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CB Food and Beverages Review of ATS Research
ATS Research

ATS Research review: $1000 Free in Groceries 64

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9:20 am EDT
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I heard the advertisement on the radio thinking it was a good opportunity. Upon calling I was charged $3.95 for shipping of the card. I asked questions as to which stores am I able to use the card and the agent was unable to help. He continued and stated that I'm able to join other programs which I denied, he stated that it would be mailed to me to review and I could get free gas. Nevertheless, the card came and I had to sign up to receive my "savings". It was a www.grocerysavers.com site where they have coupons to specific items and to make matters worse you have to pay to have the coupons shipped to you. If I knew it was going to a coupon website, I could have saved my time and his and not bothered. The advertisement via radio states that you'll receive $1000 to grocery shop, not coupons. This is a waste and their advertisement needs to be pulled.

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

64 comments
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Ms.Jones2125
Coalinga, US
Aug 15, 2010 8:11 pm EDT

I heard about this great offer, a study being done out of Maine, you pay 13.70, and then you would recieve a grocery gift card for $1, 000. However I recieved a gift card for an online website for coupons that you can print out for free. They charge you .75 cents for shipping the free coupons, and there is no way to cancel your subscription. The numbers lead you to a female operator, who states that you have reached the wrong office, however she cannot provide you with the correct number.

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chachaqueen
Austin, US
May 17, 2010 10:04 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

RADIO COMMERCIAL CLAIMS TO BE GIVING AWAY FREE GROCERIES. YOU CALL IN AND THEY SAY - WE HAVE TO HAVE YOUR CREDIT CARD INFO TO PROCESS.
BEFORE YOU KNOW IT- I'M CHARGED $9.90 TO MY BANK ACCOUNT! AND I RECIEVE 'NO' FREE GROCERIES! THESE PEOPLE ARE WORTHLESS!

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<3 monkeys 45
Beclabito, US
Nov 15, 2013 11:14 am EST

true that !

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creedrox03
La Porte, US
Mar 26, 2012 8:02 am EDT

well here in texas i was also lured into this...i am actually on the phone with jim - his company facetime-- the number i called 888.416.7082 for customer service, has been EXTREMELY helpful -so far. I'm to see the credit in 24 - 72 hours (we will see). and you are correct! SO MISLEADING -- they do not say oh it is a laminated card that has a pin number for you to enter and it is more coupons! but he did give me #'s of all the others to cancel as well -- funny they are different than the numbers the cust svc rep rattled off -- so if anyone in the houston area was dumb enough to do this - here are numbers for the fitness dvd- 800.611.0292 - i was given 888.390.7660 originally, magazines 800.607.9869- originally given 877.645.6809, gas voucher, other "coupons" and saviings program - AGON -- savings to go and everyday bargains - 888.551.9964- and 800.237.2900 the number here on the radio was 800.492.0486

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Dale Burke
Boiling Springs, US
Jan 25, 2011 12:34 am EST

I was smart enough to know that it sounded too good to be true, checked Google and found it so. Yes, it is a scam but you only have yourselves to blame. You should have looked before you leaped!

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L-J-M
Cottonwood Heights, US
Jan 13, 2011 9:20 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Can you imagine how rich this guy is from suckers like me. UGH. I am sooo mad at myself. Also, if you call for you 100% satisfaction guarantee, Micheal, is rude and has no answers except when you ask to talk to his supervisor he says he is the supervisor and if you ask for the owner, he comment is "if you had a problem with Microsoft would you ask to talk to Bill Gates?". What a jerk.

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Diashi
San Diego, US
Jan 12, 2011 4:52 am EST

The company advertising for $1, 000.00 worth of groceries is now in San Diego. Now they ARE NOT telling you about the "other opportunities" until AFTER you've given them your credit card number. I take part in several reputable market research projects and its not completely unrealistic for such a program to exist. So don't feel stupid for responding. Its a shame and a scam that these people are calling themselves market researchers, and tainting the phrase for the actual market research companies out there. This is a scam. I politely told the representative that I was not interested in participating if it meant I had to commit to any auto-renewing club, program, or charge. He said, "thanks for wasting my time" and hung up. What an unethical, uneducated, pitiful person. HE wasted MY time. His company is wasting the time and money of hard-working San Diegans. Channel 93.3 should better audit their advertisers. I hope this helps.

