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Phone Scams - Press 9
The
phone scams -
press 9 ONLY affects customers who have private branch exchanges (PBX's).
This scam would not affect your residential or cell phone lines.
Most PBX's use the number 9 to make
outside calls (some use the number
8).
The phone scams - press 9 usually involves someone calling a business
and pretending that they are a phone company technician. The
technician claims they have to "test" the line, and asks the victim to
press 90#. At this point, the victim is providing an outside line
so the scam artist can call anywhere. The company is billed for
any associated long distance charges.
A phone company technician would never call you (especially if you have
a PBX) to test a line. PBXs are switches, and the "trunks" or
lines coming into them terminate at the PBX. Most companies with
PBXs have PBX vendors separate from the phone company who maintain
their PBX.
If you happened to have called a trouble ticket into your phone
company, ask any technician who calls for the trouble ticket
number they are calling about. If they can't provide this
information, hang up!
Companies that don't normally audit their phone bills may never catch
or know about this scam. Use the tools on this website to find
out more about auditing your company phone bills.
Advise your employees to never dial 90# for anyone who calls.
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