confidential and that he could tell me my routing number. I told him that if it was not confidential then he could tell me my account number and that the routing number was just the bank info not my account information. I started to have a little fun with the scam artist on the phone and I ended up spending almost 30 minutes with him. In the end I told him it was a scam and he was a lier. I told him that I would pay the $249.95 once I had the cash in hand and that I would even send him a tip for the good work of $250. He told me that it was all a reward for being a good paying citizen and that I was recommendeed by the city I live in. I have only owned a house for three years I have not even payed $7500 in taxes yet and they want to recommend me to get a grant.



If you are looking at this then you probably did the smart thing and told him off. I am hoping that I pissed him off enough to not call back. I have recieved calls from others with a similar accent trying to refinance my house only 3 weeks after refinancing, and he tried to get me to do it again.



Hopefully someone knows how to bust these scam artists.
— Nic
Holy cow!  Boy am I glad that I didn't answer this phone call!  I never answer calls from numbers that I don't recognize... heck--half the time I don't even answer the ones that I DO recognize!! LOL!  Seriously though, I am surprised to see so many people are still falling for mess like this nowadays.  As soon as I found this website I called my voicemail and recorded a new greeting that DID NOT include my name!  I kind of like the idea of answering their next call with "Hello, Entitlement Grants Center" or "Time Travel Vacations"!!!  What a bunch of freakin' losers!.....
— No Name Person
Just trying to figure out what we can do about this mess...  This is from the Federal Trade Commission's website http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/target.htm .  Maybe if enough people start reporting it then something will eventually be done about it, or else they'll get worried and stop!



To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
— No Name Person
My phone has been ringing all morning with this number.  I didn't answer thinking it was a sales call, but got curious when they kept calling back one minute after the next.  Tried to call number back to get co. name-same story disconnected. when I got to work I searched the number and found this site.  yay!  Called while I was on the site, kept saying hello, can you hear me, I said yes, may I help you with something very rudely.  The heavy accent replied he was looking for mrs. soand so, I said very rudely you have the wrong number-fully ready to attack!:) He apologized and said goodbye.  Wish I would have not waited for the spiel and just chewed him out but-oh well.  Life goes on.  Screw him-you reap what you sew!
— Megan
i m again now it is my no.SOMESH GUPTA(sam)00919331881326,SHARAT(mark)00919831097338

now i m frm india .it is upto u what u can do.

if un hv power then catch me or i will fuck the whole united states.once again it is my address-



MR. AMIT CHAKRABORTY(A BIG SCAMMER)

117,B.T ROAD

(EVER GREEN PLAZA)

CITY-KOLKATA-2

STATE-WEST BENGAL

COUNTRY-INDIA

  NOW IT IS UP TO U WHAT U WANT TO DO

  BYE BYE..................
— charlie
I have been getting similar calls.  Filed several complaints with the Do Not Call Registry and the CA State Attorney General, Mr. Bill Lockyear.  Nothing!  Isn't it great that we pay all kinds of money to our government and they do nothing to enforce the many laws being broken, like this one, every day...



The US is becoming another bananna republic!
— Jeff Jones
Well, I never thought it would happen to me.  I am the one always telling my family and friends not to give out info over the phone.  I also sell Identity Theft Protection.  However, we are going through some really hard times and I had in fact applied for a grant.  This guy called and read the letter to me to "refresh my memory".  Okay, he has what is mine, could be legit.  His name was James Pryce Employee #1246 with the Mackenzie Group Grant Aid.  The number is the same as many here, 866-552-9411.  I am now in the process of closing my accounts and my husband is going to kill me when he finds out.  I was guaranteed a minumum of $5000 but could get up to $20000.  All they need is a registration fee of $298.00 to apply to the federal agencies.  I feel so horrible, because if things were not already bad enough in our lives right now, I just went and made them so much worse.
— Jacque
I got the call from 800-061-3615, I did not pick up and they call me with private, I searched google and I ended up here. I wonder how they got my number.
— Vijay
I have been getting calls on and off for around 3 months now. Same story, Dude with a heavy Indian accent giving me a government grant. Anyone who asks for your bank info is a sign that you are about to be ripped off, so i didnt give him that info and just hung up. Isn't impersonating someone from any dept. of the US government a crime? Can't anything be done about this? I just dont receive calls from blocked #'s now. Something sould be done. Im sure there are still a lot of hardworking people, single mothers, senior citizens , etc people getting scamed everyday. If anyone has any way or idea to fight this please share it with us. Thanks.
— Chris
This is really annoying!  I have been getting calls from (808) 212-0041 for over 2 months...3 and 4 times a day.  I googled this number in July and found  that is was a "Scam" so I do not answer my cell.  Today though, August 12th,  my cell rang for over 5 minutes.  I had to pick up to stop the ringing.  When I did, I couldn't get the phone to disconnect!
— GA
I have also been reciving calls from these weird people  808-212-0041 and thy have been calling my house telling my parents they really need to speak to me inregards to a problem.And when they say im @ work they get up set and they tell my parents off.
— Ana
I got an eFax from this number. I'm surprised many had a voice on the other end. This fax was the typical Disney vacation for almost free. I hear they hit your credit card for the fees then disappear. Avoid!
— BostonTrader
The question is where are these scammers getting our phone numbers if we are unlisted or listed on the do not call registry?  Since one person mentioned that the guy is using VOIP, I'm wondering how many of you use or have used Vonage?  The guys' thick indian accent is very much like that of the Vonage tech support staff.  I wonder if Vonage is selling customer information?  I know I was once a customer.
— tor
I got a call from some indian guy I'm soooo stupid and I fell for it what do I do
— esther
808-212-0041,

This number is from skypeOut users. When I make Skype out calls this number shows up on the caller IDs of the person I'm calling sometimes.
— Jay
Add another to the list... quite irritating.  recieved several calls from HI - the (808) 212-0041 number... I thought it was my former ex who turned lesbian and moved to Oahu... when I heard what sounded like a male indian accent, I hung up.
— Usher
I also received two calls in a row this morning.  One from 1-808-212-0041 and one from 617-682-2400.  I did not answer because I was busy.  I called back and got a recording from the first number saying that it was not longer in service and a dead line from the second number. I got curious and put both numbers in Google, which brought me to this page.

I wish I knew how they got my cellular number!
— Paisa
I RECIVED A CALL FROM A MAN WITH A INDIAN ACSENT . I HAD WON A 50000 TO 25000 GRANT IF MY CREDIT RATING WAS GOOD. RIGHT OFF IT WAS A SCAM.  HE SAID HE WAS FROM GOVERMENT GRANTS PROSSESING DEPT 2341 ALOMA AVE SUITE 158 WINTER PARK FLORIDA 32792  HIS NAME HE SAID WAS MARK EMPLOYEE ID# 23112 THEN HE GAVE ME TWO WEB SITES TO CHECK HIM OUT ON HE WAS SUPPOSE TOP CALL ME BACK IN A HOUR  WELL NO CALL BECAUSE I WOULDNT GIVE UP MY CHECKING ACCOUNT NUMBER  SCAMM ALL THE WAY
— BILLY R BURGESS
I got a call today from the same number, but I missed the call. I guess I'm glad for that - I would've just been wasting time.
— Melissa
got several calls from 808-212-0041.  heavy indian accent guy.  Each time asking for the owner of the house and wanting to talk about a mortgage.  Eventually I got his "supervisor" on the line.  I swore many times at them both.  I warned him about FTC rules and calling a cell phone and calling after 8 pm.  He said he would report me for abusing his "agent".  I said I hope he would so that then I would know who and where they are!
— gk
I have gotten over 70 calls and the number that shows up in my caller ids is 808-212-0047.  These calls have come day and night.  On two of the calls a recording was played of a friend of mine.  This friend and I are in the same chat room forum.  I find this very suspicous.  Would it be possible for a person to use this number as a means of harrasment?
— Karen Ragland
808-212-0041 Aug 14 at 7:07 pm I wasn't inside the house for this call but have recently moved and have a new number and every telemarketing slime bag on the planet has it thanks to Comcast not Unlisting the number (on purpose, requested this twice).



So you can imagine my frustration, and I have taken to spotting these calls right away, and answering with "I know where you live and I have paid someone to go take you out!" Then I say, please stay on the line, so I can validate your address for them one more time.



They hang up.



I love semantic ambiguity. Take you out, ha ha ha. I just love it. As soon as 31 days have passed from my using DNC registry, I will be engaging in long long phone calls with them, and sending bills pe call "everywhere", then dunning them, then taking them to small claims court.
— Anna
808-212-0041



Received a call late last night, around 930-10pm, then one this morning at 8:30am. As soon as I say hello, the caller hangs up. Ticked me off to be woken up at 8:30, so I got up to Google.. and this is what I found! Thanks to all of you for posting. Now we are aware, and glad that nothing else has happened, except a caller hanging up. How annoying!!

Sonja in CA
— Sonja
Just got another call from 808 212 0041 today.  This guy has been calling for the past 3 weeks about 4-5 times a day.  The one time I did answer he started asking questions about my mortgage and when I said I was not interested he hung up and immediately called back.  The calls start as early as 530am and as late as 10pm...do not answer this nut if he calls!
— jy
I fell for this scam last January and ended up having to close all accounts and file for a return of funds. I in turn filed reports with the better buisness bureau, police in my city and the city that the buisness came from, along with a trail of reports to attorney general and so on and so forth. They got almost $500.00. I had been applying for Gov. grants so when I got the call, I was happy. NEVER fall for a phone call saying they are working to help you,especially if they say they working for the government. If it is the government they will notify you in writing. It is horrible that these scams continue.
— rose
You all amaze me.  You cannot be harmed by these people if you did not first want something for free.



Learn to plan and accept what you have.  The whole world is waiting for those who want something cheap or something free.



We today live on illusions and scammers are waiting for us.  If you do not want, they will never get. All you have to say is No thank You.
— marie charlemagne
I have just started receiving calls from (808)212-0041 today via my cell phone.  Because I didn't recognize the number, I let it go through to voice mail the first time.  It indicated a message  had been left for me in voicemail, but when I checked it, there was nothing on there.



Ditto for when they called a second time, and I answered to hear nothing.  I figured I'd google the phone number, as I didn't know why they'd be calling me.  I'm glad I found this, and will ignore the phone calls from now on.



Thanks!
— Cara
I have been receiving 8 to 10 calls per day from 808-212-0041 for several weeks.  An man with a heavy Indian accent says he works for an on-line pharmacy and will not take no or stop calling me for an answer.



