OKLAHOMA CITY – Lance West is an award-winning anchor and reporter for News Channel 4.
He’s also one of the funniest guys in our newsroom.
He says what arrived in the mail recently was no laughing matter.
“They were trying to target a man with Alzheimer’s,” Lance said.
His dad passed away a year ago.
The postcard is from a company out of Florida, DMC Services.
They’re supposedly trying to deliver Lance and his dad an important package.
There’s even a tracking number.
We had Lance call the number on the card.
A lady identifying herself as a “dispatcher” asked for a tracking number, then told Lance he was receiving “a complimentary large bottle of Tide laundry detergent.”
There’s always a catch.
We know DMC Services is a lead generation service for companies that want to sell you something. In this case, it’s a local company selling an expensive water purification system.
The Better Business Bureau put out a warning about DMC’s marketing and advertising practices.
Kitt Letcher, President and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma says marketing companies will pay top dollar for your personal information.
“Think about when you go to the fair and they have a car that you can enter a drawing,” she said. “That is the easiest way for your information to get out to marketing companies. Your name is now on a list and you have given them the right to contact you and solicit you.”
We wanted to talk to someone in charge at DMC Services.
In Your Corner reporter Scott Hines asked the “dispatcher” if she thought her pitch was deceiving. She didn’t answer the question and instead said, “I’m going to disconnect the call and let you talk to the owner.”
No one from DMC ever called us back.
If something sounds sketchy, there’s a good chance it’s a gimmick.
If you receive on of these postcards, we recommend either ripping it up or contacting the company demanding they remove you from their mailing list.
