New Twist on an Old Scam...

[RJ California]

I got a call today from a guy claiming to be from an "on-line relay center". He asked if I knew what that was, I said no. He explained that someone was typing a message to his service and that he was relaying the message by phone. He said this was a way for people to "save money on long distance calls". He said that the person sending the message wanted to know if we made vinyl cut banners and was also inquiring if we accepted payment upfront for our services. Red flags and whistles went off in my head. I asked what country was the typer calling from. He asked me to hold as he relayed the message ...20 seconds later ... "please hold, they are still typing" .. then the line went dead.


Maybe this isn't new, maybe it's already been mentioned here. I am pretty sure this was our Nigerian friends trying a different tactic on the banner scam.

By the way... About 5 years ago I got a "relay call" from a deaf client, so I tried not to be a jackass during this call just in case. That call turned into a large project for the west coast call center for the deaf and hard of hearing. So listen... but keep your guard up.

 

[stickygraphics12]

I got that same call about a 6 months ago! I asked the "relay person" to have the person give me their phone number and I would call them......needless to say the "relay person" hung up on me about 5 seconds later

 

[RJ California]

Jeez -- some shops must still fall for this every now and then.

 

[Malkin]

I used to get these alot, so I did a bunch of research and found an unofficial "correct" way to rid yourself of these.

Inform the caller (through the relay operator) something to this effect:

"Nearly every call using IP relay has been an attempt at fraud. Please call us back using the state relay service"

If it is our nigerian friends, they will hang up at the word fraud and not waste their time.

In the unlikely event it is a legitimate caller, you will figure it out quickly. Also, the people using the IP (internet) relay service can do it from any country, even though its only legal for those residing in the US. FCC regulations regarding privacy allow this to happen. Real deaf people, residing in the US have access to the state service as well.

The IP relay service is overrun with fraud, mostly from overseas. It is paid for with the taxes from your phone bills, to the tune of about $1.30 per min.

There was a time last year when we got these about 1 per week. It was actually how I was turned on the the usual attempt at fraud. (100's of banners, etc)

 

[ProWraps]

i mean jeeezzz mix it up a little guys! order some coroplast or some decals or something.

 

[Mosh]

I get one one these about every six months. I mess with them and keep them on the line as long as I can.

 

[Matt-Tastic]

tell them email works better than IP relay. then you can spam their IP address and shut down a server if you know what you're doing

 

[Mosh]

They always tell me it is someone who is deaf. "Do you print T-Shirts?" I tell them "yes". "We would like to order 300 shirts printed. Can we pay in advance with a credit card?" They never ask how much, or even tell you what exactly they are looking for. Scam, I do love messing with them, so I keep them on as long as I can with stupid questions, like if they want the shirt tags in back or in the front.

 

[econolinesigns]

Happened to use today as well. I asked the operator to ask where the caller was calling from. I heard her type the question and about 5 seconds later, she told me the caller had hung up.