I just filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Office.  I'm not sure how much good it will do...but I need a break here.
— Terry
I also got a call from this phone 808.212.0041. A thick indian voice asked me several questions regarding our business in the national pages. Is your business new, does your business gross  500 million or less, how many employees do you have......
— Eden
I have been getting calls from them multiple times a day for about a week.  I called my phone company since and they said it is a Hawaii number, however, it is a cell phone and can't be blocked on my home line.  I am getting really fed up with them.
— Jenn
I have been getting these calls for a while now, several times a day.  I called the phone company and they confirmed it is a cell phone based here in Hawaii.  They even told me what city but I haven’t been here long enough to know where it is.  Anyway, I told them I can't block the number from my home and they said it was because it is a cell phone.  Long story short, they can and did block it for me.  I hope it works.  I am tired of getting calls at 10 o'clock at night.  You should call your phone company and see if they can do the same.  Good luck.
— Jennifer from Oahu
A call from (808) 212-0041 came in with a woman recording about government auction. Oh wow, I'm going to get rich buying great stuff that government doesn't want and sell them on Ebay!!!!
— Twin
This number came up when I received a call back from a call I made for work.  The company I had called was OMD Canada.
— Wendy
808-212-0041,



A call from above no. came and said he is calling from FBI police.????  They asked for my name and amazingly they said I am downloading verymuch from the internate....which is true....but everycody dose it...though I was scared.....then I just hung up..........Then I found this website and I felt funny about it.
— vraj
I received hang up calls from this number on 8/25/06 and 8/26/06.  No one spoke, but I have received calls in the past from govt. grant scams, always middle east accents.  After providing them with false information, I used all their correspondence to provide inforamtion to the local FBI agency.  I was instructed to contact the FBI from the local police department when I called to find out what action to take.  I highly recommend reporting any information you can.  Who knows what these scams are funding.
— anon
A very heavily India accented man called last week (8/20) from 808 212-0041 (named Steven Jones) selling pharmaceutical drugs.  I fell for it, and bought something for $120. He kept calling me back over and over again saying there was a problem and he had to reconfirm the order and that it was being recorded.  My guess is that each time he called, he entered a new order to my credit card, because I have been informed by my bank of three charges - $417, $300 and $200.  From different pharmacies - LV Pharmacy (in Latvia) and RXPharmacy Sales.com. When he called again I screamed at him about these charges and to cancel the order.  He said too late.  I kept screaming at the top of my lungs.  CANCEL THE ORDER, CANCEL THE ORDER, CANCEL THE ORDER.  I tried and tried to contact both of these companies that actually charged me and end up with a deadend.  The RX Pharmacy sales.com website provides heavy, heavy warning not to dispute the charge or the wrath of God will fall upon you, and that they will send a collection agency after you.  This is complete fraud.  Now they call me 10X a day every day.  We just signed up for privacy manager today with our phone company.  It has been quiet, for the first time, this afternoon.  I really screwed up by allowing myself to be sucked into an overly aggressive India telesales person and actually giving up my credit card number to him. I cancelled my card. Now I have a mess to clean up.
— Robin
As of 8/29/06 I received 10 calls from this male solictingg me for info. on refi's and mortgage info.Coming back to 1 808 212 0041
— Anon
I received a call from an Indian accented man, who said I was selected to receive a $7500 tax free grant from the government.  He went on to say that I could not use it for anything illegal.  I cycled through several affirmative responses to all his comments and questions for about 3 minutes.  Then came the topic of confirming MY identity with my last 4 of my SSN.  I then promptly hung up.  I spoke with a coworker who had an interesting comment.  He said that if enough people gave erroneous answers to their quesitons such as false SSN numbers, false banking info, false Credit card info, Birthdays, etc.  These scammers might have to work quite a bit harder to filter through information to get the few that actually provide real facts.  This might be our only real weapon back at this sort of tactic.  I think it is a fairly feasible approach to the problem.  Goverment and law enformement agencies truly cannot battle foreign scam artists, but having a flood of false information might make it more difficult.
— Tony
Got several different calls offering 12,500 dollars for free government grants.

They use the 514 area code and the first 3 numbers that follow are 904-XXXX

Hey wouldn't even tell me why I was getting the free money, but he did ask for my bank name and account #..

SCAM..
— James
HOLA AND WATCH OUT!!! I RECENTLY RECIEVED A CALL FROM THIS NUMBER. (808)212-0041 THE PERSON ON THE OTHER END KNEW OUR LAST NAME (SPANISH NAME) BUT THEY WERE SPEAKING SPANISH. I DEMANDED, "HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER?" "WE DON'T SPEAK SPANISH HERE!". THEN THE CALLER GOT CHOKED UP AND SAID, "I SORRY NO SPEEAAK EENNGLEESH." WHAT A LOAD OF $#!^@#$%...(insert your own imaginitive word here.) NOW I SEE ALL THESE SORRY SCAMS FROM THIS NUMBER, NOW THEY CAN APPARENTLY BREAK THE LANGUAGE BARRIER??
— anonymous
I DO NOT WANT TO BE CALLEDS BY THE NUMBER 800-212-0041. IDON'T WANT ANYTHING FROM YOU IF I DID I WOULD CALL YOU. I WISH THAT YOU DO NOT CONTACT ME ANYMORE.
— PAT WALKENHORST
I recieved a call a moment ago from Time Travel Vacations. A man with a thick Indian accent convinced me to supply my credit card number for a "securiy deposit" on a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas for 5 people. As the conversation continued I became suspicious and withdrew my consent. What ensued was UNBELIEVABLE!! The "representative" took a rash tone, asking me repeatedly what I did not understand and that he did not care about my money. I inserted a firm withdrawl and hung up. He called back about2 minuted later and we then began an argument that quickly turned into hot-tempered screaming match where he was yelling over me nonstop! Finally I took an authoritarian tone and whipped him into stumbling words, after which I threatened to call the police and turned off my cell phone. I IMMEDIATELY canceled my card.



NEVER SUPPLY INFORMATION PRIOR TO OUTSIDE RESEARCH!
— Kenneth Goldman
Well, I feel like an idiot!  I got a call yesterday from the Mackenzie Group telling me that I had quailfied for a grant in the amount of $5,000.  They said that I would probably be receiving more money than that, but was guaranteed at least 5k.  They asked me what bank I belonged to, what state and city it was in, if I had an active checking account, the routing number, account number, my birthdate, and the last four digits of my drivers license number.  Sadly, I believed them because they sounded so legitimate.  The phone number that came up was 1-866-552-9411, and the rep's name was David Scott emp. id #0248.  They also read a long disclaimer and said that they would be sending some information in the mail and would be taking $349 out of my checking account on the 12th of September. They said that if the funds would not be available on that date to call them and let them know so that there are no NSF fees to me. 



Right after hanging up with them I called my husband and informed him about the call.  I then had him call the bank and freeze the account, and today we have to go down to close the account and open up a new one.  I am so mad that I even trusted them!  People need to be aware that anyone can get your information off the internet and call you to verify information you sent.  I sure hope no one else falls for this, they are pretty good liars!
— Shinae
Work in an Indian International Call Centre. I had to call up on behalf of the Govt Grant Entitlement Pro. This is a scam we know that but Money Speaks and this job is given to us by the US people who also provides busuness for Dishnetworks sales! Damien is a champ in convincing the US people in giving out the Bank details and so is Michael and Chris. They are real fraudsters.Beware
— Xavier
800 number: 800-061-3615 is still active on Sept. 1, 2006.  So I suspect the scam is still being attempted. When I answered the call, there was no answer.  Caution to all.

Ralph,Indiana
— Ralph Garcia
Just recieved a call from a blocked number. It was a male with a thick arab accent. He told me about a $7,500 grant I had coming to me, and that all he needed was to confirm some info, including my bank account number. As soon as I heard this, I thought SCAM. So I jumped on google, and found this page while talking to him. When I got a second to speak, I told him that I knew this was a scam, and to lose my number. He was very quiet at first then started yelling, "give me your account number you bstrd!"

which at that point I left laughed, and hung up.
— Jay
I have been troubled by this someone calling form 800 061 3615 or they call using withheld id. In the middle of the night sometimes. No one talks , just wastes my minutes on cell phone , anyone with similar exp?
— Abhishek Baheti
I got a call from The McKenzie Group. A lady was talking to me whom spoke perfect english. I fell for it because I am looking to receive whatever $ I can for school. I am very hurt by this scam & can not believe that someone would be so cruel as to trick me about $ that is very much needed for my education! The ph # they gave me was 1-866-552-9411 x62 Mindy. I gave them my bank info & then they wanted to record me saying that it was OK to deduct a fee for the processing from my account. That is when I finally said "no!". I hope that they do not steal my identity & jack up my credit report.
— Debbie
I recently recived the same phone call from an indian accent man who told me my name and my address and seemed to know all my personal info. He said I would recive $8000 dollars in grant money and all he needed was my banking account number to have the funds transfered. Becouse of this web site I realized I was being lied to. So thank you all for taking the time to list your comments to save people like me from falling into another scam!!!!!!!
— Carey
just got a call from "richard dawson" with this scam...wouldnt give him my numbers thank god because i figured this was a scam so i kept him on the line while i googled the address he gave me-no such place then i found this page and others like it and told him off!!

123 apple st

freemont ca 91212 sorry no such place!!
— leslie
I got the same call, and I went through three different people. The last one said her name was Jennifer Johnson job ID# 50301.

One problem. She had such a heavy accent that I couldn't understand her. I told her that I didn't have a checking account. She told me that she would call me back in 1 hour.

I live in Ohio, so I called my father in California and asked him if he had ever heard of "Goverment American Financial Grant Cener in Lake Forest. He said no, and when I put in the name on Yahoo Yellow Pages I saw that no place like that exists in or around Lake Forest.

When they called me back I said you are a fraud and hung up. She called me back about three more times. I kept hanging up and she would call right back.

I am sorry I almost fell for it.

I needed that $5000 though.

Now I know.

Thanks for the input about this scam!
— Dawn
I received a call on my cell phone from a heavy indian accented man. He told me that I qualified for a goverment grant to the tune of 8,000. I ALMOST believed him, since i am applying for grants for college. he asked me for my name and the name of my bank. i gave him the name of my bank, but when he asked for my account # i got wary. I asked him for verification and he told me he could tell me my routing number. i told him he would have to call me back, and he started repeatedly asking me why, that it something simple and surely i have a checkbook or a bank stub around. I told him no and asked for a manager, who did the exact same thing as the person i talked to earlier. As SOON as i got off the phone i looked this up, since he gave me the address of 123 Apple street in fremont. (i mean, dont you think they would at least pretend not to be a scam? if they werent they would have picked a REALLY bad address.)
— tina
well the same thing happened to me.. the mackenzie group called me a few months ago saying i was approved for a government grant of 5k or more.. they then asked me what i need the money for "school, relocation, bills etc"... then explained if i use the money to gamble i will be arrested.. and i wont have to pay the money back because its a government grant. Ive spoken to a few people.. but one more familiar.. her name is Susan Woods. they sound like nice people, so its easy to believe them... the number was 1866-552-9411... i hate this!! they took money out 2 of my accounts!!!! so basically the account i mistaken with the money i told them not to take out from and the returned the funds.. then took out the other account.. they even recorded me several times with all my information... sounds legit right?? well yea after they took the money they havent called me or picked up any phone calls. Ive been leaving messages like crazy... and still no call back! its been a month since they said they were going to send me my information to fill out to get a grant. SO DONT TRUST THEM ITS A SCAM!!!!!!!!! >:(
— Lynnie
I also got a strange call from  (808) 212-0041 but as I didn't reconize it I let it ring for a while..then I picked it up. No one was on the line and then it hung up. I've seen this number before on my caller ID and was interested enough on finding out where the area code is from.. It's sad so many people get caught up in the fraud but thanks for the warning :)
— Someone
I too received a call several months ago from Martin Jordan and his supervisor Roger Lee. Both had thick Asian accents and were from the Entitlement Grant Center at 20988 Bake Park Way in Lake Forest, CA. They, of cousre, wanted my account information to send me $5000 which I had been chosen to receive from the gov't. taxpayer list. They wanted to know my age and when I told them I had retired, Martin called me an old woman. Then he proceeded to tell me where I worked. I even told him I worked in Information Security and that I was going to report them, but that did not stop them from continuing to hound me for my checking account information and then my credit card information. They have you-know-what!
— HCrawford
I have received about 30 calls from (808) 212-0041 just before 9am PST and just after 8pm PST.  I have answered the phone where it dials you to a telemarketer (phonebank) who trys to pressure you into refinancing your home.  I have advised them I did not want to refi and to remove me from their computer generated call roster.  Still they continue to call.  I have placed several complaints on the do not call registry, but it does not stop the calls.  The only other course of action if the calls do not stop is to place a call block on that number.  Kind of seems silly to have to pay to keep these people from calling you, but what else can be done to get them to stop calling?
— Joe
WELL I FELL FOR THE SCAM.  IT SOUND SO INTERESTING AND WE DID IT.  THE NUMBER THAT I HAVE IS866 552 9411 WHICH IS NOW VOICMAIL.  BUT THE 1ST PHONE CALL CAM FROM JAMES BRYCE NOW THEY DO NO KNOW WHO HE IS.  I SPKE TO SOMEONE WHO CLAIMES HIS NAME IS TREVOR NO LAST NAME AND VERY RUDE HE TOLD ME TO STAY ON THE COUNTY AND AND STAY OFF DRUGS. AND GET A LIFE AND SIT HOME ALL DAY AND WAIT FOR MORE TELEMARKETERS TO CALL.  SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH THIS COMPANY.
— GENIELLE COLLINS
808-212-0041

Is the number that has shown up on the caller ID they call every daying that they are from united mortage. Why do they call every single day!
— Hey
CALL THIS NUMBER 800 897 6573 AND ASK FOR SUPERVISOR HE WILL HAPPILY GET YOU YOUR MONEY BACK, ONCE HE HEARD THE WE FILED A DISPUTE WITH THE COMPANY.
— GENIELLE
Yup - same thing! This same guy, (who called himself "Zach") called our house and said he was from United Mortgage in San Diego. He used my husband's name. He sounded pretty shady on the phone and couldn't answer my husband's questions. I googled the number 808-212-0041 and saw all this. When my husband repeated this to him he started calling him obscene names and hung up. I had my telephone company trace the call and plan to call the the office of the National Do Not Call registry as well as the FCC tomorrow to make them aware. I would suggest that anyone else who got the same calls also call and report it to the FCC. If not, he will just keep calling.
— Liz
Just got the exact same call, Indian accented man, telling me he was giving me a grant, but I had to "register." I googled him while I talked to him and saw this website - thank goodness!! Then I hung up. Going to try and report this, as I got an address.
— Jesse
617-682-2400 is another VOIP number, it's one that occasionally appears when co-workers call me from their computers -- it's a VOIP-to-telephone gateway.



