| Hamilton Spectator
Wondering
About a Phone Bill to Tuvalu? (continued)
By
clicking the link, your computer downloads a program that
alters your internet dial-up properties and redirects your
phone connection to an internet service provider far away,
say in Africa, which leads to expensive long distance charges.
The
scam artist makes money at this by striking a deal with the
African phone company to receive a percentage of the take.
The
RCMP and Hamilton Police recommend:
- Do not download and execute programs
from anywhere and anyone you do not trust
- Read all disclaimers and user agreements
carefully.
- Consider purchasing a call controller
device which will enable you to disallow all long distance
phone calls from your computer (approx $70). A free program
called ZoneAlarm is also available at www.download.com
- Listen for suspicious dialling activity
when using your computer. Confirm the phone number
in your dialling properties
- Install anti-virus software and keep
your virus definitions up to date.
- If you have received a long distance
phone bill that you believe was caused by your computer,
you can send an email message to info@phonebusters.com,
including your name, phone number, address, the amount of
your telephone bill, and if possible, the web site visited
that caused the modification. PhoneBusters is currently
documenting all such complaints. You can also call
the RCMP/OPP anti-fraud call centre at 1-888-495-8501.
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