Say Nothing
I consider myself to be something of a consumer advocate. I hate scams and rip-offs (who doesn't?), and I'm known for pointing them out when I find them. On that note, here's one that maybe isn't so new but until recently I had never heard of it.
The *72 phone scam has gotten some press over the past year or so, according to the research I did on it. My first encounter with it was a month or so ago, but I didn't realize it was a scam until this morning while reading a column by Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle.
About a month ago I was receiving something like six calls a night from "Harris County Jail" (according to my caller ID). These were all collect calls, and as such I simply hung up. My wife and I speculated on who might be calling, and since all of our friends and family were accounted for we decided that some hapless soul had dialed a wrong number.
But as the nights went on and the calls continued, I finally decided to suck up the three bucks or whatever it was going to cost me and answer the phone.
"Hello?" I said as the exchange connected.
A young man's voice answered with something like, "Hi."
"Hey man, I think you have a wrong number. You call here a lot and I wanted you to know that there isn't anyone here who knows you."
"No," he said.
No? "I'm sorry, but you have a wrong number."
"I'm having a hard time hearing you, sir," he said, rather politely.
I have had trouble with the headset I use on my cordless phone in the past, so I unplugged it and said, "Is that better? You have a wrong number."
"No."
No? "Yeah, you do."
"I still can't hear you sir."
"I'm sorry, but please don't call back." I hung up.
Immediately the phone rang again, "Harris County Jail." I answered and hung up. The phone rang again and again I answered and hung up. And again, and again and again. Finally, after ten or fifteen tries the guy finally gave up for the night.
Over the next couple of days, though, I got more phone calls. It took nearly a week for the calls to stop all together.
Now that's annoying, and I admit that I contemplated reporting this to the police or something. Past experience tells me, though, that this is a pretty low priority for them and that I'd basically be on my own anyway. So I opted to ride it out. And it seemed to pay off.
This morning, while chatting with a friend on Yahoo IM, we got to talking about a phone scam that he fell victim to (more on that in a moment). He also pointed out the article by Ken Hoffman. I read it, and after hearing about "the best pizza in Houston" I came to a small little addendum that talked about the *72 scam.
What I've deduced is this: this guy was going to keep claiming he couldn't hear me until I punched *72, possibly under the guise of "switching lines" for a better signal. At that point, my phone would be forwarded to him and he could apparently intercept all of my calls, maybe even make a few on my number.
The point is, it was a scam and I "sort of" fell for it. But now, wonderful reader, you don't have to.
Now, if you already HAVE fallen for it, Ken Hoffman offers the solution... hit *73. This will turn off call forwarding and return your phone to normal operation. You'll have to call the phone company to make sure there are no outrageous charges on your number, though.
So, with that scam averted... here's another one.
My friend, Bob, recently got a charge of about $25 on his phone bill from a company calling itself "iLab."
A quick search produced some interesting results. Apparently this company is being sued by several people, and is tied to yet another company, eChurch, which is currently under investigation by the BBB. In an article on the BBB web site, the details of the scam are given as follows:
The *72 phone scam has gotten some press over the past year or so, according to the research I did on it. My first encounter with it was a month or so ago, but I didn't realize it was a scam until this morning while reading a column by Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle.
About a month ago I was receiving something like six calls a night from "Harris County Jail" (according to my caller ID). These were all collect calls, and as such I simply hung up. My wife and I speculated on who might be calling, and since all of our friends and family were accounted for we decided that some hapless soul had dialed a wrong number.
But as the nights went on and the calls continued, I finally decided to suck up the three bucks or whatever it was going to cost me and answer the phone.
"Hello?" I said as the exchange connected.
A young man's voice answered with something like, "Hi."
"Hey man, I think you have a wrong number. You call here a lot and I wanted you to know that there isn't anyone here who knows you."
"No," he said.
No? "I'm sorry, but you have a wrong number."
"I'm having a hard time hearing you, sir," he said, rather politely.