I suspect our indian scammers have found themselves a collection of VOIP services that either allow them to make up the caller ID or simply present US-looking caller ID... when you can't hear them it's probably their internet connection cutting out from all the scamming they're doing ;)



In any case as someone said earlier, don't be greedy and try to grab things you know are too good to be true and you'll be OK... and of course don't give out private info (bank, credit card, etc.) over the phone.
— Jed
I keep getting calls from this number as well, 877-469-4643... usually, it comes up as "unknown", but I have answered it several times and it is always an Indian man trying to sell me pharmaceuticals.  I have asked them several times to delete my number from their call list, but they are obviously not doing so.  Word of advice, don't even bother answering the phone when they call.  You're just going to waste your breath when you tell them to stop calling!
— Nat
I recieved a similar call from a female (probably Mexican or Indian accent) saying that I had been selected to get a $7500 grant from Govt. and all I needed to do was pay $279 fee. When I told her that it looked like a scam and I wanted to coference with Police, She hung up. Then she called back and said I was stupid  and hung up.
— Sam
LMFAO! i just got the same call , though they changed the address it was a thick indian accent. i just didnt have to give it to terrorists or buy drugs. i asked for there supervisor they agreed and sence i was on here lookin at it i was telling him i was. he called me stupid for being on the internet and not knowing its real. lmfao retard
— Nick
LMFAO! i just got the same call , though they changed the address it was a thick indian accent. i just didnt have to give it to terrorists or buy drugs. i asked for there supervisor they agreed and sence i was on here lookin at it i was telling him i was. he called me stupid for being on the internet and not knowing its real. lmfao retard
— Nick
1-808-212-0041 has been calling here for a week with offers of discount prescription drugs - without a prescription. Of course I told them to put me on the Do Not Call list and to cease and desist. They continue.



I have sent a complaint to the FCC, but that is shouting down a deep well. I doubt our government could care less.
— Dave in Vermont
ok i got a call two or three times from a number 1(800)061-3615 saying i won a goverment grant and to give him my information he had a thick indian accent and wanted my info badly of course i just hung up thank you.
— joy fray
I just had several conversations today with the people from Mackenzie Consulting Group phone number 1-866-552-9411.I only got the answering service twice.I was stupid enough to give them my information.I had e-mailed a free govt. grant site with my situation and they knew everything that is why I thought they were legit.I thought I was e-mailing the free govt.grant site.They read my e-mail to me.To make a long story short,I called my bank and told them what I had done.Surprise,surprise they knew who I was talking about.I stopped any transactions immediately.I called the Mackenzie company back and told them I had cancelled the transaction and Iwas cancelling with them.I spoke with a Ms.Woods,the supervisor and she tried to assure me they were not a scam.I told her about this site and she should go there.She asked me if I believed everything I read and I replied no but I do believe my banking institution.The transaction would have been 349.00.And then I would get my grant guaranteed $5,000.00.Nothing less.I in turn called our family lawyer and he said if they will not send you anything in the mail,they are not legit.At the Mackenzie Group,I also spoke with Mark Johnson,and Wayne mark.The second time he called me back his name was Mark Wayne.How do we stop these people.Is there even any such thing as a free Govt.Grant?  Stupidest Thing I did All Year!!!!!!!
— April
I just recieved a call like you all. Unfortunately, i feel worse because of him/her having an Indian accent as im Indian too. So folks, please dont generalize. He asked for my bank name and i told him to call me back later, but he still insisted on the information. Wasnt professional at all and was also rude. I asked him for a call back number which he refused to provide. Lets see if he call again, as im not going to take it from his this time. Be careful! And yeah, dont be surprised that they are reading all this, they will if they are smart.
— Sunny
I to have gotten a call from Martin Jordan, in which he gave his employee number and other info to make it sound totally legit. Unfortunate for my mother see too fell for the scam. I hope someone does catch this guys so that they can stop harassing people. And of course it sounds good to most people because everyone has a financial problem in some way.
— Vee
I have written a book on Winning Grants, titled "The Grant Authority," which includes a chapter on "Avoiding Grant Scams." It is in final stages of being (self)- published. I want to include comments and complaints about government grant scams on this Copia blog. I think the book's readers will learn alot from them.



How can I get permission to include written comments on this blog site in this book?



Ron Wainrib, author

The Grant Authority

Franklin, MA

Needtokno@gmail.com
— Ron Wainrib
My mother called me and told me she received a phone call from a man with a heavy accent.  She stated that she could not understand half of what he told her but he told her that she had received a grant for $8,000.00 from the U.S. Federal grants fund 108 program.  He then asked for her checking account # so that the funds could be transferred to her account.  Well, thank you GOD that she didnot do that.  He grilled her pretty hard but she refused.  We are from New Orleans and I want to warn all people affected by the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast to be aware of these monsters tring to steal from people already devistated by the death of loved ones and the loss of every thing that we owned!



REMEMBER, YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER TO KNOW ONE!!!!!!!!!!!



P.S.  WE WILL REBUILD!
— Greekca
I received a phone call today from 808-212-0041, but did not answer.  Like other postings above, I just wanted to add my name to the list.  Thank you ALL for the information-please be sure to pass the info about these scams on to EVERYONE you know!!!
— MIchelle
I received a call on my cell from the 808-212-0041 #.  Good thing I missed the call.  I evidently saved my breath by not speaking to this scammer.
— Anthony
I just got a call from this number while i was on the line with someone important, i didnt switch over but i googled the number (as i do with every number) and i found this.

Next time im going to give them a bogus accout number or play along as a joke.
— Matt
this is cathy morgan and i am working for the grants deptt. nothing us people can do.coz they are too much greedy for money. we will make them fool every time they can  not  do anything. o.k. do you understand fucking u.s people.
— cathy morgan
800 number: 800-061-3615 is still active on Sept. 22, 2006.  I got around 10 voice messages today and all are for 3 seconds and no message at all. So I suspect the scam is still being attempted. When I answered the call, there was no answer.  Caution to all.
— Dev Madison WI
I got a call from them today also. Didn't answer and googled the mumber and found this site. Thanks!
— Big Rich
I got a similar call today.  However the number was 203-687-4105.  Same talk....gov grant of 7500 because i am a good taxpayer.  the operator had a foreign accent.  I have a good idea how they were able to contact me by cell phone.  I used my cell number along with other personal info on one of the payday loan sites.  the loan site was legit however it opens your personal info up to anyone who could access it.  I didn't fall for this scam.  I told the operator to give me their website and I would do further research and to call me back in the morning.  Boy will she get an earfull!!!!
— C.P.
Hi:

I received a call from 617-682-2400.  As the number was not familiar to me, I did not answer.  When I tried calling the number, it was busy.  I checked the web and was told on this site that it is another scam number.  So, now I saved the number on my cell as a scam number.



How to delist scam calls on mobile phone?  any idea?  Thanks.
— Jen
i just recieved the same call.. and once it started to sound like a tella marketer i hung up the phone and google the phone number and i found this site......i read the very first comment and when i read the part about the indian accent i was like omg.... i started to freak out...anyways the 808 area code is in hawaii what person would work for the government in hawaii... i would be at the beach all day
— Andrew
For the past five days I have been receiving calls from 800-061-3615 all throughout the day ... atleast 10 times a day.  When I pick up the phone, no one answers and hangs up and when the answering machine picks up, they wait about a minute and then hang up.  Yesterday I wasn't home all day and night and had 12 messages all from this number!!  Including a call at 10:05 p.m.!  I've called the number and a recording states its not in service, so I googled the number and it brought me here.  I am getting really annoyed, does anyone know if the police can do anything?
— Charlie
Heads up folks.  Got another number to block:650-898-0314.  I think they are using it to piggyback from wherever overseas they are calling from.  Definitely Indian accent, definitely a scam.
— sean miller
108000613615 is the number i get calls from , and yes googling it brought me here....goodness and they just hang up each time i pick up...where the hell did they get the number.....kill the MOFOs
— Sanjana
Today i received i call from this Indian man, he was offering 8,000 becuase i was good taxpayer. He request my checking account in order to deposit it directly to my account. Be really careful with that people ...that is a scam
— Maria
I got a call like this from the same guy.  He was calling saying that they could give me a new contract extension for my cell phone.  He claimed that he was from wirefly.com.  The phone number he used was 800-061-3615.
— rude129001
I got the same phone call today again(I could not see which phone# he was calling from...) and an Indian guy told me that I was selected to receive $8,000 government grant. I asked how he got my phone and why he is calling and asked to removed my phone # from their list, guy kept taking, it did not make sence so I asked more questions. About in 5mins, he snapped, started taking dirty!!!, about his penis, etc... I was very surpirised that a telemarketer acually is doing this! I was just listening, wanted to see where this is going, and find out what the hell he is doing. In couple mins, some other guy stepped in and started apologizing, how unprofessional, rude that was. Well, it's too late for that! I thought I put my phone# on National Do Not Call List, but they are the only one keeps calling!!
— Satoko
9/29/06 friday at 8p.m. Skethcy, crafty, B.S. East Indian accented man calls, he had my hm. ph. #, address, and name, said from Government Grant Center of Washington State?, will wire me $8,000 grant money said just 6,000 American families eligible, and just as a bonus give me $7,500 in credit for a $279.99 fee, I gave him bogus info. he put me through to some credit company hotline and coached on the phone recording to verify the info. even put on fake static to cover up as the credit company's ph. # was said so I couldn't hear it, but they will send me the contracts in the mail, this is probably B.S. to get my account info. very persistent and crafty, even called my home # back in 30 min. to get my account # and info. after I shut him down on the first call. Watch out don't give them any of your legit. info!!!
— steve
Same here. This was on my cell phone via Cingular. When I first answered, no response. Then, I called the number on the Caller ID [808-212-0041]. The number was disconnected.



You would expect that with the billions of dollars spent on technology; that we could easily track this guy and kick his ass!



This Imp and all his like want to steal not only your money, but your jobs, family and country. Our government has already sold us out to these scumbags. If we're going to go down, let's not go down without a FIGHT!
— LJR
10/02/2006  Found the number on my cell phone this morning.  It seems that they called at 6:10 AM yesterday (Sunday).  Of course i didn't have the phone handy to answer it.



