|
This is similar to the 900/809 scam. The victim receives an unsolicited junk fax with the option to be removed from the fax list by simply calling a phone number. By placing this call (either a voice call or fax) the junk fax claims the victim will be removed from the junk fax mailing list.
In reality, however, the when the victim makes the call, it is routed through an international system, often through Grenada or other Caribbean locales, and the call will be charged to the victim, much like a standard 900 number call--usually $25 - $30. In some cases, the number dialed is the pay per call number, but in other cases the call is routed to another number without being detected by the victim making the call.
The charges, of course, are not announced and the victim doesn't learn of the cost until the next phone bill is received. (The victim, not the phone company, is responsible for the charges.)
If you receive such a fax and feel the need to respond, only do so by calling collect. In most cases involving this fraud, an automated system will let the operator handling the call know that the number is not equipped to accept collect calls. That is, an actual human will not answer the phone and refuse to accept the charges.
A similar scam occurs with the fraudster sending E-mail spam, rather than junk faxes.
At Loss Prevention Concepts, Ltd. we recommend that the best response to all unsolicited communications, fax, E-mail, and caller id-blocked voice communications, is no response whatsoever--except perhaps to send a copy of any suspicious communications to the appropriate law enforcement authority. In the U.S. this is usually the State Attorney General's Office or a State Consumer Protection Agency. In most other countries, similar agencies will be interested in such correspondence.
______________________________
|
|
