Vile things bosses say about those they prey on
DATA bosses described how t hey target v ul nerable pensioners as ‘the hottest leads’ in secretly recorded meetings with Daily Mail reporters posing as representatives of a cold-calling firm.
They spoke openly of exploiting the recently bereaved and people who had lost their homes or taken out payday loans after falling on hard times.
‘There can be no hotter data,’ one said. ‘They’re vulnerable’.
Meanwhile, homeowners who dare complain when they are harassed by cold callers were ridiculed as ‘screamers’.
The comments were made by data bosses from various firms in meetings with undercover reporters from the Mail. Here are some examples.
BUSINESSMAN WHO PREYS ON THE POOR
Vidya Mishra, 44, runs data firm Prospect 360 out of his £600,000 f amily home i n Surrey. He claims it receives personal data from banks when people forget to tick the third party marketing box.
I nformation about s mall businesses is collated by coldcalling receptionists and asking f or personal details about their bosses.
Data sold by Prospect 360 is understood to have ended up in the hands of fraudsters. On payday loan customers ‘There can be no hotter data. I can’t ask for anybody more on a cold call than anybody who is in need of a payday loan. Undoubtedly, right? They’re vulnerable.’ On will writing ‘If you are targeting people over the age of 50, the likelihood is in the very near future they are going to suffer from bereavement – because their aunt Flo or their parents are going to die.
‘And they’re going to have to start thinking about it. And it just needs to get their mind ticking. Suddenly they receive a call from you and that’s what prompts them.
‘We go for families with young children because your world changes when you have children and everybody goes a bit soft.
‘And they say, I want to give the best to my children. I want to make sure that they’re safe.
So if I die tomorrow ... dah dah dah. That, for us, is an excellent profile.’ On targeting the poor for dental treatments ‘Why is it that people from a l ower socio- economic background have really poor teeth? Whereas more affluent areas, more educated people, more educated people’s kids have better teeth?
‘You see programmes on the TV all the time of kids who have got rotten teeth because they eat too many sweets and don’t brush their teeth and stuff. Yet, for more affluent families, our kids don’t have fillings or anything like this.’ On nicknames ‘Before they become a prospect, we call them suspects. A prospect is somebody who is likely to buy your product or service. Before you’ve even contacted them, this is a suspect.’ On financial data ‘You filled in that form innocently but you haven’t ticked the box at the bottom. It’s fair game.’
BOSS WHO SEEKS OUT THOSE IN DEBT
David Billington, 50, r uns Targeted Response Direct Ltd, which sells personal details filled in by those who have applied online for payday and unsecured loans but been rejected. On people about to lose their homes ‘We had a great data set. It was people who were basically being forced out, who were facing repossession. We got it through our direct contact, it was a source from the court. We were selling this data for about £4 or £5 a lead.’ On exploiting those in debt ‘If you can find somebody and get them into an IVA [individual voluntary agreement] or a debt management plan, then there’s money in it. And once they’re out of the doo- doo, there’s always the opportunity to offer them a loan again.’
BROKER TARGETS COLD CALL VICTIMS
One of B2C Data’s regular clients is Data Bubble – a broker which is believed to have sold on data to fraudsters.
The firm, run from a mobile home, compiles personal data from a variety of firms like B2C and then creates customised lists of targets for cold callers – including those who have opted out of receiving cold calls by registering with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).
Its director Joanne Clayton, 46, recommends that clients should not tell the people they call how much they know about them. On cold-calling those who have opted out ‘You can get some people that are registered TPS that scream really. You get a lot of screamers. I would suggest on the calling script that you don’t turn round and go “Hi there Mrs Jones, I understand that you’ve got three kids and you’ve got a pension, how can I help?” Because otherwise that will scare Mrs Jones.’
FIRM WHO CLAIM ‘WE’RE GOOD GUYS’
The bosses of The Data Partnership claim they are the ‘good guys’ in ‘an industry rife with cowboys’. But John and Victoria Pooley’s firm i s cold- calling hundreds of thousands of people each month.
Their calls are not screened against the telephone preference