I think the best thing to do when a call from an unfamiliar out of area number appears on your cell phone is to just ignore it.  The US government isn't going to do anything about it until someone with some real money starts loosing something to it.  Until then they consider it punishment for being an idiot.
— Jim
I got a phone call from Peggy from Hampton Resources (866-591-6162) She wanted



Name

Number

Acct Number

$349 dollars to process the grant

grant name 601 financial Aid

he said she would get me $5000 dollars or more

She called me at least 5 times

Thank all of you for your help I almost got scamed.  Thank All of you!!!!!!!!
— Fleshia
got a call about free grant money from u.s. dept in florida  saying i am a tex payer so i am going to received 21,500.00 in one day my bank would call me when the money come in ask me for my accout number routeing number and my checking account number gave mdorothye four recording number.i told him this was a scarm  dorothy  lexington ms.10-4-06
— dorothy redmond
hi i receive 2 phone calls i don't know if it is the same indian guy but his name is thomas the no. he gave was 866-425-9248 he said i recived a gov/grant of 5,000 i was like yeah so sent it to me he said he need the last 4 digits of my social security no. i told him no an he was why don't you want the money and i said yes, send it to me he gave me the same no. to call  i hang up the phone.
— tasha
My husband received the same kind of phone call(s) within a 2 hour span. #'s 720-259-4597 and supposedly 866-739-7338. It wasn't an Indian accent on the other end, but a Spanish accent; 2 women and a man. They had my husband's name, address and cell phone # AND birthdate. They told him he would receive, at first, a Refund from the Govt. of $5000. When asked what the refund was for, they told him because he was a Taxpayer. He became suspicious when they asked him for checking acct. info and SS#. He's quite new to facing scam artists on the phone, so asked for my opinion and had put me on the phone with the woman. When I asked who I was speaking with, they would not answer me. About 4 times I said hello, and she puts me on hold. Then yet another woman got on there, then heard my voice then put me on hold. Then a man was on there, trying to tell me it was a Grant from the Govt. in the amt. of $5000 and asked to speak back with my husband. I hung up. I then called the 1st # back and they answered the phone with a "Hello", not very professional for an Govt. employee. So I just hung up, explained to my husband if they call back tell them to send the check in the mail. Sure enough, one of the women called back and got very hostile when he asked why she wouldn't explain any of this to his wife and how she obtained his information anyhow. But in the process, I had him ask questions about the company, the phone #'s, her name, what state they were located and her supervisor's name. So, here's that info for anyone out there...beware or Tina and/or Jack Anderson, they work for Doeular American Grants in Denver, CO. Supposedly the 866-739-7338 is their toll free #, but when you call it's just "You Have Reached The Customer Service Dept. and all of our Representatives are gone for the day." And their # that showed up on my phone is 720-259-4597--which google says is a base line phone in Denver, CO..but may have portability....hmmmm?!
— Jennifer & George
I also have been receiveing alot of these calls, I googled it about a month ago the calls stopped but now they are calling again, how annoying.  Did anyone find out how to get rid of these people.  I never pick up the phone if it is an 800 # regardless of who it is.
— Renee
My wife was called this afternoon from the "Government Grant Center". Guy had a very strong indian accent and said that we were one of 9000 people in the country who were selected to receive 8000 dollars. The requirements were that we were US citizens, paid our taxes, and have a checking account number which we had to provide. My wife did, as I was at work and didn't find out until I came home.  Immediately I called the bank and cancelled our checking account. Thank heavens nothing was taking out.  This evening about 10pm the guy calls back and I talk to him about 35 minutes. This whole time I ask him silly questions. He says his name is Mark Spencer, doubtful though because he is Indian and all the people in the background were speaking a foreign language. He lives in St. George, UT and when I asked him what time it was there, he said he had to go outside to look at the clock. Most likely meaning he had to google the location to find the time zone. He would not give me a telephone number to call him back. Eventually he became irate asking me if I was related to George Bush. I said no and asked him if he was. He said no, but my family lives next door to him. I asked him where and he couldn't tell me. I then told him my bank account had been cancelled and he stated he already had my banking info and it didn't matter. I told him to call the bank then to be sure and told him he wouldn't be able to get any money even if he wanted to. He tells me that if I am lying I will go to jail. Funny to hear him say that with his accent. Apparently dubya passed a "brand new fresh" law that if I lie about having a bank account I will go to jail. Told him I don't think so and said you probably have never been to the US so have a nice day.. As I hung up I heard him say !*'" off! Oh well, he also says I'm the biggest fool and loser in the country. The address given to me, not sure if it's legit :

Mark Spencer(the Indian)

Government Grant Center

472 South River Rd

St. George , UT  84770
— Matthew
I noticed this number on my caller ID over the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, the guy (Indian ancient) finally left a message...just saying my name (which is NOT on my answering machine)...very creepy!

Thanks for the helpful info.
— Keri L
Bake Pkwy in Lake Forest, CA is about a street down from where I currently am.  I might drive by in a few minutes to see if I can find 20988 Bake Parkway (if it even exists).
— TrevorS
oh my god there are so many comments here, i got a missed call and decided to google the number. i dont know how they got my cell phone number, but i wonder if i can add this number to a block list.
— Ashley
I had a call last night from 808 212-0041.  I don't take calls from numbers that are unfamiliar, but I decided to check out the number on the net today.  Obviously this was probably the same scammer.  i just want to add my name to the list.
— AlanH
hey, have yall ever seen this number before?  It is 866-255-3635.  It showed up on our caller ID recently, and I picked it up, not even caring to look at who it was.  The guy had a heavy Indian accent, and asked if I was there.  I said, "Yes??"  And he goes, "How are you doing with your medication?"  Thinking it was someone from the Kroger Pharmacy (I have had a cold lately), I said, "Uhm... I dunno... Good, I guess?  Who is this?  Hold on..."  My mother picks up the phone and the guy keeps asking if I'm over 21.  The same guy called my friend (who is a freshman in high school) and asked if she had a hot body.  She hung up right away.  He also called this girl I know named Gabby, and she hung up on him.  He says he is from Florida and refuses to give his name.  The second my mom yelled at him, "WHAT IS YOUR NAME AND WHAT ARE YOU CALLING FOR???"  He hung up.  Freak.
— Sam
I too got a call from 808-212-0041 (said Washington).The accent was Indian + some kind of western accent immitation.He was saying that it was his job to inform me the cheque number and code etc which I have to use when someone calls me from US govt so that I will get some $12000/-.I got raged and said I will give this number to Police Dept.He said why? what are u talking? and emphasized as it was all his duty to provide the cheque number etc to me as I some money was deducted from my account by mistake.(What account what money.. dirty fellow!!!)I asked him how did he get my number and address all, he was saying the above.

I said I am going to give this number to Police.He said he can wait and on-hold.. like that!! What a courage yaar! I simply noted the cheque numbers he gave me.He said his name was some ryan and also gave some phone number also.



I dont know how can this kind of irritating guys/business/fraud should be complained about and to whom?



Alas, Be cool!
— raj
I've been getting calls from the 800-061-3615 number for weeks now and they call 10 times a day or more. Sometimes 4 times in 20 minutes!  I've never answered and they never leave a message.



After finding this site, I decided I would have some fun and answer.  I thought of all sorts of funny things I could do; pretend I had the same Indian accent, give phony numbers, asked to meet them in person.  Unfortunately, they don't say a single thing!  What kind of scammer keeps quiet on his end?
— John S
on Oct 10, of 2006 I got a call from a direct employer saying they wanted to interview me for a dinky customer service position. so I set up the interview. then today, the 11th, I get a call from a guy named Dan from some 808-212-0014 phone # for the same employer (PRC). 808 is the area code of Hawaii. on the voice mail he left his phone # in the 847 area code. 847 is an Illinois area code. I erased the message. then after I erased the message he called from a phone # where my caller ID could not detect where he is calling from. but the moral of the story is if you get an employment agency that is out of state, don't trust them.



Dave
— David
I just looked at my bank account activity today, and noticed a check I've never written for $84.00.

It says pay to the order of Triton Solutions, Inc.

In the memo section Entitlement Pro appears with the number 888-792-6297.

None of this is the least bit familiar, and I'm working with my bank to figure this out.

I've haven't provided my banking information to anyone I'm not 100% sure needed it.



Just a heads up for everyone. It seems they can get your money without you ever doing ANYTHING!
— Dan
I got a call yesterday and they had my information. I don't know where they got it, but I hung up. They called my husband back later and told them he had to talk to me. I am nervous now that they have my information and my SSN. It is scary how they can find stuff on you. I am glad I googled this name and address and found you guys.
— Michelle
Now I have gotten the call from David Wayne badge#0486/Hampton Resources.Phone#1-866-591-6162.He has also told me that I was approved for $5000.00,but I may get $20,000.00!!They now have messed wiyh the wrong one.I haved turned them into local & goverment officials.I have people in the F.B.I & C.I.A investigating this claim,so if you work for them or know someone who does I hope you wise up!
— RaiLynne Myers
Hello All!



I was just almost scammed!! Same story ...$8000, Government grant Center, Heavy INdian/Pakistani accent. He had all my information including banking and routing number. But he needed my account number which I would not give him. Whil i was on the phone I googled GGC. And this page popped up. Thank god I almost mad a mistake. I am a college student and 8 grand would be nice.

He gave me the following info

He said his name was Johnny Morris and he was located in St. George UT.
— Josh
Hi Dan,



Triton Solutions nailed me as well. A deduction in the amount of $84.00 was debited from my checking account. I didn't authorize this transaction, and my bank is now looking into it. I'm glad I found your post. I wonder, if you don't mind me asking, do you have an account with those temporary loan companies? I know I do, I want to see if there's a common link. I hope you'll reply to this post.
— Joanne
the company is Mackenzie group the number was 866-552-9411 they used Simple Pay to take the money from my accout.Same thing my wife gave all info  including bank info got taken for $349. Has anyone found out how to get money back or fight this atleast. Please email me with any info i am not rich  just as most people on here are not so thats a good chunk of change any help will be greatly appreciated. lil_c1_2000@yahoo.com
— Nick
To Those of you getting calls from 800-061-3615 use this to get them stopped.



Sent to: privacypolicy@inphonic.com



I have been receiving calls day and night from 800-061-3615. This is a number that traces back to you and In-Phonics.  When I answer no one talks, just uses my minutes to hang on the phone and do nothing.  This is harrassment!



This will stop immediately!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have read about the lawsuit and will not hesitate to further damage you with the FTC should my cell phone number not be removed from your call list!!!!!!!!



Remove 310-xxx-xxxx immediately. I expect to get no further calls from you from this date forward. And forget the certified letter crap.,.,.,.,.,just stop the phone calls now.





Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 08:59:24 -0700 (PDT)

From: "Office of the President" <officeofthepresident@inphonic.com>  Add to Address Book  Add Mobile Alert



To:

Subject: Wireless Order Concerns (#8675-56999464-5039)





Dear Ms. XXXXXX,



I have received your most recent inquiry and appreciate the opportunity to assist you. It is my

understanding that you have received several calls from our establishment regarding an order that

has now been cancelled. Please note that you have been placed on our "Do Not Call" list; therefore

should not receive any further calls regarding alternate offers. I sincerely regret any

inconveniences that you may have incurred because of this matter. If you should have any questions or

concerns in the future, please feel free to contact me.





Sincerely,



V. Hill

Office of the President
— Cat
hi, Government Grand thread...

phone numbers of scammers :

866-555-1212 and 866-425-9248



Any ideas where they get information from?

That's silly, I'm not even a us citizen)

mailto:mishgun@002.ru
— Mikhail
I received a call from 808-212-0041. The first time they contacted me and I won a trip to Orland and the second time they called me I won a Cadillac Escalade. He also had a heavy accent and I couldn't understand him. Lucky for me my cell phone didn't have good signal and I lost his call both times. I googled the number and found these postings. I figured it was a scam because I never entered to win trips or car. This is definitely a SCAM!!
— Joe
I received a call from 808-212-0041. The first time they contacted me and I won a trip to Orland and the second time they called me I won a Cadillac Escalade. He also had a heavy accent and I couldn't understand him. Lucky for me my cell phone didn't have good signal and I lost his call both times. I googled the number and found these postings. I figured it was a scam because I never entered to win trips or car. This is definitely a SCAM!!
— Joe
I'm glad I googled 800-061-3615 and found this page.  I've gotten several calls tonight starting about 9 from that number but, nobody is ever there.  I figure they must be using a multidial system?  I wouldn't have given out any information to them but, it's good to know in advance who you're dealing with.
— Christine
The same indian freak called me too.

He knew my name, my adress, my phone number and proposed me 8000$.

I asked him the adress of "U.S. Government Grants Department" as being 472 south river road.

I googled it and found this website while talking to him on the phone.

