OT) History of phone scams

[Guest guest]

#-9-0 . Phone Scam

 

 

Claim: Pressing #-9-0 on your telephone will allow scammers to make

long-distance calls and charge them to your phone bill.

 

Status: Multiple — see below.

 

Examples:

 

[Collected on the Internet, 1998]

 

**HIGH PRIORITY**

 

On Saturday, 24 January 1998, Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base, New

Orleans' Quarterdeck received a telephone call from an individual identifying

himself as an AT & T Service Technician that was running a test on our telephone

lines. He stated that to complete the test the QMOW should touch nine (9), zero

(0), pound sign (#) and hang up. Luckily, the QMOW was suspicious and refused.

Upon contacting the telephone company we were informed that by using 90# you end

up giving the individual that called you access to your telephone line and

allows them to place a long distance telephone call, with the charge appearing

on your telephone. We were further informed that this scam has been originating

from many of the local jails/prisons. Please " pass the word. "

 

 

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[Collected on the Internet, 2002]

 

WARNING!

 

A well known telephone scam is now being used on cellular telephones.

 

There is a fraudulent company that is using a device to gain access to the

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card, which contains all r related

data (this is the brains in the phone) in your cellular telephone.

 

A scam artist places a call to an unsuspecting person and the caller says he or

she is testing mobile (cellular) telephone circuits or equipment. The called

party is asked to press #90 or #09. If this happens END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY

with out pressing the numbers. Once you press #90 or #09 the company can access

your SIM Card and makes calls at your expense.

 

 

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[Collected on the Internet, 2003]

 

If you receive a text message on your mobile from the number 15477 Indicating

that you have won a 2 night stay in the Druid's Marriott in Wicklow, saying that

they you must reply with the text " #90 " or " #09 " , You Should delete this text

immediately and not reply. This is a fraud Company using a device, that once you

press #90 or #09 and reply text, they can Access your " SIM " card and make calls

at your expense. Forward this message to as many friends as you can to stop it.

 

 

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[Collected on the Internet, 2004]

 

Please note the following if you are using the mobile.

 

If you receive a phone call on your mobile from any person, saying that, he or

she is a company engineer, or telling that they're checking your mobile line,

and you have to press # 90 or #09 or any other number. End this call immediately

without pressing any numbers. There is a fraud company using a device that once

you press #90 or #09 they can access your " SIM " card and make calls at your

expense. Forward this message to as many friends as you can, to stop it.

 

Origins: Is this scam possible? Technically, yes. This trick can work on

businesses, hospitals, government agencies, and other organizations that use

telephone private branch exchanges (PBXs) to handle their calls (provided that

pressing '9' is the signal to obtain an outside line, andthere are no

restrictions placed on outgoing calls — as many of us know, some employers

configure their phone systems so that employees cannot make long-distance calls

from their desks). We can't give any more definitive information than to say

that this is possible, since there are so many different types of phone systems

all throughout the USA and the rest of the world.

 

However, this warning is overblown in that there is practically no chance that

the scam outlined above could affect the average residential or cell phone

customer. Unless you're staying at a hotel or using a phone in some other

setting where you have to press '9' to obtain an outside line, the only result

you'll obtain from trying this is likely to be a fast busy signal.

 

Telecommunications fraud is a rather unfortunate, yet common, occurrence in

today's high-tech age, and there are many ways that someone can furtively run up

someone else's phone bill. The scam described above is usually directed towards

businesses, government agencies, and universities and is a form of " social

engineering " under which a caller convinces an unwitting victim that he works

for the phone company (usually AT & T or the local Bell company) and gets the

victim to connect him to an outside line, from which he can run up significant

charges. Here are some examples of some similar scams and how they work:

[Richmond Times Dispatch]

 

TELEPHONE SCAM — A caller claiming to be an [AT & T] technician [placed] more than

two dozen calls to West Africa and the Middle East through a city of Richmond

[Va.] phone line. The calls, made during two days last month, resulted in a long

distance bill of $3,852 to the city. " Somebody obviously has to know a little

about telecommunications to do this, " said city spokesman Brandon Atkinson. Mike

