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 Be on alert for telephone scams By Gene Friedman A recent article in “On the Safe Side” addressed the widespread problem of Internet fraud and scams. Telephone scams are equally extensive and pose similar financial risks to the victim. This crime has affected a number of residents. Among the many Savannah telephone scams and frauds is the call forwarding scam. One version of this rip-off involves a criminal who calls telephone customers and identifies himself as a phone company service technician. He tells the person answering the call that he needs their assistance to test the telephone lines. In order to complete the test, the customer is asked to press a two-digit code preceded or followed by a nine, zero and pound sign, and then hang up. However, if the customer does this, his or her phone line will forward to the criminal’s number. This gives the criminal control over the customer’s line, enabling him to make long-distance calls charged to the victim’s phone bill. In a similar vein, callers may receive an automated message stating that a prize or money has been won. The recipient is directed to dial a two-digit code preceded or followed by an asterisk or pound sign, followed by an 800 number, in order to claim the prize. When the person dials the number, the telephone is programmed to forward calls to a long-distance operator. Criminals then can place long-distance calls, which are billed to the victim. The defense against this type of fraud is to simply hang up if you get any calls such as these. Whether the calls are received on an answering machine or in person, do not place the return call. Legitimate contest and sweepstakes companies do not contact winners in this manner. Also, learn the numbers for call forwarding from the company providing phone service. This will ensure that you do not fall victim to such scams. Another scheme to defraud telephone customers is the calling-card scam. In this crime, someone may call posing as a telephone company representative. They will claim that there are unauthorized charges on the customer’s account and that they need the calling-card number to verify this billing. A variation on this scam involves the “telephone company representative” stating that the calling card was erroneously deactivated. The customer then is asked to confirm the number so that it can be reinstated in the system. Once the criminal has the card number, he can make calls anywhere in the world at the victim’s expense. To prevent this crime, never give a calling-card number to anyone over the phone unless you initiate an operator-assisted call. For more tips on ways to protect yourself from telephone scams, visit the AT&T consumer tips Web site at www.consumer.att.com/consumertips/forward.html. Sources: Sgt. Joy Gellatly, Savannah-Chatham Alert Network and AT&T Friedman is director of college security at SCAD. |
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