try this again..telephone scam

[buckeyemomma]

A friend emailed this to me and I am passing it to you.

I would like to share this with you. PLEASE PASS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW

I received a telephone call last evening from an individual identifying himself as an AT&T Service technician who was conducting a test on
telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test I
should touch nine(9),zero(0),the pound sign (#), and then hang up.

Luckily, I was suspicious and refused. Upon contacting the telephone company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you give the requesting
individual full access to your telephone line, which enables them to place long distance calls billed to your home phone number.

I was further informed that this scam has been originating from many local jails/prisons. I have
also verified this information with UCB Telecom, Pacific Bell, MCI, Bell Atlantic and GTE. Please beware. DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE. The GTE Security Department requested that I share this information with EVERYONE I KNOW. PLEASE pass this on to everyone YOU know. If you have mailing lists and/or newsletters from organizations you are connected with, I encourage you to pass on this information to them, too. After checking with Verizon they said it was true so do not dial (9),zero(0), the pound sign # and hang up for anyone.


Hope this saves someone some money.

[jsalba]

Thanks for the heads-up on this. Much appreciated.


On a side-note, I would like to say that I hope THIS thread doesn't turn into a combat zone or the makings of one... as the other one with this same topic began to look that way. Polite discussion and disagreement is most welcome at anytime in my eyes... but when it comes to heckling and throwing punches... the ability to maturely discuss things has ended. So.. let's try to be a bit more sensitive here. ok?

Great topic, btw. Thanks.

[HappiestGirl]

THANKS FOR THE INFO.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS FRAID CAN ONLY BE PERPETRATED ON CERTAIN PHONES?

NEVER GIVE YOUR INFO OUT TO ANYONE ANYWAY.

[HappiestGirl]

I MEAN FRAUD

[geepie1961]

I've heard about this before but I appreciate the info as a reminder, thank you.

[miriama59]

Where did the other thread go????? Man, I hate that when I am too busy to read a thread and then I go to check it out and it's gone.... Sigh.

And no, I am not starting trouble I just feel like I missed something

[Mouse7088]

You know what I'd like to know? How do the persons pulling this sort of scam come to know that this will work? Kinda scary. Beffie mentioned in the other thread to always question anyone who says they work for such and such company, ask for an ID or ID # and never giver personal info out, suggest that YOU will call them back. I admit, I have only done this when it comes to giving my SS# or bank #'s, but like yesterday...a guy came to the door saying he was working for the City and putting in the water lines..I had of course the darn lines sitting in my yard for the past week, but I never even gave it a second thought that he DIDN'T work for the City. I have to say it wasn't really a question for me since there was an entire crew of his out there, but if he would have come to the door w/o anyone out there, I don't think I would have thought anything strange about it..now that's just stupidity on my part.
Buckeyemomma, I think your post was helpful, but I think it's helped me more by making me realize how unaware I have been in many situations. I vow to do much better, even if it makes me look overly paranoid..lol. Thanks doll

[CJWest]

Here's what ScamBusters has to say about this one:

Strangely enough this story does have some truth to it. BUT it only works on telephones where you have to dial 9 to get an outside line AND the system allows you to make a long distance call once you've gotten that outside line. A lot of companies are limited to local calls only. And as one of our readers commented: "Not only do you need to have the '9 for outside line' and the call facility, but for large companies which have their own internal exchanges, a lot of the more modern switching gear will not allow this to be done."

So of course, be careful, but realize you're not as much in danger as you think(at least not from this! )

Anytime you get a forwarded e-mail warning you of scams, viruses, etc. or ANYTHING that says you will receive money or incentives if you forward it to everyone you know, please check out an informational website such as [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] before you forward it along. The e-mail server you save may be your own!