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Sahm242006
San Antonio, US
Jan 06, 2011 5:45 am EST

I fell for this stupid scam! ugh

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asatisfiedcustomer
San Diego, US
Nov 03, 2010 9:28 pm EDT

Thank you for this site. I heard the ad on a radio station in San Diego today and wanted to call, but something said to google the number. I am extremely grateful.

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johnq0069
Greenville, US
Nov 03, 2010 7:47 pm EDT

hide yo kids hide yo wife and hide your husbands cuz they rapin everybody out here

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Shan J
San Antonio, US
Oct 09, 2010 10:07 am EDT

I heard the radio ad in San Antonio. I called the number, [protected]. I was on my way to work so didn't expect to sign up anyway at that moment, I just wanted the info. They CSR gave me the schpeal about the program, but as soon as he said that you were "invited to benefit from other opportunities" I figured it was a scam. Plus, they wanted to charge $23.95 to get started. He did say the savings came from coupons, but eluded to that fact that the coupons I would receive would be for "free" groceries. I asked him if they had a website so that I could get more information. He gave me www.mlrmarketresearch.com. Guess what? There is no such website. So, I guess it is a scam. You wouldn't think so since they are spending money to put out the commercials, but I guess they figure they'll get enough suckers to pay them that it will more than cover the overhead.

I have not called back and I haven't heard the commercial again. I guess the ole' addage of "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" is true.

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Amanda_s
, US
Sep 28, 2010 9:04 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

So, in calling to find out about the true nature of this program, (A SCAM!), I called several different customer service numbers. The same representative "Jose, operator number 040" answered the phone each time. He was incredibly rude, not letting me finish my questions, and he interrupted me several times. At one point, while I was trying to question what in the heck the company actually does, how is it free money if you have to pay for the service and the coupons, and he told me "What you are saying is irrelevant. You're talking about something that doesn't matter". Next, he told me he had nothing to do with my order from the grocery coupons website (I thought that the coupons would be free b/c I was in the program - So wrong!). He told me that I'd have to call the number from the website, and that he didn't know the number to give it to me. Then, when I call the number from the website, I am put on hold twice for 10 minutes, and finally, when I got a person to answer, who was it but JOSE! again! lying [censor], telling me he didn't have the number and putting me on hold. At the end of the conversation< I actually said (very sarcastically) "And thanks for keeping me on hold for so long". And the dick actually said "You're welcomed!" NOT ONLY IS THIS A SCAM, the person "JOSE" THAT RUNS THE PHONE IS THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EXPERIENCED, EVER! WHOEVER HIRED HIM SHOULD LOOK INTO FIRING HIM OR AT THE VERY LEAST GETTING HIM SOME SUPERVISION. HE IS CLEARLY REPORTING TO NO ONE AND ABUSING HIS POSITION.

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ToaTumau
Bluffdale, US
Jun 09, 2010 3:36 pm EDT

This is a bush league scam... They lead you on saying that you will receive the a card for $1000 dollars in groceries. Here's how I caught it...When he said that I would be getting a gift card...e.g. a debit card with $1000 balance, I asked the sales rep how they would know what I bought. He merely replied, we'll know everything you buy, you don't need to keep track of everything. That is when I knew that it was just a bunch of horse crap. I cancelled 20 minutes after I placed the order. Call this number and I was only on hold for about a minute [protected].

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chachaqueen
Austin, US
May 17, 2010 10:06 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

NO COMPANY LIKE THIS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO EXIST BY OUR GOVERNMENT

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MRSMORALES2010
Dallas, US
Apr 28, 2010 6:52 pm EDT

SO IM A [censored] THAT REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GET $1000 FOR GROCERIES... I KIND OF KNEW THAT IT WAS A SCAM BUT GAVE THESE PEOPLE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT! SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED MY BETTER JUDGEMENT... NOT TO MENTION MY CO-WORKERS! I CANCELLED MY CARD BEFORE ANYMORE CHARGES COULD BE POSTED TO MY ACCOUNT. LUCKILY ONLT $13.80 WERE TAKEN OUT! BUT TRUST ME IM GONNA GET MY $13 BACK! I FEEL LIKE SUCH AN IDIOT! :(
I DREAD HAVING TO TELL MY HUSBAND WHAT A [censored] I'VE BEEN AND THE FACT THAT I GAVE OUR CARD NUMBER OUT!

