HOUSTON – Would you like a free backup generator for your home? Sounds like a great deal, right? Or is it really though?
That’s the question Jennifer Turner asked when she asked the Click 2 Houston Help Desk to investigate these random signs popping up in her Northeast Houston neighborhood.
The signs were placed at stop signs and traffic lights in busy areas.
They encourage people to call a local 832 phone number to see if they qualify for a free generator, which is provided through a government-funded program.
Gage Goulding: “When you see that, does that look legit?”
Jennifer Turner: “No. It looks like a scam.”
Gage Goulding: “What makes you say that?”
Jennifer Turner: “Government funded and is on a side is on the corner. That’s not how the government works. Honey, you got to sign over a kidney. They not give you nothing until you fill out their paperwork.”
We spotted a few of the signs throughout Jennifer’s Northeast Houston neighborhood.
She told KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding that there were more of them last week, but she wouldn’t dare call or text the number on the sign.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “I’m not giving them access to me. None. Zero, nada. It’s a scam.”
Turner reached out to the Click2Houston Help Desk to find out if the signs are legit or possibly a scam.
“Because they’re going to take advantage of some very vulnerable people in my neighborhood,” Turner said.
After riding around and spotting the signs with Turner, we called and texted the number on the sign.
“[Your call] Has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system. At the tone, please record your message. When you finished recording, you may hang up,” said an automated voice on the other end of the line.
No one answered.
Actually, the phone didn’t even ring. It went straight to voicemail.
No, not a company voicemail. Just a generic old voicemail box for you to divulge your personal information.
Gage Goulding: “That doesn’t seem legit, does it?”
Jennifer Turner: “No. You never talk to a human. That’s not a company. No, I did not expect that. I have to admit I did not expect that.”
We didn’t get a text back, either. No one responded to our communications to see if we qualify for a free backup generator.
“If it’s too good to be true, it’s not true,” Turner said. “No one is giving away anything for nothing, particularly not the government.”
Gage Goulding: “So, what do you think? Based off what we’ve learned today, what we saw, scam or no scam?”
Jennifer Turner: “Definitely a scam.”
