Author |
Message |
Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 8:21 am
Last night I got a phone call and the man said he was a 911 emergency operator and that two people were in an accident and gave my name as a contact. I kept asking him who and he said that I have to call the Sargeant who was at the scene on his walkie talkie phone. He gave me a phone number *72 1-773-331-9937. I got very suspicious because, first of all *72 call forwards your calls. I immediately thought this was some type of scam. everyone that would possibly have given me as a contact was home and safe. I called 911 and the operator said it sounded phony. I called my friend who was a detective, she said it sounded phony. I called the Verizon operator who said that I should not call the number, because it would call forward my line and that the 773 area code with the 331 was a cell phone number in Chicago. So, I never called back. Has anyone ever heard of this type of scam and what could they possibly be looking for?
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 8:28 am
Ginger, you're a smart cookie. Check this out: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/forward.asp
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 8:29 am
That was good that you didn't fall for that. What they were looking for was probably a free call to Chicago!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 8:30 am
This is a form of phone phishing. You did the right thing by not doing what they asked. The next step might've been another call asking you to confirm certain identity or account information. Which is exactly what they are looking for.
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 8:44 am
As AT&T explains the scam: Star-7-2, billing back to you: You receive a call from a stranger posing as a telephone technician or telling you that he has been arrested for driving with a suspended license and is in jail — or is in a situation that requires your immediate help. "I need to reach my wife and tell her what happened so she can pick up our two kids. Would you dial *72 and then her number?" Star-7-2 is a custom feature for call forwarding. When the customer dials *72 followed by a telephone number, it activates the call forwarding feature causing all your incoming calls to ring at another number. At the end of the other line — whether calls have been forwarded to a landline, a cell phone or a payphone — the original caller's partner-in-crime is able to accept all collect and third-party calls, while telling your own legitimate callers that they have the wrong number. You get billed for all calls made because your number is the one from which they are forwarded. This ingenious scam, which even overrides cell phones inability to get collect calls, may go on for several days before you become aware it has occurred. (from the link I posted above)
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 9:24 am
Be aware also that you can immediately cancel forwarding on your line by dialing *73. 
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Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 3:13 pm
Thanks BabyRuth, I knew it was a scam. Some people would have been scared that somebody they knew was hurt in an accident and called. Luckily I checked it out first.
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