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johnq0069
Greenville, US
Apr 22, 2010 8:06 pm EDT

hi i placed an order with these guys and i was well aware that it was coupons. i bought 160 worth of food for 11 dollars. if you are actually dumb enough to think anyone will send you a debt card or a check for 1000 bucks you deserve to go threw life not understanding things that probly why you dont have any money and call radio ads thinking theyre going to hand you a fat check. hand out are at the welfare office people. you dont actually pay for the shipping of them to you. they take it out of you 1000 dollars then reissue the coupons back to you again to recoupe the cost. ATS Research saved me a thousand dollars for 9.90. just think whatever you spent last year on food you will spend this year minus a 1000 bucks. STUPIDITY DOESNT PAY...OBVIOUSLY

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daisies_dont_tell
, US
Apr 07, 2010 11:54 am EDT

Thank God for Paypal. I too fell for this farce. I was lucky enough to have given them my PayPal debit card number to pay. Then I did some checking up on the internet of this company. Thatst when I first found this page. I called PayPal and told them what happened. Immediately PayPal canceled that card number and re issued me a new card. I had it in about a week.

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Cfanning
Washington, US
Apr 07, 2010 8:51 am EDT

LMC777

You want to know about after the cancellation

Well first off I had to damn near threaten people to give me the cancellation numbers--and I didnt get ### back---Good for you --you make money while lying on your ###. I went through 6 years of college, 2 degrees and 4 certifications. Even if I dont make a ### load of money and have student loans coming out of my ###---I can sleep at night--because I do HONEST work. Thats what AMERICA should be about--Educated people--Doing HONEST work.

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Cfanning
Washington, US
Apr 07, 2010 8:31 am EDT

Oh PS----The coupon bit is horrible. 1, 000 dollars my rear end. Who has time ti sit and wait for coupons to come in the mail--Isnt that why they already send us coupons in the Daily saver or Clipper magazines----Im going to post this on facebook

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Cfanning
Washington, US
Apr 07, 2010 8:29 am EDT

These people are horrible. I am in crisis financial mode and to take advantage of people like this is horrible. First off I had to pay 20.00 for the rip off package. They never sent me anything. I was supposed to get 3 different packages-review the material and call the numbers and tell them about their products. Thank God I took notes. Derek #91 I swear I would slice his tires, he completely lied to me. I took notes on all the packages I was supposed to be mailed ---Well They didnt mail me squat. Thank goodness I searched and found all of your complaints. I had to call 5 numbers to get everything canceled. And like many of you said wrote down cancellation numbers so -I wont get screwed in the future. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA--Im so naive. The government should step in on this.

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Lucky Dog
Pittsburgh, US
Mar 22, 2010 9:38 pm EDT

By the way the number I called was [protected]

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Lucky Dog
Pittsburgh, US
Mar 22, 2010 9:28 pm EDT

I heard the commercial on a radio station in my state of Pennsylvania about $1000 to grocery shop. I knew it was too good to be true. I actually googled the company name while I was on the phone with the representative. Thank Goodness for new technology. I was reading all of these complaints as I was getting information from the representative on how much it cost to ship the card which he said in my state is would cost $9.75 plus shipping cost of coupons which would total $19.79. I laughed when I read the complaint about the guy that called back to speak to a mgr as I was telling the representative that I was no longer interested. Then I hung up, nonetheless he was trying to keep me on the phone but was unsuccessful thank goodness I didn't give him any of my personal information.

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solis4708
Oklahoma City, US
Mar 21, 2010 9:51 pm EDT

I live in oklahoma and called the number days ago and still have not received anything so tomorrow iam am calling them and the bank and cancel I will report how that goes thanks Joe OKC

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PGBags
Edmond, US
Mar 09, 2010 12:13 pm EST

Now they have made their way to Oklahoma. They are charging $13.95 for shipping and processing of the card alone. I asked for the name of the company so tht I could check it out first. I am glad I did.

