Telemarketer Spotlight: AIC Campaign’s Gift Card Scam

Have you been hounded by numerous calls from a telemarketer telling you that you’ve won a free gift card? You’re not alone! Today we’ll take a look at one of the big players in this scam: AIC Campaign, or at least a company using that name on caller ID.

AIC Campaign

The number that called us was from the 616 area code. Because of the nature of this website, we like to answer telemarketing calls here. In this case it was a woman speaking with a thick accent telling me that I had won a $200 Walmart gift card. I already knew this was a scam as we have covered numerous gift cards scams in the past (see list at the bottom of this article). We have received reports that they also offer Target and gas gift cards as well, sometimes multiple cards in the same phone call.

It was quite difficult to understand the telemarketer, but she did say my gift card was “absolutely free” and then moments later told me that I only had to pay $4.95 to ship the card to me. When I told her that she could just send me a $96 gift card and pay the $4 that way, she replied that they can’t do that. Of course I knew she would say that, but I wanted to see if I could rattle her.

At this point I was having fun with the call, keeping her on the line as long as possible and asking inane questions about the card such where I could use it or if they had any other gift cards I could “buy” from them.

When I called 616-980-2600 back to see who would answer, I received the following message:
“The number you have dialed is not in service or is having technical difficulties. Please try your call again later.”

There was something suspicious about this message. It didn’t sound like an “official” out of service recording to me, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a fake out of service message to stop angry callers. This is purely conjecture on my part.

Who is it?

It’s unclear if the company calling is actually AIC Campaign, or if they are spoofing the name, or even using an old number from a company by that name. We’re not certain if the name is real or not.

Multiple Calls

It seems that once this company gets your number, they will pound it until you answer. Some people have reported receiving a call every day for weeks. Others have reported numerous calls per day.

Bottom Line

Obviously there is no $200 gift card to be had for $4.95 shipping and gift card scams like these have surged in the past year. Do not fall for this and don’t give these people your credit card information.

Your Turn

Have you received a call from AIC Campaign? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.