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(Date Posted:04/14/2007 11:10 PM)
BY RENDY BOLAND T&D CORRESPONDENT Saturday, April 14, 2007 NEESES – Until recently each time I received a call at work from a relay operator, I would immediately hang up because: A) I thought some prisoner was trying to find someone to talk; or, B) the call was a hoax. However, when I last received one of these calls, I gave it a little more attention. Reason being, my twin brother was out of the country on a short-term mission trip. Maybe, just maybe, this particular call was from him. I mean, no one enjoys talking on a phone more than Randy. So, anyway, the voice asks, “Do you know how to receive a relay call”? Ugh, No. “Well,:” says the voice, “I’ll type your responses in for the person on the other end. They will type their response and I’ll repeat their response to you.” O.K. “Who’s calling”? I ask. To which I was given an unfamiliar name. One yellow light goes of. “What is the name of this call”? I inquire. To which the operator repeats to me, “Do you sell diabetic supplies”? Red light goes off. End of conversation for me. I thought, “I do believe this was a scam in progress.” So I called my boss. “Yeah, believe it was,” he says. After making a few calls to fellow pharmacists in the area, I discovered that at least three others had received similar calls that day. Most ignored the calls but one pharmacist almost fell victim. His story: “The caller went so far to tell me the names of the tests strips she wanted,” he says. “At one point the operator got my fax number so the caller could fax their response to me”. “It read; “’Hi, - - - - , “How are you doing. You sound so nice. Thank you for your assistance.’” According to the pharmacy, the caller wanted about $2,000 worth of test strips. Then she asks, “If they can be picked up today or tomorrow. “I hope you honor major credit cards, Visa, Discover, Master Card. “I can get back to you for full payment if needed.” Says the pharmacist, “I can’t imagine anyone donating this to a home as she says she is”. Fortunately, this pharmacist was too busy to follow through with this caller’s request. What you have just encountered is a IP relay scam, often originating from Nigeria, Ghana, or West Africa. According to the Better Business Bureau, businesses across the country receive orders for large quantities of merchandise from unknown customers often using a hearing-impaired TTY service with stolen credit card numbers. The buyer typically wants the merchandise shipped to an out-of-state or out-of-country address by the fastest possible method. The true victims of identity theft are often the small retail operators. The banks don’t honor checks or credit cards when fraud is involved. The person whose identity is stolen doesn’t often pay because the charges are fraudulent, and based on protective laws, they are absolved of charges. Fortunately, I don’t know of any businesses that have fallen prey to these devious business tactics. Hopefully, the next person will also be too busy to give these annoying calls any serious consideration. T&D Correspondent Rendy Boland can be reached with comments or story ideas by phone at 803-535-2222. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.
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Informations about Internet Scams: Fraudwatchers.org - Fake Bank Killing: aa419.org
Guidance about Love Scams: Internet-Love-Scams.org - Discussion about Pyramid-/Ponzi-schemes, HYIPs et al: Cattyshaq.com
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