Federal Trade Commission n Bureau of Consumer Protection n Office of Consumer and Business Education

FTC Consumer Alert

When Your Computer Calls Overseas

...Without Your Okay

If you live in the U.S., would you ever call Vanuatu in the Southwest Pacific to connect to the Internet? How

about Chad, Guyana or Madagascar?

Chances are youre using a local phone number to get online, and you know exactly what you are paying for

the service. Nevertheless, many consumers are finding charges on their phone bills for calls to destinations that

give new meaning to long distance. The calls were made through their modems without their knowledge or approval.

How does it happen? Some websites use international dialing to trick consumers into paying to access content.

The sites claim to be free or advertise that no credit card is needed, then prompt the user to download a

viewer or dialer program. Heres the catch: Once the program is downloaded to the users computer, it

disconnects the Internet connection and reconnects to an international long-distance phone number, at rates between $2 and $7 a minute.

 These scams, typically associated with adult sites, dont require a credit card number for access. That means

they are available to children, who can click onto them without their parents knowledge or permission. Even if

parents disable international calling from their phone lines, many modem dialers are programmed to circumvent

the block,and initiate international calls using a 10-10 dial-around prefix.

The Federal Trade Commission says these scams are very lucrative for the operators, and it may be only a

matter of time before they appear on sites that feature games, psychics, gambling and other services.

Heres how you can minimize your chances of finding surprise international long distance charges on your

phone bill:

1. Beware of any program that enables your modem to re-dial to the Internet. If you see a dialog box on your

computer indicating that its dialing when you didnt direct it to, cancel the connection and hang up. Check

the number youre dialing and continue only if its a local call.

2. Read online disclosures carefully. They may be buried several clicks away in pages of small print. In addition, carefully scroll through the language in the typical gray boxes on your screen. Dont click on OK

unless you know exactly what youre agreeing to.

3. Talk to your children. Recognize that they are obvious targets of international modem dialing scams and tell

them the consequences of downloading viewer or dialer programs on the computer.

4. Monitor your childrens Internet use. Keep track of the websites your child visits by checking the web

browser history files and cache.

5. Be skeptical when surfing the web. Free doesnt always mean free.

6. Take action if you find charges on your phone bill that you didnt authorize. Contact the Federal Trade

Commission, toll-free, at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov.

7. Save your phone bill. If you think youve been a victim of international modem dialing, it may help identify

the scammers.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free

information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, and other fraud-related complaints into

Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.

October 2000

Federal Trade Commission Toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP

 www.ftc.gov For the Consumer