Annoyance phone calls

[DoryGray]

I've been getting a bunch of 999 area code harassing phone calls at 10 pm. I called HI telcom & they gave me this security number to report it to. It's 943-7111 & they blocked the calls. The operator said there is a rash of those calls in Hawaii right now.

[PaulW]

Thanks for the info. What do they say?

[DTisme]

For last couple of weeks, I've been getting calls from various #s every night around 9pm. (One of the #s was 123-456-7890). I usually answer and there's silence then a hang up. If I dont' answer, my stupid machine picks up and then I get a beep that there's a message until I erase it, so it's easier to ansser. Last week, someone finally came on the line. It was an Indian-sounding woman who said she was from "Megabyte Corporation" calling about my computer, so I laughed and said, "SERIOUSLY?" and she hung up. I googled Megabyte Corporation. What the scam does apparently is this: they tell you they've "detected malware being sent from your computer." They then get you to sit down at your computer, talk you to the point of getting your IP address, then remotely go onto your drive. (If you've ever had a tech do this, it's sorta creepy, watching them move around your screen). Then they say, oh yes, your computer is the source of the malware and ask for like $200 (or 200 pounds in Britain) to fix the "problem," then after getting credit card, they move around the screen making it look like they're doing stuff. Sometimes apparently they say "Microsoft Corporation."

The other night they called again and I tried using an "old lady voice" thinking now that I knew what it was, I was going to screw with them. (I had no idea how - I just wanted to play old lady.) Sure enough, a person came on after "the old lady" said hello. Again, Indian voice, "Megabyte Corporation," "we're calling about your computer." I say (in old lady voice), "Oh, I don't have a computer." She says, "Is there a laptop there?" "No, nothing like that." Then she said thanks, sorry for bothering you, and hung up. So bummer! I was all set to have a long conversation about "this terrible mal - what is it, dear?"

Apparently it's hitting Hawaii as lots of folks from Hawaii posted here and there about it in last few weeks. (You can also find this stuff by googling the phone # that called you. Sites like http://whocallsme.com/ have lots of interesting entries)

An old coworker of mine has fun with it. He pours himself a glass of wine and says whatever comes into his head. Once, he was told he had won a contest. "Oh! Wonderful! I'd LOVE (whatever it was they said he'd won.) How do I get it?" They told him he'd have to pay a fee, then go to an address in SF to claim his prize. He says, "Oh, no. I can't go to that building. That's the one that was on fire." "No, sir, there hasn't been a fire there." "Oh yes there has. A terrible fire. Just terrible. I can't go to a building that had a fire. I have terrible allergies to smoke." He says it's a riot how long they'll deal with you when they think you're vulnerable. Another time, he was told he'd won a vacation or something. He says, "That would be nice, but what I need is a vacuum cleaner. Do you have a vacuum cleaner?" They say no, they have this vacation he's won, and he gives them a long drawn out story about his broken vacuum cleaner. He tells me he can't believe the crap he can make up on the spot and the more wine he has, the sillier and longer his story gets. He says the longer they stay on the phone with you, the less likely they'll hang up. He used to come into work giggling about calls he got the night before.

Anyway, MY New Year's Resolution is to screw with them. Hey - maybe I'll get a new vacuum cleaner out of it!

(edited to make more sense)

[Bob Orts]

Another version of this is they call and about 1 minute and 45 seconds into the call, you are informed that if the call goes beyond 2 minutes, you will be billed $X per minute for the call. If you don‘t immediately hang up, they bill your phone number for some ridiculous amount. However, you can contact the phone company and put a block on all third party billing. If you do not buy services that bill your phone, there is no reason not to have that block on your number. You won’t have to worry about third party billing or cramming of your telephone bill.

[PaulW]

Is that true, Bob? How can someone who calls you charge you for the call? Seems highly unlikely.

I've heard about these malware calls, haven't had the pleasure myself. I guess the best response is just to say you don't own a computer. Or just say "Hold on, someone at the door" and see how long they'll wait before hanging up.

[dmbwest]

Agreed again Paul ...

Bob, how to determine if actual human picked up vs. dog nosing the phone off the hook or even @ 2:01 long answering machine message ?

aloha,
pog

[Rumi in Hawaii]

Ooooh, DTisme, I was rolling on the floor.... thanks for giving me my New Year's resolution, one that I will be able to actually keep!!

Again, thanks for the guffaws this morning!!

Still laughing here....


Wherever you go, there you are.

[Bob Orts]

quote:

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Originally posted by PaulW

Is that true, Bob? How can someone who calls you charge you for the call? Seems highly unlikely.

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It’s called Third Party Billing and it’s not limited to only services initiated over the telephone. Technically, a restaurant can offer you the option of paying the check by charging your telephone bill, or paying your groceries by billing your telephone.

It is not common practice any longer because fraud, deceptive billing, and time based transactions now accounts for 95% of all third parties billing. To the legitimate business, billing third party on a phone number is risky and is no longer as common as it was many years ago.

You may have heard about this through the more common known terminology of “Cramming” Cramming is the practice of sticking charges on a phone bill that are illegal or fraudulent. Cramming is still so successful because the law makes it difficult to prosecute, even more difficult for a telephone company to refuse, and still harder for the average consumer to notice these false charges. It’s estimated that as many a 5,000,000 cramming incidents occur each month.

Why this is such a problem, and, as we see here unknown to many, is the charges are no longer just $25 a minute for calls to some sex line, or $15 for custome voice mail message recording, they now have become sophisticated hidden charges such as “Line Access Surcharge $0.75” or you may see “Long Distance Wire Recovery –annual- $0.50”. A $25 dollar added charge to your bill will draw your attention, but a fifty cents charge on your bill may go unnoticed. Times that by 5,000,000 with half paying and not disputing it, that company just crammed and was paid over one million dollars that month for nothing but sending a computer disc to the phone company.

The good news is the FCC has moved to require that all third party billing must now be identified as such with a notice that it is a third party billing and not regular telephone billing charges.

quote:

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Originally posted by pog

Bob, how to determine if actual human picked up vs. dog nosing the phone off the hook or even @ 2:01 long answering machine message ?

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So long as it goes over the 2 minute mark required by law before billing can occur, it doesn’t matter if you were on the phone, your dog, the answering machine, or anything else. It’s based only on the actual length of the call from when it picked up to disconnect.

However nobody has anything to worry about if they have a third party billing block on their phone numbers.

[PaulW]

Thanks for the info Bob.

[DoryGray]

The calls I got would hang up when answered in person or answering machine. I think it was a computer checking to see if it is a valid (person answering) phone number & then the annoyance calls come. It is entertaining to play w/ them, I used to do that w/ Craig's list phishing scams. I have an alias email address I use just for that stuff.