This is Jaden with Afortus, do you work full time there? We're offering you a 2 night 3 days.... spoken in a heavy Indian accent with a lot of back ground noise
Constant calls to the office. The pattern is always the same. The phone rings once. They hang up. The phone rings again. They hang up. The phone rings a 3rd time. They hang up. We're told this is a common scam to get the call recipient to call the originating number back. Don't do it. The charges are similar to the 900 number scam from a decade ago. Scammers, criminals and thieves.
I was just called by 385-249-1218 at my place of work (a massage parlor) Ironically just 2 or 3 days ago I had a gentleman come into the shop asking if we had a security system. I told him that we had a high quality and 24/7 audio video system that my boss manages. he said that's great have a nice day and left. I'm unsure if its related I;m assuming not as I'm in Arizona but today I got a single call from the number stated above. "hello thank you for calling _________" only to be met with "click" the
ALL of these companies can be tied to this phone number. They're all the same place.
Affordable Payment
Afortus
Ancora Financial
Auto Funding Group
Better Merchant / Better Merchant Services
Credit Services
Economy Merchant
Fair Processing
Federal Finance
IMS / Interactive Marketing Solutions
Internet Local Listing
Local
Local Listing
Local Ranking
Marketing Solutions
Merch Funding
Merchant Fund
Payment Systems
Web Services Co
________________________________________
We'd never had a call from 385-249-1218 in the past until yesterday (5/18/17); the CID said IMS -- Interactive Marketing Solutions. IMS and MANY, MANY of the names being reported here fall, I believe, under the parent company BETTER MERCHANT SERVICES.
On 5/1/17, 5/2/17 and 5/8/17 we had calls from 253-201-5560 with CID showing Marketing Sol (Solutions). Then on 5/5/17 and 5/8/17 we had calls from 253-201-5568 with CID showing Web Server Co. Since these companies usually buy banks of phone numbers I decided the very close number sequence must be the same place, and I blocked 253-201-5560 thru 253-201-5568. My hunch was right. On 5/9/17 we got a call from 253-201-5564 with CID showing local ranking (lower case letters); they called again 5/10/17. And I was further proven right on 5/15/17 and 5/16/17 when we got calls from 253-201-5563, CID said Web Ranking x 1, Tacoma WA x 1.
So this shows that Marketing Solutions, Web Server Co and local ranking are all the same place. Marketing Solutions and local ranking have called repeatedly from other numbers as well, and a lot of calls from others I suspect are also related. These names are all ties to others: BETTER MERCHANT being the main one, but also .
I realized this morning that I've had calls in another "bank" of numbers: 385-249-1218 through 385-249-1873. Even though that's an astronomical 655 individual phone numbers, considering the mass problem of telemarketing calls we all get day in and day out, I'm not surprised. It would be a lot of work to block every single number, but thankfully my software allows me to block with any set of numbers I want. I just blocked all that begin with 385-249-1.
Given that several comments above say IMS while others say Afortus, it shows these companies - MAJOR PESTS - are all one and the same. All of these companies are Google "partners" wanting to run ad campaigns (and not a one of them have enough training or intelligence to do that), and/or they want you to sign up for their merchant services. Somehow they think all this harassment will bring them new customers. Here's what I know from calls we've received (this list is far from complete):
201-477-1684 – Better Merchant (CID: Oradell Nj)
253-201-5560 - 253-201-5568 – ALL BLOCKED
253-201-5560 - Marketing Sol x 3 (5/1/17, 5/2/17, 5/8/17)
253-201-5561 – N/A
253-201-5562 – N/A
253-201-5563 – Web Ranking (5/15/17)
253-201-5564 – local ranking x 2 (5/9/17, 5/10/17); Tacoma WA x 1 (5/11/17)
253-201-5565 – N/A
253-201-5566 – N/A
253-201-5567 – N/A
253-201-5568 – Web Server Co x 1 (5/5/17); Tacoma WA x 1 (5/8/17)
360-302-5481 – local ranking x 8 between 1/8/16-8/1/16 (CID on all calls: LOCAL)
360-763-4013 – Olympia Wa x 2 (4/ /17, 4/1/17); local ranking x (4/__/17)
360-896-8716 – Better Merchant?? - This was that robocall that says “This is an important message about your auto repair business!” We don’t have an auto repair business. Others have reported these calls from Auto Funding Group and Better Merchant. (CID: Vancouver Wa)
385-229-3335 – Afortus / IMS (Interactive Marketing Solutions) / Federal Finance / Ancora Financial
385-249-1218 - 385-249-1873 - ALL BLOCKED
385-249-1218 - IMS
385-249-1222 – Afortus
385-249-1239 – Afortus
385-249-1264 –IMS x 2, Ancora Financial x 1
385-249-1294 – Afortus (auto blocked by my software as a known telemarketer)
385-249-1870 – IMS
385-249-1873 – IMS x 2
401-298-2544 – Better Merchant (CID: Warwick RI)
406-797-5275 – Better Merchant (CID: Anaconda Mt)
415-534-9643 – Local
419-930-6189 – Live caller calling about our auto repair business (which we aren’t). (CID: Toledo, OH)
513-434-1901 – Better Merchant (CID: Oxford Oh)
517-343-3115 – Per online reports it’s local ranking (CID: Michigan)
816-800-7756 – CID when they called us was Kansas City, Mo. Online reports say they’ve shown Better Merchant, Merch Funding, Merchant Fund, Payment Systems, Economy Merchant, Fair Processing, Credit Services, etc.
845-203-3395 – Better Merchant Service
859-203-0118 – Better Merchant (CID: Warsaw Ky)
903-686-9303 – CID when they call us was Unknown Name. Online reports say they’ve shown is ASSIST, Local Listing, Internet Local Listing ...
Got a call from IMS. Asked what they can offer a dance studio. She said that they were offering vacations if I answered some questions. I again asked her what her company can do for a dance studio. She had no answer. I then asked what company is this calling. She said IMS. I said I don't know what IMS is, tell me. She said it is a growing company called IMS. OK, what does IMS stand for. She states it is Insurance Marketing Strategies. I told her we don't need insurance, we are fine with who we currently have and why would an insurance company be offering free 2-3 night vacations? She had no answer and hung up.