Sedona AZ (June 25, 2013) – Better Business Bureau Serving Central, Northern, and Western Arizona (BBB) continues to hear from local residents about deceptive calls offering free medical alert systems. BBB warns the automated phone calls have made their way across the country from entities using several names such as “Medical Emergency,” “Medical Alert Company,” and “Medical Alert Systems.”

In one scenario, a consumer was told an individual she knew had anonymously paid for all the equipment upfront, so it would only cost her $90 to activate and $35 a month for the monitoring service. The “company” did not disclose who paid for the equipment, leaving the consumer feeling vulnerable to high pressure sales tactics since “someone she knew” had paid for it.

“The calls appear to target senior citizens, but we are also warning caregivers and those with aging family members to talk about this scam,” said Mary Hawkes, Director of the Yavapai County BBB. “In fact, BBB offers free presentations to community groups about scams that target seniors-and how to recognize and avoid them.”

Local consumers report being inundated with these phone calls, some as many as ten times within a two week period. BBB strongly advises consumers not to provide any personal information to these callers and immediately hang up the phone.

To stay up-to-date on the latest scams affecting the marketplace, visit BBB’s Scam Stopper Resource Center at bbb.org/scamstopper.

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