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Dial 9 For Scam

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 22, 2007

• Read More Scam Alerts ...

An old scam has made a reappearance in Canada, tricking businesses into turning over their phone lines to criminals, who use them to run up hundreds of dollars in bills. Security experts say it's just a matter of time before it makes a comeback appearance in the U.S.

Telus, the Canadian telephone company, reports business customers are getting automated phone calls telling them they have won a Caribbean vacation -- an appealing message to get in January. For more information, they are told to press 9 on their touch-tone phone.

Eventually the victim is prompted to also press "0" and then the "#" sign. The combination of 9, 0 and # transfers the incoming call to an outbound line on systems that require dialing "9" to get an outside line.

U.S. security experts say there are new safeguards in place since this scam last made an appearance, such as the requirement to enter a code to make a long distance call.

Residential and cell phone customers are not vulnerable.

More Scam Alerts ...

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