Now I REALLY hope that this website is not a SCAM !
— frenchyooy
8009179201. The recorded voice said what number I could reach them, and hug up. Never called them back
— Mikhail
I think i joined the club. The same mo, Indian guy calls gives information about me asks me if it correct, I said yes, he told me that there will be a charge of $279.95. Address he gave me was 472 south river road, george, utah. Sends me to an automated system tells me to answer all the questions. She asks my name if it correct and all the information all i have to say yes, my gutt feeling said but i said it sounds to real so i took the chance. Well when i hung up i went straight to the internet and found you guys, so i ran to the bank and closed my account.
— Henriett
I RECEIVED 2 CALLS FROM THIS NUMBER, LUCKILY I WAS BUSY AND DID NOT ANSWER IT BUT WHEN I TRIED TO CALL IT BACK NOT EVEN 1 MINUTE LATER IT TOLD ME THE NUMBER WAS DISCONNECTED OR NO LONGER IN SERVICE. HMMM. I THOUGHT THAT WAS STRANGE SO I TOO DID A GOOGLE AND THIS POPPED UP. SO BEWARE...
— MINDY
Same story as everyone else, only he promises me 8,000 in goverment grants.  I almost fell for it too.  When I told him I didn't have a checking account, he asked for a friend or family member's account number, and kept rushing for me to get it.  I told him to call back tommorrow, then googled the address he gave me (472 south river road St. George, Utah, 84770)Thank GOD I found this website before I gave him any info. What a jerkoff! Tommorrow I will answer as the Police Department!!!
— Tracie
actually, he was awfully rude to someone he was trying to TAKE MONEY FROM!!!
— AP
I too have been called by these indian government grant giver people. They claim I will recieve $5000 in my bank account. They also claim that "NGC" (maybe) will take $349 after I have the money. My bank account is empty so I went through with it. Only now they have called me 4 times! I went through the same thing 3 times. I don't care because I'm closing that acct. anyways, but I would love to know what these bastards are up to! They claim you will recieve the money "next business day" then they call you all over again the next week. I'm sick of it. Oh and by the way it just comes up "unknown" on my cell-phone.
— fell_away
THIS IS REALLY CRAZY!  I AM SO SURPRISED TO SEE ALL THESE RESPONSES. FIRST OF ALL, IF THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO CONTACT YOU IT WILL BE IN WRITING!!! NOT A PHONE CALL.  IF YOU GIVE THEM YOUR CHEKING ACCT AND ROUTING INFO THEY HAVE SOPHISTICATED WAYS IN WHICH THEY CAN PRINT CHECKS WITH YOUR INFO ON IT. IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THIS IS ON CNN OR 60 MINUTES. SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Tmichelle
To all that have been scamed by Mackenzie Consulting Group 1-866-552-9411! In order to get your money back inform your bank that you did not authorize this transaction nor do you know where it came from, as well at the bbb(better Business bureau) and FTC(Federal Trade Commission)! Hey every1 makes mistakes, but a mess can always be cleaned up with the proper tool!
— BreadSv
I was contacted today by a young lady with a foriegn accent telling me I had been chosen for an $8000.00 government grant.  She knew my bank's routing number and even confirmed my account number.  Then I was transfered to an indian speaking man by the name of simon morris.  I was told that i would have to pay a fee of over $200.00 in order to get the grant money.  When I asked for a telephone number to call someone for confirmation, they refused to give it to me!  This place is supposedly in St. George, Utah.  I hung up on this "person" and went straight to my bank and had to open a new account.  The old account is on hold until my direct deposit checks come in on the 3rd.  Beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing!!
— Yvonne Pursley
So a few minutes ago I got a call. Caller ID says 1-999-999-1234. Already suspicious. I worked IT at a call center and know how easy CID is to manipulate. They could have chosen something less obviously a fake. Anyway I answered for some reason and there was a guy with a strong Indian accent telling me he was calling from the "U.S. Government Grants Department" and that I'd won a $12,000 grant for being a good taxpayer. The only catch was that I must not use the money to do anything illegal. This is a new scam on me, so I asked him a bunch of purposefully silly questions while I googled "government grants scam". I gather from the results that the idea is to get your bank account number for a supposed wire transfer to the account, and they just arrange the wire to go the other way. Surely enough, my phone friend soon asked me for information about my bank and I rang off. I hardly suppose I need to warn anyone about these guys, but for what it's worth...
— jackson thomson
I just got a call from some heavy accented Indain sounding male from



Government Grant Center

472 South River Rd

Saint George, UT 84470

Called ID said unkown number



insisting that I have just been awarded a grant for $8000 and that he needed my bank routing number and account number.  I told him I didn't know it.  He said he could find it if I told him what the name of the bank was and if it was in my city.  Sure enough he came back and gave me the right routing number.  I insited that this was a scam and he claimed that they would not be able to take money from me without my authorization... trying to make me feel safe.  ugh.  I was then stalling him and found this site... wow there are a lot of compaints.  So I asked him were he was working right now.  He gave me the address.  I found a map on mapquest and started asking him how he got to work.  He finaly broke down and said that he lived in texas with his parents.  Gave me the address but I didn't write it down.



I told him I was not going to give him my account that he could just mail me the check.  He said there was a federal law that says he cannot send any check for over $5000.  I told him that $5000 would be fine, just send that and keep the rest.  He kept changing the subject back to getting my account number.



After going back and forth for at least 45 minutes he finaly got frustrated enough to tell me 'not to waste my time'.  I laughed and told him how ironic that was.  I then told him that I was doing my public service duty in keeping a scammer like him on the phone so he can't call anyone else.  He told me to hang up if I thought it was a scam.  I told him to hang up... tossed a few cuss words at him and that was it.  Hopefully I get another call... I think i'll ask the guy what he is wearing and if he can take it off for me.



Just as a side, another easy way to get these guys off the phone fast is to tell them that you are counting their words and charging their company $20 per word... and then say 'please continue, I haven't made enough money yet today.'
— Loren Loomis
I keep getting this 800-061-3615 number on my mobile phone and it is that indian accent guy and he first asks for me then my wife. They call somtimes after 10pm.  Yesterday at work I answered "Police Dept, can I help you?" and they still asked for me or my wife. I said "No, you have reached Albany Police Dept" then he hung up. 



Next time I will give them a taste of their own medicine.  The SCAM will be on them.  I will give them false made up routing and account #'s and fake info!
— Chris C
I just got a call last night from the same Indian guy. The same story as all the other stories before. The scam goes on.
— Andrew Hinkle
Same thing.  Heavy Indian accent and $8,000 from government grant if I just confirm info.  I knew it had to be a scam and I even accused him of it.  He kept saying the same thing over and over and I just laughed at him and was very careful to never say the word "yes" to any thing.  He finally gave up and told me to "...Have a nice evening and go **** yourself!"  I am pretty sure that he heard my guffaw before he hung up!
— Cyndi
Wow. I can't believe how many people this guy has gotten. He isn't scamming me though. He's scamming my employer! We are a well known Search Engine that does VOIP services and he's abusing our service. I called the 808-212-0041 back and learned it was disconnected which is why I googled it.



Has anyone reported this to the Internet Crime Complaint Center? I am a fraud analyst which is how I came across this guy and have been told in the past by the FBI that for stuff like this it is best to report to the ICCC. If they receive a lot of complaints with a similar pattern (i.e calls from 808-212-0041) they will eventually look in to it.  The web site is http://www.ic3.gov/



Good Luck.
— T.D
what is going on  now i have  some body  telling me i have a urgent  busness matter  i need to attend and give  me this number to call 1-888-312-3593.and a ocde  when i ask thay say i cant help  in the regards of this matter but when you call please use this extension#x21045535and they are rude !!! can any one helpwhen i call i get put on hold for like 30 min or so
— t hubbard
Recvd a call from 808-212-0041, I didnt answer it, but googled the next day and found this site.
— Kris S.
I JUST GOT A CALL TOO & GET THEM ALL THE TIME & THEY ALL HAVE THICK INDIAN ACCENTS & ARE EITHER

PHARMACIES WHO ACT LIKE THEY KNOW ME OR JUST HANG UP I AM SICK TO DEATH OF THE PEOPLE...I TOLD THEM FOR THE LONGEST TIME THEY HAVE THE WRONG # & NOW I ACTUALLY START CURSING AT THEM...UGH!!!!



HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT STOP?  11710
— MAGGIE
I got a call today from the number as well. I noticed some where in the posts about inphonic. They are the parent company of many online phone sites such as Wirefly. Has anyone else bought from one of these sights? Maybe that is where they are getting our cell numbers from. Also be careful if you do buy from Wirefly. I bought 2 razor phones to be added to my Cingular account. Well they started a new account and are now trying to charge me $250 for closing the account they started without my permission. Everyone I have talked to from Wirefly and inphonic have had the thick accent and have been very rude to me and my father.
— terri c
I will be joining your club,  I have been getting calls from 322-401-0987 all day trying to get me to give out my banking info.  I'm suppose to get a check on Monday if I gave the info.  I asked a series of question and got this the 877-277-6952 number.  And guess what???? I goggle and got this website.  I even got an address in FL. Go Figure!!!!!
— Yevette Saunders
I got hit with the 808-212-0041 ten times in 5 minutes, I called the white house, and they are looking into it for me.
— Ian
Hey guys, I also got a call from these guys today.  I asked for a website and they gave me a bogus one.  When I asked why the site wasn't working, I got four different answers from four different people, it was hilarious.  Anyway, I was looking up scams online and I came accross this page AS I WAS TALKING TO THEM.  And the 'senior manager' Roger Lee, (His name comes up on other posts here too) was the guy i was talking to.  Anyway, I told the guy that I wasn't buying his bullshit and I wasn't going to give him anything.  Roger then flips out on the phone trying to argue with me.  I started to yell back at him telling him that his bogus life sucks and that he should stop.  And then I asked him why he was so angry over the fact taht he couldn't give ME money.  He didn't know what to say for a couple of seconds and I laughed my ass off.  Anyway, thanks for posting on this thread guys, it really saved me a ton of trouble.
— charlie
Just had someone call me from the "American Financial Grant Center" saying that they were giving me $5,000 for some bullshit reason. The only thing I was thinking while the woman was talking to me was that if something is too good to be true....yeah. Soon enough she was asking for my bank account information. Oh, and they called my cell phone which was very strange, and the number showed up as +309. SCAM!!!!!!!!
— Dave
Mine is-866-255-3635 - They claim they are Online Pharmacuticals wanting to refill my Hydrocodone perscription - They had my name and my cell phone - I almost fell for it as I had recently did a search for online pharms to see if mail order was better for my numourous scripts and standing in line at the pharmacy is getting harder for me - what confused me was that they said not to worry for $299 dollars their "DR" would give me a perscription for hydrocodone - I informed them that I had a doctor and did not need theirs when I asked how did I get my scripts to them? - I was shocked - I mean is that legal? He could only do Visa or checking accounts..but was insisting on their DR calling me - I told him I would have to call him back with the info - and my purse was downstairs - he wanted to wait - so on my way down I asked him what online pharmacy he was with - He kept just saying "Online Pharmacy" I told him shoot I left my wallet in my husbands car..I'd have to call him back - Now I just do not answer when they call. I can't afford to be robbed - and I have legitimate medical needs, Thank god, I caught on in time! Never never never give your banking information, credit cards or PIN numbers to Anyone calling you - If you did not call them to make a purchase don't do it! You will be robbed - most banks will give you the money back because they can get it back from the bank they sent it to. Make sure your credit cards are Zero liability, and when handing some one your credit card if they flip it over make sure they are just verifying the signature and not making note of the CCIV number that little 3-4 digit number that "proves" you have the card in your hands that little number and a copy of the sales slip that an employee can steal or copy and they can make online purchases with that little 3-4 didgit number - I usually write it down and transpose the number and then I scratch it off of the card - and present my ID with my credit card and do not sign the back of the credit card - to stop the little flip over! A sales clerk got my mom for a dell pc due to that. Protect yourself and your money - NO ONE is going to give you money for free and no one is going to give you a perscription with out doing a complete medical exam - if they do I would not trust the medicine they would give you! Good luck!
— Lola Castro
(866)561-6162 HAMPTON RESOURCES IS A SCAM
— p
hello people

well mine was different, the same 808 number called me

but it was the voice of petergriffin from the show family guy

, i thought it was some idiot prankcalling me but i googled it and found this stuff out
— allan
Yep,

Similar story, unknown name and number, thick indian accent, weak signal, I gave some information reluctantly, but stopped when they got to mothers maiden name and bank acct. numbers. I called them out on the Scam and they offered to let me talk to the manager. Of course the manager was "busy" so he called me back, while I waited I googled it and found this. Then he called me back and I got irate, I asked which branch of the government the money was coming from. He floundered, said something like "the processing dept. for grants" huge load of hooey, I hung up. I only hope I didn't inadvertantly help them improve the scam by cluing them into the fact that there is no such thing as a "government grant processing deot."



