Creditors who rely on using demand drafts to debit consumers' accounts may find it more difficult to get consumers to release their checking account numbers because of a telemarketer's recent account debiting scam.

The Federal Trade Commission has warned that fraudulent telemarketers and their cohorts are using a combination of lies and intimidation to get consumers' checking account numbers and then using demand drafts to debit their accounts without the consumers' express authorization.

"We're telling consumers to suspect fraud and hang up immediately if a telemarketer asks for the numbers on the bottom of their checks for 'identification' purposes or so that the telemarketer can deposit 'prize winnings' into their accounts," says Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. She also said that under the FTC's Partnership for Consumer Education, five companies that are among the largest in the automated payment systems industry will send millions of consumers tips from an FTC "tip sheet" on how to avoid becoming a victim of demand draft fraud. The automated payment systems industry consists of companies that take computerized information from marketers and actually create the demand drafts that the marketers can then present to the consumers' banks for payment. These companies, in most instances, also mail each account holder a confirmation notice stating the amount of the draft and the merchant's identity. The consumer tips will be included on these confirmation notices. The companies mail approximately 1.5 million letters every month.