Hello, I Have Urgent News About Your Extended Vehicle Warranty...

We’ve all gotten the call, usually at the worst time, from someone with a local number that we don’t recognize but feel like we should answer anyway. And they want to sell us an extended vehicle warranty, often for a car we don’t even own.According to Consumer Affairs, the FTC logged nearly 35,000 complaints from September 2022 to September 2023 related to calls about warranties or protection plans. That makes these calls the fifth most common complaint from consumers who were registered on the Do Not Call list.

Scammers pretending to be warranty companies fall under a category of fraud called imposter fraud. It is the most frequently reported type of fraud in the U.S. The FTC logged 605,428 imposter fraud reports in the first nine months of 2023, resulting in nearly $1.97 billion in losses.

While these phone calls are often a scam, warranties themselves are not. How can you identify a scam, and how do you buy a warranty safely?

The Scam

While the phone calls are the most intrusive, warranty scammers can also reach out by text, email, or mail. They often use “hard sell” techniques to persuade us to share personal information, which they can then use for further fraud and scams.

How can you tell it’s a scam?

• Legitimate warranty companies almost never make cold calls, but if they do, they will identify who they are and where they are calling from.
• Scammers will often try to pressure you with urgent warnings, using phrases like “Final Warranty Notice” or “Notice of Interruption”.
• Legitimate warranty companies will not use robocalls. You can often identify a robocall if there is a long pause after you say “hello”.

What can you do?

• If you get a phone call that fits the above criteria, you can block and report it as spam on most smartphones.
• If you receive a pitch by text or email, it is less urgent than a call and you can take time to research the company and the offer to determine legitimacy. If it is an offer that doesn’t identify an agent or a company, it should not be trusted.
• Even if the call sounds legit, don’t give personal information to the caller over the phone. If you are in the market for a warranty, ask for the name of the company and research them through the Better Business Bureau or your state’s consumer protection office. If you are satisfied with what you find, go to the company’s website and request information there.

Around 37% of vehicle owners have extended warranty coverage. It can protect owners from unexpected, expensive repairs, especially on older vehicles that have outlived their manufacturer warranty coverage. While warranties can provide a sense of security, it is important to take measures to buy from sources you can trust.