Produced By : The Common Carrier Bureau • Enforcement Division • June 1998

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Federal Communications Commission • 1919 M Street • Washington, D.C. 20554

Produced By : The Common Carrier Bureau • Enforcement Division • June 1998

Consumer News

The telecommunications industry estimates that telephone toll fraud accounts for nearly $4 billion a year in

crime. One of the best ways to avoid becoming a victim is to know the danger signs that point to toll fraud

scams and the tricks used by con artists to prey on unsuspecting consumers. This issue of Consumer News

describes some common scams and provides tips on

ways to protect yourself against toll fraud.

Telephone Toll Fraud

Tips for protecting your telephone calling

card from fraudulent use:

❐ Memorize your calling card number and Personal

Identification Number (PIN). Do not write your

PIN on your calling card.

❏ Use a public telephone that reads your calling

card number from the magnetic strip on the back of

the card. If this type of telephone is not available,

block the view of the key pad and speak directly

into the phone so that no one sees you dial your

calling card number or overhears you giving the

number to the operator.

❏ Don't use your telephone calling card as an identification card. Others may see or hear the number.

❐ Immediately report a lost or stolen calling card

to the company that issued the card. Request the

company to cancel your card number and issue a

new one to you.

Don't Believe A Word Of It!

Consumers have told the FCC that they have received

calls from persons claiming to be FCC agents or telephone company employees investigating calls placed

to other states or countries from the consumer’s telephone line -- or are checking on possible technical

problems with the consumer’s telephone line.

The caller typically requests the consumer’s cooperation in the investigation by just saying “yes” and

hanging up the telephone receiver when a second

call is placed to the consumer by a “supervisor.”

Other tactics include requesting the consumer to provide their credit or calling card number or to dial a

Don't be Its

Next Victim
Produced By : The Common Carrier Bureau • Enforcement Division • June 1998

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Help for Victims of Toll Fraud

You can be responsible for as much as $50 in unapproved calling card charges under the Truth in Lending Act and Federal Reserve Board regulations. Call

the telephone company that issued your calling card

as soon as you become aware that you are a toll

fraud victim and request the company to cancel your

calling card number and issue a new one to you.

Toll fraud complaints involving calls placed to another state or country are within the jurisdiction of

the Department of Justice. You should contact the

Federal Bureau of Investigation at the following address if you are a victim of toll fraud involving calls

placed to another state or country:

 Federal Bureau of Investigation

 7799 Leesburg Pike

 South Tower, Suite 200

 Falls Church, VA 22043

You should contact your state attorney general’s office if you are a victim of toll fraud involving calls

placed within your state. You can obtain the telephone number and address for this office from your

local or state consumer offices or the government

section of your telephone directory.

❐ Talk with your local telephone company about

having your telephone line blocked from third-number and collect call billings.

Stay On Top of Telephone Toll Fraud

The Alliance to Outfox Phone Fraud, a group of telecommunications industry and related companies,

provides fraud information to consumers. Visit the

Alliance's Web site at http://www.gnat.net/outfox

or contact the Alliance at: 2890 Fairview Park Drive,

10th Floor, Falls Church, Virginia 22042 -- or call

1-800-9-OUTFOX (1-800-968-7369).

specific series of numbers before hanging up the telephone receiver.

These types of calls are made to trick consumers

into providing information or taking actions that will

enable the caller to place fraudulent calls using the

consumer’s credit or calling card number or telephone line.

Telephone company employees checking for technical and other types of telephone service or billing

problems and FCC personnel would not call and ask

you to just say yes when receiving a telephone call,

provide a credit card or calling card number, or dial

a specific series of numbers before hanging up the

telephone receiver.

Take the following steps if you think a call is a

toll fraud attempt:

❐ Be sure to ask the caller for their name and their

telephone number.

❐ Tell the caller you are going to call the telephone

company to determine whether or not there is a problem with your telephone service.

❐ Immediately hang up.

❐ Find the telephone number for your telephone

company business and security offices on your telephone bill or from directory assistance or your telephone book. Call that number -- rather than the number provided by the caller -- and provide details of

the call you received to the telephone company representative.

❐ Contact law enforcement officials.

Safeguard Your Telephone Service

❐ Don’t accept third-number billing or collect calls

from callers you do not know.
Produced By : The Common Carrier Bureau • Enforcement Division • June 1998

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Billing Complaints Resulting

From Fraudulently Placed Calls

As previously stated, toll fraud is within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice or your state

attorney general’s office.

You should first try to resolve a billing complaint

resulting from fraudulently placed calls with the

companies that billed you for the calls. If you are

unable to resolve your billing complaint with those

companies, you may file a complaint with the proper

regulatory agency.

If your complaint involves calls placed from one location to another location within the same state, you

should address your complaint to your state regulatory agency.

You can obtain the telephone number and address

for your state regulatory agency from your local or

state consumer offices or the government section of

your telephone directory. The telephone numbers

for the state regulatory agencies can also be found

on the FCC’s Web Site at http://www.fcc.gov/

consumer_news/state_puc.html

You may file a complaint with the FCC if your billing complaint concerns interstate or international

calls.

There is no special form to fill out to file a complaint with the FCC. You can simply send a typed or

legibly printed letter to:

 Federal Communications Commission

 Common Carrier Bureau

 Consumer Complaints

 Mail Stop 1600A2

 Washington, D.C. 20554

Your complaint letter should include the following information:

√ Your name, address and a telephone number where

you can be reached during the business day.

√ A brief description of the complaint.

√ The telephone number involved with the complaint.

√ The name, address and telephone number of the

person or persons who you believe placed the calls.

√ The names and addresses of the telephone companies involved with the complaint.

√ The names and telephone numbers of the telephone

company employees you spoke with to try to resolve

your complaint, and the dates you spoke with them.

√ Copies of the telephone bills listing the disputed

charges. The disputed charges should be circled on

the copies of the bills.

√ Copies of correspondence you received from the

companies involved with the complaint and from

state or federal agencies you contacted in an effort

to resolve the complaint.

√ Copies of other documents involved with the complaint.

Filing A Complaint With The FCC
Produced By : The Common Carrier Bureau • Enforcement Division • June 1998

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Federal Communications Commission

Consumer Protection Branch

Common Carrier Bureau

Mail Stop 1600A2

 DC 20554 Washington,

Telephone Toll Fraud • June 1998

This is in response to your contact with the

 Federal Communications Commission

Thank you for your interest

Form Number CCB-FS008

Check out our Web Site consumer information on telephone-related issues at:

http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/consumer_news/