Ladies and Gentlemen,
I received a call the other day from a woman who claimed she worked for the
phone company I use for my business phone. She said my bill was overdue and
my service would be cut off on January 6th. Did I want to pay the bill
right there over the phone using a credit or debit card.
I told her I would have to dig out my bill, confirm that and I would send
them a check if I found she was correct. She countered that a check would
take six to ten days to be recieved and my service could be cut off by then.
I refused again and hung up.
I know that a check can be anywhere in the Continential U.S. in three
business days. Then, yesterday I received my phone bill. I am not delinquent
in the least. I called the phone company and explained the situation. They
said that they would report it to their security people.
Today, my wife posted a warning on the e-mail system at the school where she
works. She told me that one teacher reported that he got a call from a local
utility company claiming he was delinquent. The teacher didn't even use that
utility. She received several other replies as well. Obviously someone has
hacked the records of these companies and is trying to game the system.
So, don't let anyone verbally browbeat you into giving them your credit card
numbers on the phone. Make sure you tell your parents and any other elderly
family you might have. These slease bags could very easily clean out your
account. And if you do get such a call, remember to call the company and
report this kind of stuff.
Larry Steckel
|