Judge halts alleged credit-card scam

A federal judge in Illinois temporarily halted an alleged telemarketing scam in Philadelphia and Jenkintown that defrauded financially strapped consumers of $ 4.82 million, the Federal Trade Commission said Friday.

The FTC, which asked for a temporary restraining order Jan. 26, said the scheme involved bogus credit cards, under brand names such as “Platinum Trust Card” and “Express Platinum Card,” with an upfront payment of $ 69 to $ 99, and a recurring monthly fee of $ 19. Many of the thousands of victims had applied online for high-cost pay-day loans shortly before telemarketers contacted them.

But instead of receiving the promised credit card that could be used like a Visa, MasterCard or American Express card at Walmart and other stores, victims received, at most, “a thin plastic card with the shape and appearance of an authentic credit card,” according to a memorandum filed by the FTC last week.

The card could only be used at a collection of 10 online stores “stocked with a seemingly random assortment of off-brand, overpriced, and downright bizarre products, most of which are sold only in comically large quantities,” according to the……………. continues on Philadelphia Inquirer