News About Phone Card Scams

A recent article about phone card scams in the Gotham Gazette profiles a Jamaican immigrant who can only call from her cell phone SIM card, because her fast-paced, high stress single mother working class lifestyle allows her very little time at home, and also very little extra money to pay for a phone. So she ends up getting ripped off by the exorbitant fees charged by the prepaid calling card company.

In other words, it's expensive to be poor.

Especially when it comes to making calls back home overseas. And she did shop around:

"I know about things like Skype that use computers to make calls, but I don't have a computer at home..."

So it's natural to suggest that immigrants who are lucky enough to have a home computer, or an accessible computer, consider using Skype to make cheap international calls. But after investigating the true price of Skype for immigrants, it may not be that much better than a shady phone card scam.

Often the best option is to find cheap phone cards, even for cell phone SIM plans. They are out there, despite the proliferation of charlatans trying to make a buck off the helpless and vulnerable. That's why we are here to help you sort through the bull, and find really good deals on phone cards.

Five Dollar Calling Cards

Here is the best deal on 5$ calling cards. I've looked everywhere and this is the best card I can find. It's actually a really good value; I was able to spend quite a while talking to my family on the phone. So click here now to get the best possible value for five bucks

But if you want to see for yourself, and you're wondering how much all the other $5 calling cards get, then brace yourself for bad news. It's here where the major brands get you. Typically, a 5 dollar calling card will get you through one conversation. Sorry: one and a half conversations.

You see, there are two parts to the sleazy plan that drives most 5 dollar calling cards sales.

The first, somewhat innocent reason is repeat patronage - if you buy the small amount of time allowed by each 5 dollar calling card, you'll keep coming back to buy more phone cards, and keep cash flowing into the company's coffers.

But the real scam happens after you use up 3/4 of the phone card, then throw it away and buy a new one. Perhaps you, personally, don't do this, but phone card companies' internal statistics show that a vast majority of customers do exactly that: they talk for about half an hour, then, rather than milk the next 10-15 minutes, they throw out their partially used phone card and buy a new one, so that they don't suffer the hassle of having their next conversation interrupted.

Sure, you might say, the same can be said for any phone card. If you buy a 20 dollar phone card, for example, there would still be an extra few minutes remaining after the card is mostly used up. But there's a big difference. With a 20 dollar phone card, you will have had many more conversations before throwing away those few extra minutes. With five dollar phone cards, you lose those extra minutes practically every time you make a phone call. It adds up.

Of course, I understand that - especially in this economy - many customers' weekly and even daily budgets are far more amenable to five dollar phone cards than larger amounts. For many people, five dollar calling cards are the only option. Therefore, you need to choose a brand that will stretch your $5 as far as it can possibly be stretched.

After carefully reviewing most of the leading brands, I've concluded that the five dollar calling card sold by Comfi Phone Cards is the best deal for you, because there is no other phone card that gives you as much time as Comfi does. For five dollars a piece, these phone cards give you much, much more time.

You won't have an easy time finding Comfi in the stores. Unfortunately, it's the scam brands that show up front and center at your neighborhood kiosk and shady corner stores that sell five dollar calling cards. However friendly and well intentioned these shop owners, they are mostly selling the brands that will keep you coming back to spend more money on five dollar calling cards, losing those valuable extra minutes every time.

But don't take my word for it. I'm not here to sell you anything, but rather just recommend the best products out there. I definitely encourage you, if you have the extra time and resources, to go out and buy five dollar phone cards from the other companies, and compare them to the amount of time you get when calling with a 5 dollar phone card from Comfi.

Now, if you want to buy 5 dollar international calling card to talk with your family abroad, the same can be said. Click here to buy a $5 Comfi card. If you're calling overseas or across the border then, like most phone cards, calling internationally is often actually cheaper than calling within the United States. Who knew? Of course, you'll have to check the rates of the country you are calling. Overall, however, while Comfi is the best deal for domestic calling, their worldwide call rates are are where this company truly shines. So click here now to buy an international calling card for five dollars

Click here.

Phone Card Scams Revealed, Congress to Act

Last month I wrote about the Senate Commerce Committee's inquiry into prepaid calling card scams by Elite Telecom and GEO Telecom.

Now the Wall Street Journal is reporting that congress may soon legislate against deceptive phone card practices.

Gus West, President of the Hispanic Institute, testified before the committee and found that small-time phone card fraud is pandemic in Hispanic communities:

Mr. West's organization has tested hundreds of calling cards sold in Latino-area convenience stores and found that, on average, they deliver about half of the minutes promised.

The prevalence of such scams might turn some people off of phone cards all together, driving a switch to alternative telephony technologies like Skype. But as I noted in my post about Skype vs Phone Cards for immigrant communities, oftentimes phone cards offer much better rates than Skype.

This makes it all the more important that people find the phone cards that deliver the full amount of minutes advertised. Congress enacting legislation to enforce good rates will further solidify calling cards as the number one choice for a large number of long distance callers.

Senate vs Calling Card Companies

If you've ever used phone cards, there's a good chance you've gotten ripped off at some point. All too often shady practices seem to be the rule, rather than the exception.

It looks like now the US Senate is taking a closer look at calling card company scams, in particular Elite Telecom and GEO Telecom:

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing to examine hidden charges and fees, unfair conditions and incomprehensible disclosures buried in the fine print of prepaid calling card terms. Examples include hang-up fees of 99 cents for calls that are not connected and off-peak calling times that last from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Has any of this happened to you before? And if so, what phone card were you using?