I have had trouble with the headset I use on my cordless phone in the past, so I unplugged it and said, "Is that better? You have a wrong number."
"No."
No? "Yeah, you do."
"I still can't hear you sir."
"I'm sorry, but please don't call back." I hung up.
Immediately the phone rang again, "Harris County Jail." I answered and hung up. The phone rang again and again I answered and hung up. And again, and again and again. Finally, after ten or fifteen tries the guy finally gave up for the night.
Over the next couple of days, though, I got more phone calls. It took nearly a week for the calls to stop all together.
Now that's annoying, and I admit that I contemplated reporting this to the police or something. Past experience tells me, though, that this is a pretty low priority for them and that I'd basically be on my own anyway. So I opted to ride it out. And it seemed to pay off.
This morning, while chatting with a friend on Yahoo IM, we got to talking about a phone scam that he fell victim to (more on that in a moment). He also pointed out the article by Ken Hoffman. I read it, and after hearing about "the best pizza in Houston" I came to a small little addendum that talked about the *72 scam.
What I've deduced is this: this guy was going to keep claiming he couldn't hear me until I punched *72, possibly under the guise of "switching lines" for a better signal. At that point, my phone would be forwarded to him and he could apparently intercept all of my calls, maybe even make a few on my number.
The point is, it was a scam and I "sort of" fell for it. But now, wonderful reader, you don't have to.
Now, if you already HAVE fallen for it, Ken Hoffman offers the solution... hit *73. This will turn off call forwarding and return your phone to normal operation. You'll have to call the phone company to make sure there are no outrageous charges on your number, though.
So, with that scam averted... here's another one.
My friend, Bob, recently got a charge of about $25 on his phone bill from a company calling itself "iLab."
A quick search produced some interesting results. Apparently this company is being sued by several people, and is tied to yet another company, eChurch, which is currently under investigation by the BBB. In an article on the BBB web site, the details of the scam are given as follows:
- Someone calls, usually from "Verizon" for their home service, and has you "verify or update your information." Instead of the usual phishing scam, this company uses the time-honored method of misdirection. They have you answer questions with the word "Yes."
- Your conversation is recorded, along with your answers, the spelling of your name, etc. The questions are then EDITED OUT, and a new question is put in its place. And voila! You've just agreed to pay a large fee for a service you've never heard of.
- In addition, these people tend to talk to employees of a company and make offers of some product and/or service. When the employee says they aren't interested, a charge still appears on the customer's phone bill and the employee is cited as having authorized it.
- Now here's the fun part... when you call to contest the charges the company claims that you or an employee agreed to the service and they have it on tape. If they do actually have a recording, they play back for you. And there you are, plain as day, agreeing to the charges and even spelling your name.
The ol' bait and switch. Oldest con in the book.
The advice of the BBB? Just hang up on telemarketers. Don't bother being polite, it might just get recorded and used against you. Just say nothing and hang up.
I used to feel guilty about that kind of thing. I even knew a few telemarketers who complained that they were "just doing a job." But the fact is that you can't be sure you aren't going to be manipulated, and in scams like this it's better to say nothing at all.
So be forewarned and forearmed. Don't fall for their game. If your phone company really wants you to update your information they'll send a letter. A good practice is always to ignore any calls that come from a number you don't recognize.
J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine and a Writer/Producer for his production company, Hat Digital Media. He says it best when he says nothing at all.
The advice of the BBB? Just hang up on telemarketers. Don't bother being polite, it might just get recorded and used against you. Just say nothing and hang up.
I used to feel guilty about that kind of thing. I even knew a few telemarketers who complained that they were "just doing a job." But the fact is that you can't be sure you aren't going to be manipulated, and in scams like this it's better to say nothing at all.
So be forewarned and forearmed. Don't fall for their game. If your phone company really wants you to update your information they'll send a letter. A good practice is always to ignore any calls that come from a number you don't recognize.
J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine and a Writer/Producer for his production company, Hat Digital Media. He says it best when he says nothing at all.
posted by Unknown @ 5:35 AM
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