Phone scams alive and well

By Sharon Elliott



Phone scams are alive and well in Annapolis County! Over the past couple of weeks I have

heard from many residents who are being targeted over the phone by con artists offering fraudulent southern vacations. Although we knew this tactic was popular, it seems if you haven’t received a call you are in the minority. Chances are if you have a phone you are likely to get a call from someone who wants your credit card number or bank account information. But, don’t be fooled by the tempting offers you may hear. These smooth talkers might tell you about their great deals on cruises for $ 199 per person, or the whole family can go to Florida for $ 398, but it just isn’t going to happen, at least not the way you hope.

A few years ago I received information in the mail that I had won a free cruise out of Florida. The package said that I must pay for my own airfare to Florida, but once there I would be able to stay at a lovely hotel for a really low rate and then board a ship for a free cruise. It all sounded good, but I followed the principle - if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is! So, a few weeks later when ATV’s Live at Five news program did a segment on this travel offer I was all ears. As it turned out the hotel which offered the low rate was basically a dump and the free cruise was a ferry ride across a harbour! Not exactly the vacation I had envisioned! So, even if you’re told about a great vacation for a great price chances are those steal-of-a-deal prices will leave you feeling robbed!

Another concern many callers reported involved the calls that ask you to press “9" (or any other number) to accept the offer, or talk with an agent for more details, etc... Many people have asked what will happen if they do press the number. Will pressing the number somehow cause long distance charges to be applied to their phone bill? To answer this question I called Aliant. I can understand why there is some confusion about this answer. It seems the answer changes depending on whom you are speaking to. So, I decided I better speak with someone directly in security at Aliant. The final answer, if you have a regular land line phone - No, you will not cause charges to be redirected to your account by pressing a number on your phone during a call

made to you. However, it seems that this can be a problem for businesses if they have a PBX machine, or multiple lines where pressing a number can put a caller through to an open line where they then can place a long distance call.

So, you may be wondering what will happen if I get a call like this and I do press the suggested number? The answer is you will likely be put through to someone who will ultimately try to get your credit card number or bank account information, neither of which should you be giving out.

Both the police and Aliant security encourage you to just hang up if you do get one of these calls. The security employee at Aliant also said that if you do find an unusual charge on your phone account to call them immediately and they would review the charge.

During my conversation with Aliant Security we also discussed another way in which people get scammed out of their money over the phone. Watch out for those 1-900 numbers. These numbers are not toll free. In fact, what you pay to place a 1-900 number is not controlled by Aliant. With these numbers you may pay so much per minute or you may be charged a fee straight out. For example, I had a senior show me a phone bill where the person visiting her had made two calls to a 1-900 number. The first call placed at 11:05 p.m. cost $50 and the second call placed at 11:06 p.m. the same evening also cost $50. So, you can see how these calls can be extremely expensive. In this example, neither call lasted a minute, but in the end the resulting charges where $100 for less than two minutes!

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to check things out through our

safety program by calling us first. We are happy to help you stay safe!

For more information on safety and security tips, please contact Sharon Elliott at 665- 4481. Or, by email at sharon.elliott@rcmp-grc.gc.ca



(Sharon Elliott is Seniors' Safety coordinator in Annapolis County.)