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Thread: Possible Cell Phone Scam

  1. #1
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    Possible Cell Phone Phishing?

    Hey Hey...

    Disclaimer: I have no idea where this thread should be placed, or how it will go... I've placed it here because it currently involves cell phones and only cell phones that I know about.

    Story: Most of you know that I'm a student... or you do now anyways... So on Tuesday we're sitting in class and a guys cell phone rings... It's a 305 area code so he ignores it. Then on Wednesday another guys cell phone rings and it's the same area code 305 number. Then yesterday my phone rang (for the sake of this let's say my number is ABC-0805) and it was the same 305 number. Then my girlfriend came home from work last night and said she'd missed a call on her cell phone (ABC-0807) and it was the same number again.. Since mine and hers both have the same starting and were close together I'm wondering if it's some sort of auto dial. The number (since I don't mind sharing ones like this) is: 1-305-675-6263. We couldn't find anything on google, but maybe you've heard of something, or will have better luck than I have. We also tried calling the number and go a modem... and being the household of computer geeks that we are, we attempted to dial in from a terminal... We couldn't get it to accept the connection though.. I'm wondering if it's A) a fax machine or B) a computer dialing out with it's recorded message set to not accept incoming calls... The only reason I find it weird is it does pick up, rather than just ignoring the call.

    I listened to the first 59 seconds of the message (I didn't wanna spend more than the cost of the first minute of an international call to a cell phone)... It's a recorded female voice saying that you've won a trip for you and your family to Flordia for 6 days... 3 days in Orlando and three days in some other city.. Then it talks about for the low cost of only $99 USD per person... I hung up after that... I'm looking forward to another opportunity because I'd like to hear the rest....

    Anyways it just seems odd that four people in the same city with cell phones (that know each other) have recieved this call and it makes me wonder how many others have also had it and why.... It is some advertising scheme... or is it some phishing attempt where they take you for the 99/head and you never get anything?

    Any ideas or feedback?

    Peace,
    HT

  2. #2
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    War dialling for automated phone spam???

    I know that here in the US, if you go sign up for the national Do Not Call lists, you can enter mobile and home numbers...I haven't stayed up with a lot of this stuff, but I think the differences between types of phone lines...pricate residence, business, mobile, etc....are blurring in regards to unsolicited calls.
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  3. #3
    Just a Virtualized Geek MrLinus's Avatar
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    I listened to the first 59 seconds of the message (I didn't wanna spend more than the cost of the first minute of an international call to a cell phone)... It's a recorded female voice saying that you've won a trip for you and your family to Flordia for 6 days... 3 days in Orlando and three days in some other city.. Then it talks about for the low cost of only $99 USD per person... I hung up after that... I'm looking forward to another opportunity because I'd like to hear the rest....
    These things tend to be scams. Sounds like the old timeshare option. It also sounds like the device Homer used to annoy the people of Springfield with (episode 4F01 - Lisa's Date With Density) auto-dialer with recorded message. The links below might help.

    http://www-tech.mit.edu/V115/N62/phone.62w.html
    http://www.xzone-radio.com/ripoffs_scams/art3.htm
    http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/.../vacations.htm

    While it may be interesting to listen to the rest, honestly, I'd think your time might be worth more than that (unless you want to record it and post to somewhere as a warning to others ). This is old telephone spam/scam stuff. Most likely the device is just going through a series of phone numbers (like the dialer in Wargames).
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  4. #4
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    305-675-6263

    I just received a call from that number on my Cell and did a search on Google. (I tend not to answer unknown long distance numbers on my cell, so I didn't answer it.)

    After searching, I was led to two links. One here, and the other (http://65.108.248.199/). It mentions that it's a Canadian phone scam, and by simply clicking on the number you're told to (i.e. 9), it somehow enables others to begin using your number for long distance calls to be charged to your bill.

    I don't know how true or not this is, but I would immediately contact my phone company if I were you.

  5. #5
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    Im out in hawaii and got a call from that number while I was in class the other day, no message left so I ignored it. strange.
    Everyone is going to die, I am just as good of a reason as any.

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    My Boy friend and I have cell phone one number different (say 555-1001 and 555-1002) and we both received calls from that number today. As we were away from our phones we did not answer and no message was left. I was wondering what cell phone company that you are with and if you contacted them about this? We are on the phone with Rogers Wireless right now, but can't find a real person.

  7. #7
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    Hey Hey,

    Northern Ontario.... That's where I'm originally from... Good ol' SSM....

    Anyways... both calls (myself and my gf) were to telus phones... as for the others in my class... I'm not sure who their providers are..

    I haven't spoken to my cell company, but that might be something to attempt..

    Also the link that TMB333 posted, while interested, is wrong... This is an urban legend from many moons ago... check out http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/jailcall.asp for more information...

    Peace,
    HT

  8. #8
    In And Above Man Black Cluster's Avatar
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    Blackmailing

    I have been through the same situation. Actually, i think that the Teleco in my country is trying to push the policy of unsolicited SMSs to incentive people to call for a specific purpose.
    I think this is a disgraceful BLACKMAILING . To add insult to injury, when i called the so-called Customer Services they denied having this problem.

    Many of my friends complained that they recieved many SMSs from different sources, they even called and the bill was higher than the average, 50 cent for a second.

    I thinks that the world is witnessing the introduction of a new approach of Spamming - Cell-Spamming.

  9. #9
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    Phone Scam

    Yah, the URL that I had listed is now out of date (being that the site is a blog site), but the message seems to have been archived here (http://www.benedictionblogson.com/archives/2005_01.php), under a January 20, 2005 entry.

    As I stated, I wasn't sure as to whether or not it was an issue to be concerned about, but after reading the SNOPES.COM entry, it would appear that this scam 'could' cause a problem on a business line or any other line that uses 9 to dial out. Again, as to how true this is, it's safer to be aware of the issue than not to be.

    One other thought that comes to mind though is that for most cell phone plans, isn't the receiving cell phone carrier charged for a long distance connection even though they didn't initiate the call? So, if you respond to the call and listen to the message, aren't you being charged by your cell phone Company for that call? This is just a question, as I don't know how most cell phone plans are structured.

  10. #10
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    I also got a call today from 305-675-6263. Didn't answer it, and no message left.

    They called both my land-line and cell, about 10 mins apart. Oddly enough, my land-line is listed in my name, and the cell in my parents...two completetly different surnames, addresses, etc. I don't recall providing both numbers for a contest, or anything of that nature...so I'm quite curious as to how both of my numbers got onto their "list."

    Anyone have any ideas?

    E

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