JUST SAY NO
— Mark
I received a call at work from Advanced Financial Group stating that I qualified to recieve a grant totaling $5k-$7K and that I only needed to pay a processing fee of $320.  While doing a serious of googles on this company, i could never find it.  They stated they were located in NEW LONDON, CT.  and he refused to give me a call back number, and stated that it should be listed on my caller id.
— Jackie Sherfield
My mother received a call from a caucasion guy named John Hiller, number he gave was 1-866-# I did not write it down. He has called 3 more times after that, telling my mother she had 5000 in grant money and all she needed to do was pay 349.00.
— M Greyeyes
I’ve been getting at least 6 calls in the last couple of months so far from people with Indian accent trying  to tell me I’ve been approved for a $5000 government grant. Their latest caller id was 866-736-9546. I’ve asked them every time to remove me from their scam list so finally today I did a google on this and found this site. As I can see many other people have been receiving these scam calls as well. After a little more research I found this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6044402.stm

It talks about a call center for HSBC financial employee in India which has been caught stealing some customer information. About few months ago I got an Auto Loan from HSBC. Has anyone else who has been called by these people have had an account with HSBC or is this just a coincidence?
— Matthew
Too bad I just found this blog. I recieved the same call from a man with a heavy Indian accent by the name of Anthony Hall frmr Popular American Grant. They told me that I qualified for as 5000 dollar Grant scholarship for school but a 299 dollar transaction must first be made. I was dumb enough to fall for it and I gave him my account information. After realizing it could be a fraud i quickly ran to  the bank and changed my whole account information but yet somehow they were still able to make the transactioin. Can someone tell me what I can do to fix this?
— David from Cali
I just got the Indian man phone call too. Everytime he asked me who I was (he was accurately stating my real name) I kept insisting that I was somebody else. He began stumbling over his words and I kept going, "a duh duh duh duh duh," I can't understand you. Ha, he was pissed off. Then I told him that I wasn't about to give him my bank account number so he can precede to steal from me. He got further pissed and kept mumbling and I just kept yelling dont call me again, dont call me again, and I hung up. It was really funny. I got a kick out of it. But to all others, beware!!!! Have a little fun with them if you want, then hang up. Ha.
— Kat
hello my name james , I have ben looking for

grants ,It has taken a long time and then i was

thanking that i found the right place , I even

check this busniess out from the BBB service and

notice they was a menber ok, I call this person

and she stated she had been doing this for a

very long time, after my paper work for the

grant was done ,I tryed calling this business and

found out that all phon numbers was not working an

the only way i could get in contack was by the

e mail system , I had e mail this business and inform them that theres no one calling or sending

any letter to me about my grant info,and then i

ask for my money back , they said the only way i would get my back was if had gotten a letter

stateing i was decline of the grant , THIS IS MY

PROBLEM ,I paid 280.00 dollars for a book and

program CD that is called grant seeker pro, This

cd and book you can buy from just about any place and at the time i did not no this ,she even stated the cd and book was copy right and no one could ony use it, And latter  found out they scam

me , HOW , this busniess they inform me that

i could get my money back after 3 mounths if i gotton a letter stating that i was declined ,Theres more, After making this grant i needed to send to DC address , I did this and latter i called this phon number thats with the

address and the person had talk to in DC inform me that they do not have any doings with giving out any grants ,THIS business is called AllAreaGrants  and grant seeker pro
— james from michigam
Yep sure enough I received the same damn call.  I just filed a complaint with IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center): www.ic3.gov



If I have time I will try to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Protection Agency, my local police department, and even a lawyer if necessary.  Hell, I'll start a website that highlights what a threat this asshole is.  People like him are an embarassment to the Indian people (my parents came from India but I was born and brought up here in America). 



The guy that called me claimed to be a "David Parker" with the American Financial & Grant Center based in Lake Forest, California.  He said that their office was on Bake Parkway and that their website was currently not working due to a virus (I had asked him if they had a website).  He became indignant and started swearing after my friend called him out on his bluffs on the phone with him.  In any case it seems that this guy probably was using a voice over IP network directly from India.  The only thing that showed up on my cell phone's caller ID was a 4-digit extension that went like: 1304



I am determined to catch this son of a bitch!
— Chris T.
I just got the same call ... a man with an East Indian accent (which I could barely understand half the time) telling me that as a taxpayer, I had been randomly selected for an $8,000 government grant.  When I told him it sounded too good to be true, he kept trying to assure me that no, it was completely legit.  I asked him to mail me information and told him I would call him back if I was still interested after reading about the program.  He hedged and said he needed more info before he could mail me anything.  I asked for his name and contact info.  He gave me an address in St. George, Utah and a telephone number with a 910 area code.  The caller ID on my cell phone said "Unavailable", and I was suspicious when I didn't get a toll-free number.



It turns out the address in St. George doesn't exist, and the area code is in North Carolina ... that's a long way from Utah!



I decided to Google the name "Government Grant Center" and ended up here.  I see from the above posts that these scammers are using St. George (Population 38,000, by the way) alot when asked for an address, or Bake Parkway in Lagua Niguel.



I knew better than to fall for this and didn't give any personal information, but was surprised when the caller knew my full first name (most people don't).  I'm worried where he might have gotten it from.  Now that I saw they actually had someone's bank info, I'm thinking about closing my accounts.  What a pain!  We'll need to re-do direct deposit and notify all of the legit vendors I use who auto-deduct each month.



I'm going to notify the St. George Chamber of Commerce about this as well; I doubt they want their town known as a staging center for an illegal scam!
— Debbie in California
I recently posted an ad on craiglist, with my phone number.  Then I got this strange call.

Maybe this co. is scamming phone numbers off of craigslist?  Just a thought.
— paula
I was told I qualified for a grant of 5000 and the even read to me an online Info about myself I had filled out on a grant website www.mygovernmentgrants.com as to why I was seeking a grant.  I fell for it and gave my check routing and account # but to an account I didn't use anymore that didn't have enough money in it.  They wanted $ 349 to process paprerwork and said I qualified for more and if I didn't get the grant I would just have to pay a $29.95 fee for shipping and handling of information kit they were to send me in 4-6 weeks.  I said I didn't have the money in the account and they said how about if we don't cash it until 7 days from now on the 17th I said that would be fine and it would give me a chance to check them out and that I had a service that protected me from identity theft.  They said here is your confirmation #3070436 and  said name was Jim Nalor and gave the 866-591-6162 tel # that just says Hampton mailbox is full.  Name of co supposed to be Hampton Grant Resource Consulting in Champlain NY.  No such company per internet and yellow pages online and I checked with BBB no such company.I closed my check account.Scammers.
— M in New Mexico
Heavy Indian accent.

Popular American Grant

1-876 739 7338

Employee name Oliver Brown

Employee number 3287

Never gave him a chance to ask any questions since I was getting the above information from him.



Reported to the 'Do Not Call Registry'
— Jon Smyth
I didn't make it to looking any of this up and now have a bad feeling, that I just got scammed. I got the call form a nice english speaking woman who said I qualified for a 5K grant, and since I had been looking up that sort of info on the web a few months ago, It seemed to be an ok call. but after reading this page and seeing all your stories I'm just wondering what to do now that I've been taken for $349.00. I tried calling the number back but It's just a voice mail that says Its full. (866)591-6162

So who should I contact about this?
— Michael Edwards
I didn't make it to looking any of this up and now have a bad feeling, that I just got scammed. I got the call form a nice english speaking woman who said I qualified for a 5K grant, and since I had been looking up that sort of info on the web a few months ago, It seemed to be an ok call. but after reading this page and seeing all your stories I'm just wondering what to do now that I've been taken for $349.00. I tried calling the number back but It's just a voice mail that says Its full. (866)591-6162

So who should I contact about this?
— Michael Edwards
Add me to this one almost verbatim.  Now I have to close accounts and the like.  ugh...........Wish I had known how to google sooner......electronically illiterate.  Thanks.
— Really Feeling Stupid in TX
Add me to this list of the dumbest thing I ever did. Aw shucks, and I really really needed that grant. you are never too old to learn i guess.

Thanks.
— M in TX
i got an email containing some information from  http://www.grantnow.com

they asked me $39 for processing fee. they promised me go get $25000 govt grand. why would one do such a thing? what will they do with our bank account?

can anybody tell me?
— chethan dev
I just received a call at work on our second (unlisted) line from a guy fitting the same description - heavy Indian accent. There was also a TON of background noise, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was working in a large call center. He said he was from Popular American Grant and said I won a free grant from the government. He asked me how I'd like to spend it. When I asked him for the name of the person in charge of his organization, he asked me why I needed that. I said I was just curious, and asked again. At this point he hung up.
— Erin
It is the 22 of November and I just got off the phone with the amercian grant co. (scam artist). As they were talking I asked them repeatedly. So the govt is giving me free money for being a good tax payer. they said yes. I then said so all I have to do is pay you 249.95 for processing this free money.  i found your web sight while he was talking. So I said you must be confused, i am reading about you on a web sight right now, click they hung up. thanks for the web sight. Isn't the internet great....
— Rick from North Carolina
Same phone call.  east Indian guy with an accent, claiming to be "Robert Brown"  Well, if he's Robert Brown then I am Indira Patel!  I knew it was a scam, but I like messing around with telephone solicitors and challenging them.



What scared me is that I didn't give them any info, but they knew my info...name, number and address.  Then I realized that I am listed in the phone book, so that info is open to anyone.



His Info:

Robert Brown

Internal ID - AF028

343 1st Avenue South

Salt Lake City, Utah 84770
— Mary in New Orleans
Yep, I got the indian lady heavy accent call today about the entitlement grant. She  wanted a $298 processing fee, etc., I knew it was a scam and I had a dilariously good time with her.

Just remember the ole saying (and we all know it). If it sounds too good to be true....it probably is. If that doesn't work, remember this: Say NO to ANY over-the-phone offer, It's just not worth the risk.
— Marty
I have also received a call on more than one occasion from 1-322-401-0987 regarding supposed Goverment Grant money that I've won. I had recently been subject to a fraudulent loan scam this past year and wouldn't give any of my banking information out to either of the people that tried calling. I let them know that if I had indeed been picked for something like a grant, that surely our government would understand the uneasiness of that information leaking out and I'd be more than happy to wait for a check at my home. Then I hung up. I would also like to take this opportunity to warn people of the loan company that I was taken advantage by. Their name was A-World Financial. They were supposedly based out of Orlando Florida and called me in regards to loan info that I had filled out online. They will ask you to send them certain funds to get things started and to pay them for their services and have quite convincing paperwork to back things up (good enough to fool a couple lawyers). They will then keep asking for more and more money for miscellanious things and you will never get a dime from them. They have since disappeared off the map, but I am guessing that they will resurface under a different name. Good luck everyone.
— Chris
OK I GOT THE CALL..DID NOT ANSWER BUT WHAT DO I DO WHEN THEY CALL BACK TO I CONFRONT OR WHAT...
— JENN
I just received a call at 7:30 Pm from (866)-591-6162 the same government $5000 grand scam..The thing is that I am applying for grands, line of credits and anything that can help me for my new business. The telemarketing person do know some personal info about me that's why I start believing it was legit. I give him my bank account and all the info but after I hang up I start my research and I close my bank account. Thanks God no money was draw... I think they got my info from a business loan application because they knew exactly the amount of money that I need. The name of the scam company that call me is Hampton Consultant. The guy sound like a black male american. He mention some fee of $349 before I receive the money.....sound familiar!
— Leo
Glad to see all these postings, just got the phone call from Hampton 866-591-6162, used name troy brown and said I was guaranteed government grant of $5000 asking for my checking account numbers. Said he received the information from my home loan application. Also mentioned the $349 processing fee.
— kristen
Same here. India accent, 5000$ Federal Grant Center. They tell you they know all your information (bank account#, etc.) All you have to do is confirm it. They easily can get your routing number, anyone can do that. They try to make you believe they know all the account info.