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Hrj
San Diego, US
Feb 23, 2010 10:24 pm EST

I called the number from the radio station here in San Diego [protected]. The sales rep was very nice told me that it was a survey being conducted in many areas and when I gave him my zip code he was delighted to inform me that my area was indeed listed. I would need to cover the processing fee of $15.75 for the money to use while shopping. the terms were simple: I had to buy name brand items (sorry no store brands allowed) and tabacco and alchol could not be purchased. As long as I agreed to these simple terms he could get my application processed. and then he asked would I be paying by debit or credit card today? and if I had any questions. I asked the name of the survey company and he said ATS, I asked what the ATS stands for and he said he thought it was the initials of the founders. I said I would like it clarified. I told him if he works for the company he should know what it means. He asked me to hold on and hung up on me. I tried calling back for the next half hour and I would get through and then automatically it would hang up. Like my number was blocked or something. After a while I got to thinking I should google it and sure enough this site came up so I thought I would warn others to beware! I agree with the others you DON'T GET ANYTHING FOR FREE and IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY ISN'T TRUE. I also think the postings from those who are satisfied are the people making the money from us poor suckers they scam the money from... luckily I was not one that was scammed.

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sassysway123
, US
Feb 11, 2010 8:56 am EST

the customer service number is [protected]

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chuckyhume
, US
Jan 28, 2010 4:16 pm EST

i have gotten my card and i used the program and i love it! i would go ahead and give it a try

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ms_buzzie
Latrobe, US
Jan 21, 2010 1:08 pm EST

What I dont understand is why the radio stations are advertising this. I mean don't they look into what they are promoting? I know I will never try anything off of 3WS again!

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CookieRN
Austin, US
Jan 18, 2010 3:06 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This has been ridiculous. I called the original #, was told to call [protected] for customer service. I reached Everett & Aaron. They were both sooo rude. Told me I agreed to everything and that I got what was explained to me. I told them I had not, no gift cards to Walmart, no $1000 grocery card (to be used as I choose - minus alcohol and cigarette - nice touch sales reps!) and I was never even told about coupons!
I did call Home Rewards at 1/888/299-6416 and received the $1.95 credit to my CC. American Patriot gave back the $19.99 they charged but not the 1.95 (and they told me I would have had to wait 6-8 weeks for the gift card - that equals 19.99X3) Todays escapes plus can be reached at [protected]. I spoke with Evelyn, she was nice and refunded me. She was so nice...if I needed to travel, I might actually go to that website! Over all, this process was a nightmare. If you haven't been sucked in by the advertisement, DON"T DO IT! This people at ATS Research are heartless and Everett even laughed at me!

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b01
Detroit, US
Jan 15, 2010 11:18 am EST

I just called the number [protected] and verified that it is a coupon program. I didn't even have to ask him to refund before he said they'll refund the 7.95. He then asked me if I'd had the other 2 numbers for the other programs I signed up for, which I did. Fortunately for myself, I had to very courteous CSRs. I will admit that they did nothing wrong, though the advertisement may seem misleading, they never said how you would get the $1000 dollar in free groceries, it was my own fault for assuming that it would be a debit card. When I heard JP Morgan and Chase, that just sealed. My problem was that I was too impatient to wait til I got to work to look it up on the internet before signning up. I know when something is too good to be true, but I felt secure that I could get the charges reversed, or take the $11 loss.

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I asked a lot of question of the CSR I first spoke to about the program, I should have asked in what form would I receive the funds instead of assuming.

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lmc777
Denver, US
Dec 23, 2009 12:12 pm EST

Why don't you people put comments on what happened after the cancellation. Did your card get charged or not? That's what you need to put. And another thing I work doing this and let me tell you we have no contacts with the membership programs. We are only required to sell them and that's how we make our money. We don't even get paid to sell the grocery vouchers. But, and I am only speaking for myself, but I like doing this cause it is the only thing I can do at home. I tried those other work at home programs and they don't work. I make really good money with this company and I'm sticking to it. So put comments in that tells everybody if you did got charged or not after cancelling. OK? And another thing if you did get charged after canceling you can always fight it and get your money back because Visa and Mastercard companies always protects and help out their customers so you do not really lose.

