HOUMA, La. -- Wilma Bilbo of Houma got scammed when she could least afford it, and she is beyond angry.
"I'm furious. It's a travesty," she said.
Wilma and her husband were both battling serious health problems while caring for three grandchildren. So finances were strained, and a caller offered help.
"She said she was a licensed financial advisor with the state of Louisiana, and that she was helping this financial group lower everybody's interest who was qualified."
The caller sent a glossy brochure and application guaranteeing the company could consolidate credit card bills and lower interest rates, if the Bilbos paid $900 first. Wilma was skeptical, but it sounded like such a good offer.
But when time passed, Wilma's credit card companies told her no one contacted them about any sort of help for her. So she called the Terrebonne sheriff, and Eyewitness News, and I put her in touch with the Better Business Bureau.
"She said now I cannot legally tell you that we can save you $2500 without losing my license," Wilma said. "Our money was dedicted from the account, and apparently they closed up shop."
Cynthia Albert of the Better Business Bureau said there is no address for the company, and the bureau doesn't think it's valid.
"We get calls like that every day," Albert said.
"We found that the company was not legitimate," said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois. "They didn't even exist, so somebody over the phone was able to call them and get the money from them."
Especially at this time of year, experts warn you to be as careful with personal information as with cash.
"When they get those telephone calls," Sheriff Bourgeois said, "don't give that information out, that important information like your Social Security number, your date of birth, your driver's license number, your actual physical address."
"Check these companies out," Cynthia Albert said. "Make sure that you have the full name of the company, a valid address, not just a website address. Check it out with the Better Business Bureau."
The Better Bureau suggests contacting credit card companies yourself for help to resolve difficulties.
"In many cases, they'll work with you," Albert said. "They may work with you personally better than they would a third party."
"Hindsight, if I would have been smart enough I would have called the Better Business Bureau," Wilma said.
Just this morning, a telemarketer called Wilma. She hung up on him.
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