Careless Dialing Can Cost You Trouble and Money!

The unexpected charges may come as a result of a new scheme involving "fat-fingered dialing". It goes something like this...

You place a collect call from a public phone or payphone, intending to use a service such as 1-800 Call-ATT or 1-800-COLLECT. But you misspell or hit an incorrect button while dialing. You accidentally dial something such as 1800-CALLLAT. You still get connected to the party you wished to but some things have changed in the process.

The phone company that connects you to your call is NOT the one you thought you were using. Instead, it is a company that secured 800 number close to the well known ones so that when someone "fat-finger" dials, this company cashes in.

If this happens you are unaware of what have happened and that you had a different long distance carrier because YOU DON'T KNOW YOU MIS-DIALED. The company won't identify itself to you or the receiving call isn't going to know what long distance carrier you are talking on, so the scam goes undetected.

Until...the phone bill arrives and the misdialed call is 2 to 3 times higher than it would have been had you reached your normal carrier as you thought you had!

What You Can Do to Avoid This Scam

If you are placing Collect Calls, dial carefully. Listen on the handset to make sure you hit each number only once. If you aren't sure you dialed correctly, hang up and dial again.

Once you have made the call, listen for the provider identification. If you placed the call from a public phone or payphone, regulations require the provider to orally identify itself before your call is connected and billed. They are also required to give you directions on how to determine the price of your call. If you don't hear such information, ask the operator who the provider is and what the rates are. Hang up if not satisfied with the answer.

If you are receiving Collect Calls, listen when the call is connected for the identification of the service provider before accepting any charges. If you don't hear the provider information, say "no" to the collect call until you are able to find out who is connecting the call. If you are unfamiliar with this information, ask for the per-minute rate and if no answer, hang up. Ask the person to call again if possible.

Review phone bills carefully. Although this won't necessarily prevent you from becoming a victim of this scam, it may help you in the future.

Instead of making collect calls or receiving them, consider a toll free inbound number or using a monthly billed calling card