Major scam!!!
— Harley
Just got a call from Troy Brown saying that I have a $5,000 grant waiting for me and MORE to come..... $349.00 processing fee, bank info needed. Called the 866 591 6162 number was a consulting firm. No wonder we have such a big deficet giving all this money away!!! :}
— Lori J.
I too have just received a phone call from them, apparantly i have missed a few phone calls from them before. I constantly telling the guy that I cannot understand him and he begin to get irritate with me. Then I demanded that I want a website where I can check things out, and he randomly said "www.grants.gov" which is FAKE. I kept on mentioning that I cannot understand his heavy accent and he said he will call me back soon. 40 minutes has passed and I did a search with the phone number, and I found this. I hope no one would fall for this scam, and always double check on things.
— Ayakina
Just got off the phone with Popular American Grant. Indian accent - I gave them my name - they told me that i was awarded $5000 grant for paying my taxes. Funny, I owe taxes. I had a lot of fun, I told them thanks, I will enjoy the check and hung up. They called back, asking for my address. I asked how they got my number. They told me they have a group of researchers. I asked why the researchers cant give them my address, then she started stumbling over her words and said the government gave her my number. It was a cell phone... yeah I had a lot of fun with it but when they asked for my bank info, I told them I dont have a bank account. They got ticked... more fun for me.... you get the idea
— Mark
I have gotten this call the last 2 days and not answered it and no message.



Maybe this is just a total coincidence, but I did have to call United Airlines twice the day of the first call and both times got sent to Indian customer service reps overseas.  I know this is a very remote possibility, but is it possible the customer service rep lifted my phone number for this kind of scam? 



Does anyone have any kind of similar coincidence?
— Christine
omg! I wish I had seen that site sooner! I just got scammed!! I think I am the dumbest person on earth because i believed in them! But the reason I beleive in them is because I did applied for grant and fafsa few months ago, so I was thinking may be this is it. So i gave them my bank account and stuff and they took 800 dollars, now I am really mad and I have to go to the police station hoping they will help me a bit. Why didn't I see this site ealier?
— dummy
Same Indian Accent guy wanted my bank information in order to deposit a check from the US TReasury in the amount of $5,000.  He wanted me to agree to pay $279.00 for a processing fee.  I played a long a bit and got the name Justin Jones and a phone # (877) 227-6952 and an address of 20988 Big Parkway Lake Forest, CA 92630  He said the company was called American Financial Grant Center.
— Brian Ehnes
I just got one of these guys. What I did was drag them on as long as I could. Gave them so much false information that any idiot would know. I was watching TV and had to put them on hold too, to take  care of the kids a couple times. Took around 15 minutes and was often quite funny when I would repeat myself 15 times. Then I asked for a supervisor, dragged him on too. I figure it is better to waste my time and efforts than have some poor grandma get scammed.

I suggest everyone do the same.
— Eric Anderson
Well, being in a bad situation, and being handicapped, I had applied for a grant based on my disability, and fell for this.  I had second thoughts after getting off the phone...I called back the number they gave me to decline the offer, and it said their hrs. of operation were  M-F from 10:00 to 4:30...yet they called ME on a Saturday!  Knowing I'd been had, I immediately called my bank and gave them a stop payment order, with the name Grant Resources.  Unfortunately, they put it through under HARGrants, and I got burned anyway. Now I have to go through the nightmare of filing a fraud claim with my bank, with no guarantee my money can be recovered.  There's a special place in Hell for people who prey on the misfortunes of others...the law will catch up to these bottom-feeders eventually...in the meantime...beware!
— Liz Petzold
Got the bogus call too. Didn't answer, googled and saw this. Nice work everyone!
— alan Rosen
Ok, so I stumbled upon this link from google after putting in the number 808.212.0041. Here is what I came up with... To start at the beginning, try to follow: I actually bought a $10 card from a spoof number website (I would list the name of the site but I don't want to be sued since this is only my theory, I don't have facts) which allows a person to change their caller ID to "spoof" their callers. I was trying to crank call a couple of my friends after I heard about this service on KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, under the Consumer Paige package. Anyway, when I called myself at my full time job, the caller ID showed 808.212.0041! Now, most corporations use PBX systems that read caller ID differently than that of a residential line. PBX  systems have the capability of reading the ANI of the calling line - ANI stands for Automatic Number Identification, which is different from the caller ID protocol phone companies developed. ANI was originally designed for 911 operators to be able to identify the calling party so that they could get your address in the event you weren't able to communicate it to them. When they came up with caller ID in 1996, they developed a different caller ID standard that can be manipulated to show any number a caller desires - if you have the knowledge. Personally I think they should have just stuck with the ANI information. These indian scammers are using what I believe is an online spoofing company to hide their true numbers. I am in the process of contacting the owner of the spoof number website (I'd list it but I don't want to be sued) to let him know of this posting and the criminals that are utilizing thier service to scam innocent victims.
— Scott P.
Got a call from 808 212 0041 12/11/06 at around 3:30pm. I did not answer the call because i wasn't aware of it. I tried calling back a few times but instead received a message of being disconnected or something to that extent. Very suspicious, i did a google search and found that this seems to be a problem for a lot of people...



whats really going on with this number?
— Jason
God Bless the Internet, and all of you.



Andy Clark called me this evening at 7PM EST.  I was told that my household had been approved for a $5000 Government Grant.  I knew it was a scam considering the heavy Indian accent, and all the chatter of the other scammers in the background.



I was told that this charachter represented the:

Government Grant Center

343 First Avenue South

Suite 11

St. George, Utah 84770



He asked if I had filed a tax-return last year, and told me that other families in the area were also being approved based on their credit ratings, and not having filed bankruptcy in the past.



I told him I was not about to give my checking account information over the phone to someone calling from overseas.  He insisted to prove he was legit and asked who I banked with, so I told him the name of my bank, and lo and behold he gave me the routing number of it.  He then proceeded to ask me why I wouldn't give him my information if he could tell me such "private" information.  I told him that the last thing that is kept private concerning banks ARE the routing numbers, and that he probably googled it off a list.  He became quite aggravated and started to call me "illiterate" LMFAO.  He told me that he was going to get his supervisor on the phone so we could talk of other ways for me to get my "money".  After the persistent little buggers wanted to validate that they were calling from the federal money department, I googled the name and the address that I had been given, which brought me here.



After I knew it was a scam, I started to mess with their little heads.  I told him there was no way that I was about to give him any of the information that he sought, and to mail me some correspondence, he assured me he would after he had processed my grant.  I told him to mail me a check for the 5000.  He again insisted that he needed my checking account number, and that he would not be able to do anything with that information.  He then told me I was a spam person, when I asked for him to explain to me what a spam person is. I was told that I don't believe people that call me to offer me things.  Wow, I never thought SPAM would be used to explain intelligent :)

Do not fall for it folks, NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION OVER THE PHONE!!
— P Hass
Just got the Indian guy on the phone, I have been choosen!!! $5000 all mine.  So I gave him my bank number like he requested... NOT...  Are these guys really in the US and the government hasn't shut them down yet.  Bad Government, Bad Government.  The sad thing was that when I told him I didn't have a bank account he gave me a 800# to call.
— Doug
YES. JUST RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM THESE PARASITES. READ ENTIRE POST AND HAD A SIMILIAR EXPERIENCE WERE THE GUY GOT REALLY ANGRY AT ME FOR ASKING TOO MANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS BOGUS GRANT PROGRAM. WHY WOULD THE GOVERNMENT TRY TO GIVE AWAY MONEY THROUGH AN OUTSOURCED CALL CENTER? ITS UNFORTUNATE THAT PEOPLE GET SCAMMED LIKE THIS. REMEMBER KIDS, IF YOU WANT GRANT MONEY, YOU NEED TO GO TO THE GOVERNMENT NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND... THE FBI WILL CATCH THESE UNSRUPTULOUS PARASITES SOONER OR LATER.
— PJ
kind of funny actually, I recieved 9 phone calls from these people in less than  24 hours all from a man named david.  So I contacted the local police and my telephone company and the next time they called, boom, malicious call trace...and directly reported to the federal trade commission.  The police said they did get an address however due to legal crap they could not share the info with me.  FYI
— thabiggs
I was searching for governtment grants when I came accross a web site that seemed legit (www.mygovernmentresources.com). So the other day I got the "you've been approved" speech. It sounded way to good to be true so i googled 866-591-6162 and hampton consulting and found all this. Does anyone have a take on the web site?
— James
The same man called and kept aking my name. This is ridiculous. After I hung up he called again and said that we had met at a party. I told him there was nowway I was going to give any bank info or anything but he kept talking about how we met anfd if I want wanted to meet at a coffee place. Who does he think he is calling and trying to get personal info from me like that. I called the 0police and this cop has the nerve to twell me that the worst thing that can happen for now is that I actually go meet this mnan and then suddenly he is too busy to take care of this. Hoew irresponsible! This guy is getting paid with my money and is in fact working for me but he's too busy! Can you believe those police? What good are they at all? Never available or ready to help when really needed. If they were a business they would be rated worse for service and they wpould have to shut down after all the complains, inneficient service and questionnable work they do. Anyways, if that man calls again I'll havc his number traced and see if the police is going to help this time.
— Carrie
Hi all,



I was just checking my messages after coming home from work. My caller id said this number, and there was a message but nothing was recorded. I googled it and came to this site.

I guess I wont bother calling it now - lol !
— Geoff A
Seven calls and six messages left on my vmail from this woman at 808-212-0041 about medication.  I told her it was no ones business, that I don't appreciate unsolicited phone calls particularly at my workplace.  She kept calling back.  Pain in the butt BITCH!!!
— Joanne
Hello - another victim of 808-212-0041; they won't stop calling even after telling them to F-0ff.



Check out this link re: India call centers:



http://www.rotten.com/library/culture/indian-call-centers/
— Joanne
"Anthony" with strong Brooklyn accent, (caller ID read 888-312-3593) insisted on speaking to my deceased father-in-law, then would only speak to the person responsible for his financial matters. Promised to call back. I Googled and found this, so am armed if/when he calls back. Thanks. What's an Ogbuji?
— rlb
I got a phone called from a goverment grant person supposedly, all that showed up on my caller id was 4 numbers some guy with a heavy accent was on the other line and he asked me for the last for of my social he kept repeating that he wasnt a telamarketer and that i could trust him, I sware i had never heard "do you understand" so many times, then he asked me for my bank number and licence and then said it would be a 300$ paper work fee. ARE YOU SERIOUS, I looked up the number her gave me some 866 number and this site came up, I imediately hung up on him and he called me back LITERALLY 10 times, One time he yelled at me to pay attention when he called me back he started saying something about how I need to claim my money blah blah blah. All i said was no no no no no Im not stupid and hung up he was persistant in calling me back and I know when bill collectors call or anyone else they wont blow your phone up, so I put the phone on silent.



what a pain these ppl are.
— Keara
Got a call from 808-212-0041. Didn't answer, but no voice mail! After reading all these posts, next time I'll make sure that I pick up the phone and give 'em some bashing!!
— J.
You guys should have heard My conversation with one of these fools!...It was so damn funny!....I accused the guy of being a terrorist. Asked him if he was with binladden. If he wore bomb shoes...Told him I don't trust people with accecnts and asked to speak to an american!...He didn't know what to say.....Then I felt bad for him and told him I'd give him the $5000 grant money. He sounded like he needed it. Since I'm so well off I don't need that chump change.....AFTER THAT HE GOT REALLY MAD...He started cussing and cursing me out.....tooo funny...I asked for a copy of the conversation if it was being recorded....Then I hung up....I wish he calls again....
— b0x
I am from India came to US on Business for 3 months.I am on International roaming with my Indian Cellular phone. I received three calls in the early hours on Dec 27 and 28.  All calls are from 617-682-2400.  I did not answer because I was asleep. I called back and found its a dead number. I got curious and searched the number in Google, which brought me to this page.



