As operators in Mexico we are forced to tell our customers from around the world that we are located in the United States, and if the customer insists on knowing we say we are in Texas. We are monitored by operators in Texas to insure compliance to this policy. Is this a normal procedure?

Some operators in our call center record the customer's private information for sale, and use the customer's credit cards for purchases. Is this common? Should it be reported? Please let me know. I feel guilty for telling lies.

Hi Daniel,
I think that the cases should be reported as soon as possible as it is expected both on human grounds and as well as for the industry. If you don’t report it then I guess you wont be able to keep your job for long because if once the reputation of your company go negative (and its a serious criminal offence), No one is going to give the work. And foremost these all things should not let go, as they are punishable, otherwise the future of outbound selling will diminish. Could you please tell me what certification (credit card) are you using?

This is a very worrying practice, and benefits no one. The minute people are forced to doubt your integrity, they will be forced to doubt your business (poor grammar but poetically more pleasing). The public are well aware of the trend towards overseas outsourcing, but providing the service is up to expectations, there should be no issue with this. I would rather have a competent call handler in India or Mexico than an incompetent one in the UK or US. If an operation is outsourced then it is almost certainly to deliver cost benefit to the business... if questioned on this, companies should be proud to tell their customers that they ryun an overseas operation delivering direct savings through the cost of their products and services - low operating costs = lower prices.
In your specifc case Daniel I would strongly advise reporting your employer to the US body responsible for regulating your industry, and then if you are able to look for an employer with an integrity to match your own - you are worth better treatment as it is the all operators that make or break our business.

In response to your queries, Mr. Smith:

The short-and-bitter answers:

1. Is this a normal procedure? No, actually, it's probably an element of a criminal conspiracy to engage in interstate telephone fraud.

2. Is selling private information and engaging in credit card fraud common? Yes. Is it legal? Sometimes yes (selling info), and never (credit fraud).

The more detailed answers:

"As operators in Mexico we are forced to tell our customers from around the world that we are located in the United States, and if the customer insists on knowing we say we are in Texas. We are monitored by operators in Texas to insure compliance to this policy. Is this a normal procedure?"

1. Assumptions: Given as I have yet to meet a Mexican citizen named Smith, I will assume that you are either (1) a U.S. citizen working in Mexico, (2) using a pseudonym on this board because you are afraid of criminal charges or being fired. As your operators are recording customers' private information and accessing their credit card numbers, I will assume that you are engaged in outbound sales into the U.S. market.

2. If your Texas-based operators are ensuring compliance with a policy of misrepresenting your location when making sales, they are definitely either engaged in a conspiracy to, or accessories to, violations of U.S. statutes. Bet on it. Offhand, you may be engaged in both Federal (phones are an instrumentality of interstate commerce) and State (state-by-state penal code) offences.

The parent company of your operation is probably also in violation of U.S. Federal statutes such as R.I.C.O. (the anti-racketeering law), and the various Federal statutes prohibiting 'laundering' the proceeds of crime. It is probably also in violation of some of the new penal provisions enacted in the 'PATRIOT' act. I am talking about **major** criminal liability here.

If you fail to report this *immediately*, **you** will be an accessory or conspirator. Bet on it. Just because you are doing it in Mexico does not establish that what you are doing is not a crime where the people you are selling to are.

On the assumption that you are a U.S. citizen and not Mexican, you and the other U.S. citizens working for this operation can expect *zero* protection against extradition to the U.S. by the Mexican authorities. Bank on it.

Retain an experienced, competent criminal attorney with a track record in handling international telephone fraud cases. Locate one by finding a good corporate securities lawyer to find one for you. Follow their advice to the letter. If you don't think you can pay for this (probably the case) call Legal Aid in your State of residence. They can probably negotiate a no-charges-and-witness-protection in return for evidence deal for you.

They will probably tell you to contact the respective Attorneys-General of every state into which you are aware that your company has sold products, but I cannot pre-judge the advice they will give. Keep in mind that some U.S. Attorneys-General are **much** more aggressive on such issues than others, be sure your attorney knows this.

3. Whether you are a U.S. or Mexican citizen (or of some other country entirely) you are probably violating Mexican law also. Mexican jails are not fun, by all accounts. Be sure your lawyer can handle U.S.-Mexico extradition issues.

4. Without going on at length, your company is probably civilly liable, in each and every state into which they have sold or attempted to sell, to class-action or individual suits on the basis of commercial fraud.

"Some operators in our call center record the customer's private information for sale, and use the customer's credit cards for purchases."

5. Assumptions: I will assume that "some" means "some but not all" and that management of your operation has not formally approved or disapproved of this practice. I will assume they are selling it personally, not on behalf of the company.

6. Recording "the customer's private information for sale" may or may not expose these individuals to civil or criminal liability, depending on what information is being recorded or sold. This liability, again, will be under U.S. Federal and (various) State statutes, as well as (possibly) Mexican law.

"Some operators in our call center...use the customer's credit cards for purchases"

7. Assumptions: I will assume the customers have not authorized these purchases.

8. Each such act is definitely both a Federal and State crime, probably a crime under Mexican law also. See all the above.

"I feel guilty for telling lies."

9. Legally speaking, your guilt is not established until a court of competent jurisdiction finds you guilty.

Morally speaking? Well, it depends on your moral code. See a priest, rabbi, mufti, guru, shaman or psychiatrist if you are having serious issues with it. I would suggest to you that at this point, you ought to be motivated by rational fear and not guilt. Worry about feeling guilty later; right now your concern should be staying out of jail.

Daniel,

"Why are operators forced to lie about their locations?" Good question. For somtimes good, and sometimes unreasonable motivations, companies that outsource offshore or near-shore are under the impression that their customers do not want to do business with a "foreigner". That's too bad, but often true. So, part of an SLA with a company may include an edict that your company cannot divulge their location, in order to avoid any perceived (or merely predicted) customer backlash.

Back in my old phone days, we were instructed never to divulge the location of our call center, but this was for safety reasons.

As far as the credit card and customer info fraud, to Wig's point, you need to walk away. Fast. And depending on whether you are up for it, the practice should be reported.

To All - as an slightly tangential aside, there are good and bad apples in every industry, as we all know. Outsourcing (presuming this is an outsource company) to the least expensive market, without looking into their business practices and quality control methods, will lead to this kind of 'black eye' for a company.

There are a couple of excellent outsource call center companies in Mexico, and hopefully the actions of this one in particular will not serve to continue a longstanding predjudice in the US against doing business in Mexico.

Brent

As a follow-up, there is a world of difference between refusing to say where you are located, and lying about it. It may be the difference between jail and no jail. It does not matter what the SLA says or requires-- if what it requires is illegal, and you do it, the SLA will be pretty irrefutable evidence **against** you.

I second every part of Brent's comment 'to All.' I would add, and I have said it on this forum in other contexts, that you need to investigate the backgrounds of the people you outsource business to, *especially* in other countries. Brent is right: *individuals* and not countries, should bear the consequences, good and bad, of their business reputations. There are honest and dishonest people in every country.

As an aside to any companies considering outsourcing, offshore, shady or unethical business practices: you should consider that such SLA contracts are going to be 100% unenforcible. If your offshore SLA counter-party does not perform, you will have no remedy. If you do not do what your offshore SLA counter-party asks, they can turn you in to your country's authorities with a single phone call, and probably get a no-charge deal for themselves.