Melton, the city's telecommunications manager, gave the following account: A man

who identified himself as an AT & T technician called the city Utilities

Department's Jefferson Davis Highway facility and asked for an extension. Once

he was connected to an outside operator by the city employee, " I guess he conned

himself into making some international calls, " Melton said. Twenty-six calls,

totaling just over 1,000 minutes were made. Of those calls, 23 were made through

AT & T and three were placed through MCI. AT & T security personnel alerted city

officials and are still investigating the matter, Melton said. Melton said he

has contacted both AT & T and MCI about relieving the city of its bill for the

fraudulent phone calls. Since the calls were operated-assisted and AT & T tipped

the city off to the deception, he believes the long distance providers will do

so. Paul Miller, [a spokesman for Bell Atlantic] said the technicians asking for

dialing assistance should be a signal to customers that something is amiss.

 

 

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Los Alamos National Laboratory, 20 June 1997

 

The Special Projects Office (FSS-SPO) is warning employees of a telephone scam

being directed against the Laboratory. AT & T has confirmed that this is a scam,

which goes as follows: an individual claiming to be with AT & T calls an employee

on the phone, gives a name and sometimes a number, and says he or she is

checking trouble on the 800 lines. The caller then asks the employee to punch

" recall, " then " 800 " and " recall " again on the phone. In reality, these

instructions connect the caller to an outside operator through Laboratory lines

to make overseas and other long distance calls at the Laboratory's expense. If

you receive such a call, do not follow the caller's instructions.

 

 

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AT & T Press Release, 6 August 1993

 

Hospitals fall prey to long-distance telephone fraud

 

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — Is your switchboard an open door to thieves who will steal

your long-distance service? AT & T warns that hospitals are increasingly targeted

in slick scams that cost everyone money . . . In another ploy, a " Dr. X " makes a

collect call to the hospital, and asks to be transferred to " Dr. Y. " (Crooks can

easily get the names of actual doctors who practice at specific hospitals.) He

may ask to be transferred one or more times before asking to be transferred back

to the receptionist, and he then asks for an outside line. Once he gets it, he

may make un- limited calls. Again, the hospital is fully liable.

 

Con artists will always look for ways to steal long-distance service, but some

simple steps can help save a hospital from fraudulent charges:

Never accept a collect call from anyone identifying himself or herself as a

phone-company employee.

No one from a reputable telephone company would ever ask to charge calls to

another number, for any reason.

AT & T and other telephone companies do not ask their customers to help trap

criminals or to help with line problems or any kind of maintenance procedure.

Never accept third-party charges from, or provide an outside line to, an unknown

person.

An administrator who suspects fraud should call the hospital's long-distance

telephone company. AT & T can be reached at 1-800-CALL-ATT. Organizations and

government agencies that can assist victims and provide other preventive tips

include: the National Fraud Information Center, 1-800-876-7060; the Better

Business Bureau; and the Federal Trade Commission, 202-326-2402.

 

 

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Thomas Jefferson University Security Alert, 27 November 1995

 

The Thomas Jefferson University Security Department is alerting all employees

that there are individuals calling various departments, identifying themselves

as either a corrections officer from an area prisons, or a detective from AT & T

working on the campus. The caller gives various stories, then requests to be

transferred to the operator. The caller may also ask, " How do you transfer

calls? "

 

Another version of the scam is that the caller will call collect. He will

identify him/her self as an official. If the collect call is accepted, the

caller will request to be transferred to the AT & T operator. When the caller

requests to be transferred to the operator. The caller is trying to access an

outside operator. If the story sounds strange, do not transfer the call. Give

the caller the phone number of the operator and hang up When you receive such an

unexpected collect call, do not accept it. The Security Department has been in

touch with Bell Security and our Department of Information Systems to try and

resolve this problem. UPDATE: Jefferson employees have notified the Security

Department that an individual is identifying himself as a doctor. The AT & T

operator (which is a recording) states that, " There is a collect call from

Doctor ________. The collect call is from the Cook County Correctional

Facility " . The individual can be heard saying, " This is an emergency, can you

transfer me to the outside operator? " Let us know at 955-8888 if you have

received any such phone calls as those described in this alert.

The moral of this story is, to paraphrase Josef Stalin, " Trust no one, not even

yourself. " If a caller is unknown to you and his story sounds fishy, hang up.

 

Additional information:

 

Find Out About the 9-0-# Phone Scam (AT & T)