Call Forwarding Scam

Claim:   Scammers con victims into forwarding their phones to other numbers.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2004]

Origins:   Given how often we've been asked about the validity of the #-9-0 telephone scam over the years — even though that scam doesn't affect the ordinary residential or cell phone

customer — it's surprising we've received so few inquiries about a call forwarding scam which can be effectively pulled on a large segment of the phone-using public. A recent resurgence of this scam in some parts of the U.S. has prompted us to put up this article to increase awareness and help head off additional instances of this con.

The call forwarding scam typically starts out with the scammer's calling a victim and pretending to be in an urgent situation with a desperate need to contact someone else. A typical scenario is that the scammer claims to have been arrested for a minor traffic infraction (such as having outstanding warrants for unpaid tickets or driving with a suspended license) and needs to call a relative to come pick up his children from the police station. Supposedly, the scammer has "accidentally" dialed the wrong number and claims he cannot place another call (usually by invoking the myth that arrested persons are allowed only a single phone call), so he pleads with the victim to help him complete the call by forwarding him to the correct phone number.

However, the forwarding instructions provided by the scammer don't simply forward the current call to another number; they set the victim's phone to forward all subsequent incoming calls to another number. This scheme allows the scammer to use his victim's phone as a relay for long-distance calls, with the victim being none the wiser until he spots the unusual charges on his next phone

bill.

For example, suppose the victim's phone number is 345-1234, and the scammer has a cell phone with the number 890-6789. The scammer may instruct the victim to "Dial *72 and then 890-6789," a sequence which activates the call-forwarding feature for the victim's phone number and tells the phone company to forward all calls placed to 345-1234 to 890-6789 instead. The scammer can then instruct acquaintances all over the world to call him collect at 345-1234 (or to place third-party calls to anywhere in the world and bill them to 345-1234) — the scammer can approve all these charges (because all calls placed to 345-1234 are being forwarded to his phone), but the owner of 345-1234 is the one on the hook for paying for them (because they were forwarded through his number). The forwarding will continue until the victim issues instructions to cancel it; if the victim doesn't receive many incoming calls, he may not even notice something is amiss until he receives his next phone bill and spots the unauthorized charges for hundreds (or thousands) of dollars.

As AT&T explains the scam:

(Of course, this scheme only works if the victim had previously signed up for the call-forwarding option with his phone service provider. And although *72 is the sequence most commonly used for call forwarding, some phone service providers may use different sequences.)

The best way to avoid falling victim to this scam is the obvious one: never activate your call forwarding feature at the request of someone you don't know. Only forward your calls when you want them to go somewhere else.

Additional information:

April Foolproof: AT&T Alerts Consumers About the Latest Scams   (AT&T)

Last updated:   12 July 2004

  Sources:

    O'Brien, Jodie Munro.   "Sumter Residents Targeted in Scam."

    The [Leesburg] Daily Commercial.   4 July 2004.

    Kansas City Star.   "Scam File: Call Forwarding Maneuver."

    4 July 2004.