BridgeportHeather Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Guys, I just got this in my email today and you all gotta hear about this...SCARY!!! __________________________ > 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. > > After checking with Verizon they said it was true, so do not dial > (9),zero(0), the pound sign # and hang up for anyone. > > PLEASE PASS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW > ____________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Why in the hell could that even be an option? You'd think there wouldn't be a way to do that to someone, especially something that is so easy like just pressing 9,0,#. f***ing phone companies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerCaseRepublican Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Methinks I smell an urban legend....wait wait......I do smell an urban legend. http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/90pound.html "Only users of certain types of telephone switching equipment (PBXs to be exact) are vulnerable to this scam. Furthermore, only users of improperly configured PBXs are vulnerable. " ....and come on, if somebody who can be effected by it (in the rare portion of the population) and actually dials that so the guy can make unlimited phone calls....the dumbass deserves the high phone bill for being a f***ing moron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Methinks I smell an urban legend....wait wait......I do smell an urban legend. http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/90pound.html "Only users of certain types of telephone switching equipment (PBXs to be exact) are vulnerable to this scam. Furthermore, only users of improperly configured PBXs are vulnerable. " ....and come on, if somebody who can be effected by it (in the rare portion of the population) and actually dials that so the guy can make unlimited phone calls....the dumbass deserves the high phone bill for being a f***ing moron. Not to be disagreeable but this scam is partially based in truth. PBX systems are in use in a number of businesses; I remember we used a form of one at Target. I am no expert but our college dormitory system requires us to to dial '9' to reach an outside line which is common to most PBX systems. Therefore there is a chance, however small, that we are vulnerable to this at school. Hopefully our resepctives universities would have sealed this vulnerability by now seeing as it has been around for a number of years. I don't even know if people even attempt this scam anymore, but that's just some (slightly) technical background. Perhaps a phone expert could give some more information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerCaseRepublican Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Not to be disagreeable but this scam is partially based in truth. PBX systems are in use in a number of businesses; I remember we used a form of one at Target. I am no expert but our college dormitory system requires us to to dial '9' to reach an outside line which is common to most PBX systems. Therefore there is a chance, however small, that we are vulnerable to this at school. Hopefully our resepctives universities would have sealed this vulnerability by now seeing as it has been around for a number of years. I don't even know if people even attempt this scam anymore, but that's just some (slightly) technical background. Perhaps a phone expert could give some more information. Well, the PBX systems would have to be installed incorrectly firstly and secondly, if you are that f***ing retarded to dial it when a person asks, then you f***ing deserve the huge phone bill result. For the most part this is an overly publicized urban legend since it only effects such a small part of the population. And seriously, again, if you are f***ing stupid enough to fall for it then you deserve the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Section 113 Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 I also was part of a scam when I was in college. Someone called my phone and identified themselves as Bill from the physical plant. They said that they were having a number of serious problems with the electricity in the dorms. they then asked me to check to see if my refridgerator was running. When I told them that it was, they laughed and told me to catch it before it gets away. Consequences of this scam are annoyance and later realization that that was actually pretty funny. Heather, maybe you can do this when you are board at ISU. I did it a couple times while I was a WIU Leatherneck, and it was fun as hell. Just a suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Section 113 Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Although you may want to use another name than Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Thats pretty good Sec. As far as that whole phone scam, I can't believe that hitting #90 would do anything. Thats something anyone could hit on accident. Maybe it works if your both using the same system at the same school or something, but I don't got to worry about that. If your worried about a scam, be aware if people call you claiming they are from a major company and that you have an overdue bill and they ask you for your credit card number. This happened to me once, but the idiots called at like 3 am so I knew it wasn't some company. Plus, you never give you credit card number out over the phone, unless you call the person/store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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