KTIV NewsChannel 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and SportsSiouxland woman outsmarts scammers

Siouxland woman outsmarts scammers

MAPLETON, Iowa (KTIV) -- If you drive a car, you've probably received a letter in the mail at sometime or another asking you to purchase an extended warranty for your vehicle.

While some are legitimate, others are not and those others maybe posing as a well known company.

"My checking account would have been empty," said Patricia Wise, of Mapleton, Iowa.

Monday was like any other day for Patricia Wise.   She went to get her mail and to her surprise she got a letter asking her to purchase an extended warranty on her car.

"It says 'this is notification that your mechanical breakdown coverage maybe expiring or has already expired.  And you may start to receive illegal phone call solicitations due to this,'" said Wise.

The letter from Dodge Chrysler Jeep Motor Vehicle Services immediately concerned Wise.  She showed it to her husband and decided to take action against the threatening letter.

"So I called the number and the guy answered 'hello.'  I said, 'how's your mom doing?'  He said 'fine.'  Then I asked how his grandkids were doing and he said 'good, I just got a new grandbaby.'  And I says, "I thought this was Dodge Chrysler Jeep Corporation.  And he said, "oh it is," said Wise.

So Wise pressed on and asked for a quote on her car.

"I says, 'where do I send the check to?'  And he says, 'oh we don't take checks, I need your checking account number, we'll take it out of your account,'" said Wise.

But instead of giving her account number, Wise did something smarter, she logged onto the Better Business Bureau's website to see if the company was legit.  It was, but the phone number didn't match, so she called.

"They thanked me and they were really thankful and they took my phone number," said Wise.

Patricia Wise says if she can prevent one person from becoming a victim, than she's done her job. 

The golden rule to follow in knowing if a letter is a scam: if it's too good to be true it probably is.

If you'd like to check out a business, just like Patricia did, you can. Just go to the Better Business Bureau's website.