The Federal Trade Commission is warning consumers that vehicle warranty robocall scams are back — just like every awful fad.
“It starts when you pick up a call and hear a recorded message saying something about your vehicle’s manufacturer’s warranty,” FTC attorney Emily Wu said in a release.
“It might say that they’ve sent you several notices in the mail. They say you haven’t extended your warranty past the factory cut off, and they’re going to close your file soon if you don’t respond. And, you should press a number if you’re interested in renewing your warranty, or press a different number if you want to be removed from the list.”
Wu said it’s either an illegal robocall or a scam.
“The companies behind this type of robocall are not with your car dealer or manufacturer, and the ‘extended warranty’ they’re trying to sell you is actually a service contract that often sells for hundreds or thousands of dollars. If you buy it, you may find that the contract doesn’t actually cover any problems you have with your car because of the restrictions in the fine print,” she wrote.
So hang up, consider finding an app to block unwanted calls and report it to DoNotCall.gov.