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amanda l
, US
Dec 22, 2009 10:16 pm EST

i am disgusted by this. i feel like a damn fool! what the hell is wrong with people that they can steal from people daily, lie to them about it and then proceed to find it necessary to be rude to them. i suppose i am not suprised. this worlds demise will be because of evil people whos drive is driven by money and money alone. god bless all that were lied to.

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hisluv0406
Columbia, US
Dec 22, 2009 5:01 pm EST

I agree with all of the complaints. I live in Maryland and I heard the commercial on the radio like majority of you did. Today, I was trying to order some take out for he kids since we are snowed in and I didn't get the $1000.00 in groceries like they promised. Anyway, my card was declined and I knew I had money left over in my account from paying my tuition. The charges that the "other guys" had took out of my account added to $101.70. I was able to get $81.75 of i back. The other $19.95 that they wouldn't put back was from November and the lady said they mentioned to me that they informed me of the charges and that it was nothing that I could do because of the time. I am going to list the numbers that I used for those who had problems contacting some of the "other guys". I felt stupid, thinking that this was something legit. I was going to use that money on groceries so I could use the money that I would've been saving for my kids Christmas. Thank you ATS Research for your false hopes. Everyone needs to beware of this company and tell a friend who knows a friend about this company so they won't be snaked out of their money too. For the people who work for this company, yall need to re-evaluate yourselves. Yall know they didn't offer the same promotion to you and yall are the employees.

The numbers you can call to cancel are:

Your funding accelerator: [protected]
At home rewards plus: [protected]
ATS Research: [protected]
MVQ Travel Member: [protected]
Values 4 Less: [protected]
ID Sweep 360: [protected]

I hoped I helped as many of you as possible. These are all of the comapnies I canceled today and I only knew of one. I only signed up for one. I only authorized payment for one and this is what I got in return and I didn't even get the $1000.00 in groceries.

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Gee426
Romulus, US
Dec 12, 2009 10:09 pm EST

You should call and file an complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and Then call your Attorney General.As bad as this economy is-you would gt some low lives trying to suck you evn dryer.### buckets.

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King Rey
New Orleans, US
Dec 02, 2009 7:54 pm EST

Thank you for the warning! I almost subscribed to this! I would have been quite angry when I found out that the verbage was entirely incorrect!

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RippedAnPissedOff
Wichita, US
Dec 02, 2009 1:50 pm EST

call your local DA office. And your local television station. let it be known that these people are fradulant. Also contact your bank and dispute the charges if within 60 days they have to remove them or you will report them to the state banking commissioner. Hope this helps it worked for me.

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abjoy814
Fox Lake, US
Nov 30, 2009 1:57 pm EST

I am so glad I found these messages. My friend called & told me about this great deal. He didn't know the company name at the time, but called me today with the name. I'm glad I was able to do research & find out this is bogus. I hope my friend can cancel the transaction before too long. Thank you everyone.

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JarodNa
Wellington, US
Nov 18, 2009 9:58 pm EST

Hey, I also signed up for the two other services that they offered in association with the free groceries. Unfortunately, my roommate threw away the offers when they came in, dismissing them as junk mail. Now, I am signed up for the two services at basically 35 bucks a month, and I don't have any way to get into contact with customer service to get the crap stopped.

Please help me, if you can.

Thanks for your time.

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JarodNa
Wellington, US
Nov 18, 2009 9:01 pm EST

Hi, I signed up for the card, and I agree it's pretty much junk. Anyway, the customer service rep that I talked to sort of coaxed me into the other two services. Unfornately, the information on those two offers never came, so I didn't get the number to cancel it...

Does anyone have the number so that I can quit getting charged on a monthly basis?

Thanks!

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Twobesure
East Point, US
Nov 15, 2009 9:13 pm EST

While I haven't called the number given on Radio on 102.5 Praise, I thought i would do some research first before calling and so glad I lucked up on this site. I knew it was too good to be true. I am sorry many of you have been had, but thank goodness I was proactive in checking to see if this site was worth my calling. One of the things I have learned to do is purchase a Visa or MasterCard "gift Card" generally a 25 or 50 denomination. I generally will give that card number, this way the crooks do not have my "REAL" info on my personal banking card, sure I may loose a few dollars, but it is worth it instead of giving up my "Real" bank card information. I almost never make purchases online or by phone using my Debit card...I purchase re-loadable debit cards. At lease this way I control the money