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Lifestyle Q & A Forum

If I dial 9-0-#, will I fall prey to a phone scam?

by
Dee Lee, CFP, MBA Certified Financial Planner & Author Harvard Financial Educators



Question:
I received a phone call on my home office line from an individual identifying himself as a telephone technician that was running a test on our telephone lines. To complete the test I needed to press nine (9), then zero (0), then the pound sign (#) and hang up. I became suspicious and did not follow the instructions and immediately hung up, figuring they would call me back. No one ever called me back. Was it a scam and what would happen if I pressed 90#?
Answer:
I checked with AT&T, and indeed this is a scam. By pressing 90#, you end up giving the individual that called you access to your telephone line and allows them to place long distance calls with the charge appearing on your bill. The kinds of calls that go through a switchboard are the most vulnerable. I further discovered that many of these scams might be originating from jails and prisons.

The AT&T spokesperson that I talked with suggested that whenever a caller identifies himself as a telephone worker and makes a request, always ask which phone company they work for and then request an 800 number that you can call to verify that work is being done your lines. The advice I would add to that is always be wary of anyone who calls regarding your phone service. Be especially wary of someone trying to sell you a different long distance carrier. I've had mine changed without my permission. You can contact your local carrier and make it known to them that you are the only one who can request a change of long distance carrier on your lines.

For information on this topic direct from the source, see this page on the AT&T web site.