I am in US using my Indian cellular on international roaming. I surprised why they are calling on my Indian cellular, when they can call me on my US numbers.



I wish I knew how they got my Inidan cellular number!
— Jagadeesh Reddy
This morning I got a call on my mobile from 617-682-2400. I missed it, but the caller did not leave a message. I figured if you really need to talk to me, you would have left me a message to call you back.



I was curious enough to google the number and found this site. I can't believe what some of the people had to go through. This thing started 6 months ago and no one has been caught??? This really sucks. I doubt that they will stop calling.



Beside this telephone scam, the other day I filled out a survey on the internet and got to a page that asked for my Social Security Number. I immediately stopped and closed the browser. To everyone out there please don't give you SSN or bank account to anyone. That screams SCAM!!!
— C
I was searching for Governmet Grants, I seriously need one.  I am a single mother with bills up to my ears and I don't get child support... so these guys at Hampton Resources 866-591-6162 have, as now I see, pulled one over on me.  I gave them 349.00 for their help.  What LOOSERS!!!! Single mothers don't need more b.s. to worry about we need help.
— Bianca Stelly
OH!! Just a note!! I found out the MacKenzie Group and Hampton Resources are the same fraudulant company their numbers are 866-591-6162 and 866-552-9411 be aware that they are both by David Scott with the same no answer and the same background noise with the same pitch!!
— Bianca Stelly
Same thing as everyone else but I did not answer, I googled it and ended up here.  I filed complaints with the No Call Registry but this stuff is just ridiculous, it makes me mad how they can get our numbers and there's nothing we can do
— michelle
I'm a little angry at what happened.  I had applied with Mackenzie Group for a grant.  They told me that i could possibly get more than $5000.  I later recieved just over $2000. in funding.  I suppose that i did get some money and it did help me but i was just concerned during the time i had to wait. The service was slow but i still hoped i could get more.
— amy123
I also went online and applied for a goverment grant,sean stenza from hampton resources called and told me I qualified for a grant for $5000and up to 20000.Stupid me!I thought it sounded ligite I had a intuition,I caled and told him I wanted to cancel it out I was not comfortable doing this he said fine, said it was cancelled out,no problem!Well, it wasn't! Got scammed for $349.00

WORD OF ADVICE DO NOT GIVE BANK INFO TO ANYONE OVER PHONE VERIFY WHO THEY ARE FIRST MAKE SURE THEY ARE LEGIT! CALL BBB,CHECK THEM OUT!SCAM=1-866-591-6162,HAMPTON RESOURCES,SEAN STANZA&MARK JOHNSON.
— jen
Same exact thing.  Heavy accent saying because I paid my taxes every year and fell within a certain tax bracket I was being offered a $5000.00 government grant that I would not have to pay back.



When I told him I would not give him my checking account information but to send the check I got the same run around.  I googled while I was on the phone with him and once I found this site I told him goodbye.



The caller ID said No Data although he was willing to give me his address and phone number that he said so fast I couldn't write it down.  What I did get out of the conversation was he was calling from the "Government Grant Center" so that is what I googled.
— Sue
Has anybody tried dialling 57 after receiving one of these calls? 57 initiates a call trace, which is may not be the same thing as caller ID.
— Silver
Yesterday My friend received an email from a guy who call himself Robert who said that he found the name of my Friend at the internate and find that he is a trusted person, and as Mr Robert want to invest in our country asked my friend to provide his account number so that he can deposit usd 50,000. Mr Robert also called my friend through number 2348623449314 and insisting for his intention to deposit and demanded vehemently for the account number. My friend is aware of Scam and he is ignoring to whatever Mr Robert said. It is Funny that Mr Robert did not recognise that he is ignored The Man is still calling every now and then.
— Kazi
I just go the call from a guy with a thick Indian accent.  When I kept asking the same questions, and his "Don't you want this money?" sidestep failed for the 30-40th time, he transferred me to his supervisor.  The supervisor wouldn't answer my questions either, but then asked me if I knew of a word called "trust".  I told him, "Yes, but I am not giving you any."  I managed to get a company name and address from him (no doubt phony), but he refused to give me a phone number, telling me it was a satellite call, so it was more secure.  I kept insisting on a phone number.  He finally hung up on me while I was asking his number yet again.

I'm not dumb enough to fall for the "free money" scams, but I was able to string them along for about a half an hour.  I hope the phone bill cost them plenty.
— David
I too received a call from 808-221-0041. Complete scam.
— aimee
i was stupid and not thinking cause i sctually aplied for a grant a few days ago, i got this call from some 514 number and actually made the mistake of going through the whole thing. all the same stuff in the info it was a thick indian accent and all that jazz.  can anyone help me? has ne one actually recieved anything from this thing im pretty scared about it.  any advice would be greatly appreciated. thank you
— Chris
i got a call from F'ing indian guy, , from this number 808-212-0041, that i won 10K, etc... i told him X person doesnt live here.. and after yelling at me.. he hung up.. it was funny
— a citizen
Listen to my recodring

These guys are sooooo clueless its funny to lead them along. This was only the end of my conversation. I kept the idiot on the phone for 30 minutes



If they call you, you can act interested, but keep making them wait on hold..... They will sit there for like 5 minutes...



HA!



http://aires.tokai.edu/~sponger/phishing.mp3
— Frank Instein
Just started getting calls from "322-401-0987" Indian wanting to help me with my internet and computer problems.

I Googled the number and found you guys...

WOW, they really know how to work it, Knew my name even tho my phone is listed in another's name. Wanting any information he could get.

BTW: my computer has been acting funny the past couple of days, no virus found, but the disc drive will start running and red activity light starts flickering, just wondering if they already have me by the tight and curlies?



BEWARE, I'll try the 57 thing next time I get the call.
— Big John in Tennessee
i got a call from 808-212-0041 yesterday, i didnt answer it cuz i didnt recognize the number. i did a reverse phone search on it and it said hawaii, i dont know anyone in hawaii. when i google'd the number this site came up first. i'm glad i didnt answer the phone.
— amy
Just wanted to add my name to the list.  Thick indian accent.  Hung up once I stated that i would not divulge any personal information.
— Brent from Utah
I just recieved a call from someone doing this, same questions same everything, When finally I told him to send a check ,he said he would and it would take 2-10 days & he'd send a certified check, I said no don't send me anything, I don't want your grant or check and called his call ridiculous because no one was going to send me any grant that I didnt have to repay, Then he became irrate and wanted to know why I was wasting his time and I told him because thats all I had to do today was waste his time. Then he became beligerant and told me to shutup and I laughed and hung up before he was through.
Ripping people off must be irritating work, when you can get it.
— Debbie
I received a call around 6:30 pm from someone doing the same thing except the number was blocked. The guy said he was from Washington D.C. and he gave me a confirmation number and his supervisor's number to call tomorrow. Number he gave me to call is (202)684-6461. I shouldn't even be getting these calls because I am already on the do not call registry.
— Carol
Just recieved my, your lucky grant winner call. The number called from was blocked. She had a thick accent that could have been indian I guess. Said that 17,000 people had been picked to recieve this grant. I let her give her speach, at the end of which she said in order to claim this money I had to call a 212 (Washington state area code, nice touch) and give an authentication number, which she gave me. I thanked her and hung up. She imediately called me back, I didn't answer. Has anyone actually fallen for this scam? What do they do, just clean out your bank account, or maybe send you an outragous phone bill after you call them back?
— rt danner
I too have received the call advising me that I had been selected to get grant money in the amount of $7000.00. The caller identified herself as Michelle Williams. My caller ID showed the number as 212-777-3456.I checked and this is a land line in New York. She wanted all my bank information after I had given her my mailing address I told her if I had really been awarded the grant she could mail it to me. She said she did not have the authority to mail a check to me and that I would need to talk to her supervisor who was in the office with her but was busy. His name was Michael King and she gave me a number of 202-621-0364. Last time I checked a Washington, DC land line cannot be used in New York.She also gave me a grant code of PR007 which I was to use to claim the money after I had talked with Michael King. I did call him back, not because I believed anything they had said, but because I was not busy, and wanted to see what else they would tell me. King did tell me after I adamantly refused to give him my bank information that he would send me a check. I will not be holding my breath.

I did call the bureau of consumer affairs and related the information to them and then I send information to IC3.com which is a division of the FBI offices for fraud in mail, internet, etc. The BBB in the states where these numbers are located were also notified. Maybe together we can get this mess stopped.

— Peggy
I also received continuous calls from a 6 digit number it only lasted 2 min. I had to answer after 10 in 1 week. As to another persons comment as to how they have this information and if we all possibly have any thing in common. The only new thing I have been doing is applying for jobs and putting more personal information then I would like on Job Boards... This is the only reason they have been calling. It all started after I began looking for a new career. Any one else in the same boat. I am wise to all scams and cant understand why ppl think they can receive any thing for free in this well organized (lol) economy!
— Lisa
I received a call today from a woman with an indian accent. She said i had applied for a grant within 8 months time and was approved because i am a american citizen, over the age of 18, and never had a check bounce. She asked for a bank account number to wire the money to. When i asked if i needed a bank account they said a credit card or even a pre-paid card could also work, just a way to wire the money.
She called from 847-448-0729, and said her name was Sandra. When i call it back now it says the voicemail box is full, but it sounds different than a cell phone's voicemail.
She said that the call today was verifying my information and tomorrow the money would be sent, and i would get a phone call and if i miss the call to call her back on her number. She didn't tell me to call any other number, didn't ask for my personal information like social society number, just verified my name, address, phone number.
I could tell from her accent, but it sounded like she said the grant was for $50,000. could be $5000. She said five zero when i asked if she said $3000. She also said at the beginning of the call that the money wouldn't have to be paid back and that i wouldn't have to file taxes on the money because it was government money given from tax money (or something like that)
I had call her back and she was the one who answered and i ended up giving her the bank account and routing number to my father's account.
I have applied for grants and she had my information, and the fact she said the money could be put on a prepaid card made me think maybe it was real. She never said i would have to pay anything, on the site i sent in the essay on i didn't have to pay. If it turns out to be a scam come tomorrow is there anyway of stopping withdrawals i can do now or if to late to catch the people?
I'm going to pray and hope its not a scam because i can really use the money, whatever the amount, and if it is a scam they will be played because we are on hard times and the bank is empty save a few dollars.
I had other things to do and am just able to get online and search about this.
— julia
First, thank you to all of the contributors that are a part of this blog. I received two calls from a seemingly similar caller, a man with a presumably Indian accent. During the call I Googled the grant scams and came across this blog which confirmed that the call was likely a scam. I then called the number provided (2027384649) by the individual (still speaking on my cell phone) on my home line. After one ring the line was answered by an individual stating that I had reached the Federal Grant Department and I know that NO Government Entity line (especially one giving money away) is answered on the first ring and never by someone that states that "we are busy right now" and that I should call back in 30mins. Thanks to my own common sense and the contributions to this blog, I was able to avoid this scam.
— Alfredo
I received a call in the same manner stating that because of my long standing citizenship, and for paying my fedloans on time I was entitled to a grant of $8,400 dollars to be directly wired to my account of choice. As i fed the scamming moron misleading information I googled and found this post. the caller id told me it was a DC number, figured I'd add the number to the list (202)666-2294, after feeding her false info and receiving my "confirmation id" and the number to call for verification, I called and they wanted me to pay a $200 processing fee. Told him no to paying it and he abruptly and angrily ended the call. here also is the "verification" number for any police officers out there if it helps at all. (202)407-7246 and the person I was to speak with was a Kevin Woods, obviously a fake name as he had a very thick and monotonous indian accent. Hope any info I've provided is of any help. Lastly, good luck to all who fell for the scam, and I hope everything goes in your favor for retribution.
— Kaelan Ni Mhaolchatha
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