Sep 28 2010

Premium-Rate Telephone Number Scam

Category: TelecomsTeknovis @ 20:09

I was doing some research on premium rate telephone numbers this afternoon, and I came across this description of an old scam:

Another now-uncommon premium-rate scam involves television programming that induces young children to dial the number, banking on the notion that they will be unaware of the charges that will be incurred. One variant, targeted at children too young to dial a number, enticed children to hold the phone up to the television set while the DTMF tones of the number were played. This type of scam was especially popular in the late ’80s to early ’90s in the United States before tougher regulations on the 900 number business forced many of these businesses to close.

I did not image that companies could be so unscrupulous!

The full article is Premium-rate telephone number.