PRESS RELEASE
SCAM ALERT
Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox, Jr. is advising citizens to be aware of a possible scam operation through a company claiming to be an EMERGENCY HOTLINE.
A person, claiming to be a representative of the Emergency Hotline, contacts victim’s by telephone directing the victim to dial “*72” to be connected to a loved one who needs their assistance. *72 is a custom feature for call forwarding. If a victim dials *72, it activates the call forwarding feature causing all the incoming calls to ring at another number. At the end of the other line (whether calls have been forwarded to a landline, cell phone or a payphone) the original caller’s associate is able to accept all collect and third-party calls. The victim gets billed for all calls made because your number is the one from which they are forwarded. This scam, which overrides cell phone inability to get collect calls, may go on for several days before the victim becomes aware it has occurred.
Citizens are urged to be cautious of any phone numbers that begin with a *, #, 0 or 900 series number and encouraged to contact the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office at 347-3300 to report any suspicious telephone calls citing an emergency with a loved one. These prefixes, when used for fraud, may allow access to user’s account which can incur significant toll charges.
Authority: Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox, Jr.
Contact:
Release Date: 10/29/07
Date Last Modified: