Fraud and Scam Alerts
Verizon is concerned about the safety of its
customers.
At Verizon, we see a wide range of scams that
can have a direct impact on you. We have dedicated resources working to
investigate, track, and, where possible, resolve issues that occur as a result
of scams. Through news releases, bill inserts and now, this new page on our
corporate Web site, we can quickly alert you to current scams and immediately
provide you with information on how to avoid being victimized.
Here you'll find updated information on the
latest Internet and phone scams. You'll also find reports on current scams and
tips on how to protect yourself.
If you'd like to alert us to something not
listed or if you'd like more information, visit our Contact Us page.
As a reminder, always review your
communications bill carefully. If you see any suspicious activity, call your
regional Verizon office at the number listed on your bill. By working together,
we can help reduce the prevalence of scams that hurt our customers and cost our
industry billions of dollars each year.
Phone Scams
Telephone Fraud Involving Jury Duty
How it works: Individuals identifying
themselves as U.S. Court employees have been contacting citizens by telephone
and informing them that they have been selected for jury duty. The caller asks
to verify names and Social Security numbers and then asks for credit card
numbers. If the request is refused, citizens are then threatened with fines and
prosecution for failing to comply with jury duty.
Federal courts do not require anyone to
provide any sensitive information in a telephone call, such as Social Security
numbers or credit card numbers. Most contact between a federal court and a
prospective juror will be through the U.S. Mail.
How to protect yourself: If you receive one
of these phone calls, do not provide any personal or confidential information
to these individuals. This is an attempt to steal or to use your identity by
obtaining your name, Social Security number, and potentially to apply for
credit or credit cards or other loans in your name.
If you have already been contacted and have
already given out your personal information, please monitor your account statements
and credit reports, and contact your local FBI office. It is a crime for anyone
to falsely represent himself or herself as a federal court official.
Collect Calling
How it works: A simple scam, it continues to
pop up around the country. What generally happens is you receive a call from an
operator asking you to accept an urgent collect call. While most customers
won't accept a call if they don't recognize the name, some do because they
worry it might be from a friend or relative who is in trouble. Once you agree
to accept the call, though, you will be billed for the charges.
How to protect yourself: Never accept a
collect call from someone you don't know. If you are unsure, request that the
operator ask the caller a few questions to determine the identity of the
caller. Most of the time, these additional questions will cause the person
making the call to hang up.
Calling Card Number Theft
How it works: Someone uses your calling card
number to make their own long distance calls while you pay the bill. The theft
happens in a number of ways. Someone calls posing as a representative of your
phone company and asks for your calling card number for verification purposes.
Another common scenario is that someone watches or listens as you punch in or
read your calling card number at any pay phone.
How to protect yourself: Protect your calling
card number the same way you would protect your credit card information.
Verizon and other major telecom companies never need to ask you for calling
card number; they already have it. If this happens, ask questions and ask for a
callback number. In most cases, the caller will hang up. When dialing your card
number into a pay phone, cover your actions with your body. If you suspect someone
nearby is eavesdropping or watching, stop until they move away. Commit your PIN
to memory; don't carry the PIN for your calling card in your wallet.
Be aware that if Verizon senses heavy and
unprecedented usage on your calling card, we put a stop on the card and will
call you to verify the usage. We will issue you another card number and you can
begin using it right away. You will not be responsible for fraudulent charges.
If your calling card is ever lost or stolen, report it immediately.
Third Number Billing
How it works: You receive a call from an
operator asking you if the charges for a call being placed by someone you know
can be placed on your phone bill. This is known as third-party billing. Often,
the operator will repeat a persuasive argument from the third-party and try to
convince you the person is in trouble. If you accept the third-party charges,
you will find the charges on your bill.
How to protect yourself: Never accept the
charges unless you are absolutely certain you know the person. Ask questions
and be suspicious. Most phone companies will allow you to place a
"block" on your phone, preventing such charges from being assessed.
Identity Theft
How it works: People will use a variety of methods
to convince you to give up personal information such as Social Security number,
credit card numbers, calling card numbers, bank account numbers, etc. Using
this information, criminals can pose as you and commit a number of crimes. This
will cost you a considerable amount of money and time as you try to restore
your credit rating and damaged financial situation. The attempt can occur by
way of a phone call from someone masquerading as a legitimate business. It
might come in the form of a letter or email from an allegedly legitimate
business or individual. It might even happen when someone searches your trash
for mail containing personal information and credit card receipts. In many
cases, a pre-approved credit card application gives the criminal enough
information to set up a credit card in your name.
How to protect yourself: In general, closely
guard all of your personal information. Unless you are absolutely certain you
know the person or business you're talking or corresponding with, be suspicious,
ask questions, and ask for callback information. Be very careful with the
documents you place in your trash. Shred or rip into tiny pieces any credit
card applications or credit cards you're not interested in, before you put them
in the garbage. Another good idea is to obtain a free credit report annually
through one or more of the major credit bureaus.
Credit Card Number Theft
How it works: Similar to other schemes, this
is a scam designed to convince you to give up your credit card number over the
phone or via email. This allows an unauthorized person to use your card and run
up illegal charges. Usually, you will receive a phone call or email from
someone masquerading as a representative from a legitimate company you might
normally do business with. The person will try to convince you they need your
credit card number to check your account.
How to protect yourself: Treat your credit
card and your credit card numbers like they were cash. Be suspicious and ask
lots of questions; just hang up or don't respond to the email. Most legitimate
companies do not need your credit card number; they already have it. The only
time you should provide your credit card number is when you are actually buying
something from a trusted company. Also, remember to check your credit annually
through one or more of the major credit bureaus.
*72 Prison Scam
How it works: You receive a call from an
operator saying there is an inmate from a correctional facility who needs you
to accept a collect call and the associated charges. Once you accept the call,
the caller convinces you to hang up your phone, dial in *72 and another phone
number. * 72 is the code used to forward your incoming calls to another number,
if you have call forwarding service or if it's available on a per-use basis in
your local exchange. If you do this, the inmate will then make additional
collect calls to your number, but the calls will be forwarded to someone the
inmate knows at the number where you forwarded the calls. That person accepts
the charges, but they are billed to you. Often you don't realize this has
happened until you notice your phone not ringing or you receive your bill with
numerous unexpected charges.
How to protect yourself: Never accept collect
calls unless you are absolutely sure you know the person calling. Never
activate call forwarding unless you need to do it for your own reasons and to a
number you know.
PBX/Voice Mail Compromisingg
How it works: A PBX -- or Private Branch
Exchange -- is a piece of equipment at a business which serves a number of
phone extensions within the business, providing capabilities, including
in-house calling, call transfers, call forwarding, and voice mail. Often the
equipment has the capability for remote access to allow a technician at an
off-site location to make changes or upgrades. A fraudster will tap into the
remote access function through knowledge of a password or by hacking. If they
gain access, they could give themselves the capability to make long distance
and other calls at your expense. They could also gain access to your voice mail
system and create mischief.
How to protect yourself: If you do have a
remote access feature on your PBX, turn it off. Protect your passwords for the
PBX and/or voice mail systems, and change them often. Always create a new and
unique password after activating the equipment. It is also important to
regularly review all billing information and block access to such numbers as
"900" services.
9-0 # Scam
How it works: This is a type of fraud that
preys on businesses that use PBX systems or other types of telecommunication
systems where you have to dial "9" to get an outside line to make a
call. The people attempting the scam will call the main number at a business
and identify themselves as working for the phone company. To perform a system
check, the person will ask the receptionist to initiate a conference call and
then press 9 plus 0, which accesses an outside line. The receptionist is then
asked to hang up. Often, this leaves the scam artist with access to the outside
line. They then make fraudulent long distance calls that are billed to the
business.
How to protect yourself: Legitimate major telecom
companies don't have to dial into a PBX or phone system to perform such a
check. Just hang up or ask pointed questions, including requesting a callback
number. Most of the time, the scam artist hangs up and moves on to someone else
rather than answering your question.
Slamming/Cramming
How it works: Slamming is an industry term
for an unauthorized change in your choice of long distance company. Often this
is accomplished when someone tries to sell you long distance service or you sign
a piece of paper for a contest or other marketing promotion, without checking
the fine print. Often your endorsement on a small prize check serves as the
authorizing signature. The long distance company then tells your local phone
provider they have formal authorization to switch you from your current long
distance company. Cramming is similar but involves a company placing an
unauthorized miscellaneous charge somewhere on your phone bill. This could
involve a charge for a voice mail service, Internet access services, or other
service charges.
How to protect yourself: Be careful about
what you agree to in any sales pitch or contest over the phone or in person.
Read the fine print. Perhaps most important, check all details on your phone
bill regularly. If you see a suspicious charge, be aware that the company that
placed the charge on your bill is supposed to provide contact information. Call
and ask them about the charge. If you cannot resolve the situation and you
didn't authorize the charge, contact the business office for your local phone
company. Most local companies allow you to place a "freeze" on your
long distance choice and overall phone bill, requiring specific authorization
from you before a new charge is added or the long distance provider is changed.
Social Engineering
How it works: This is a general term that
involves someone trying to convince you that they are someone they're not, in
order to collect critical personal information from you. A classic example is a
scam Verizon saw a few years ago, involving a person who calls your home and
claims to be a Verizon representative. The person says you overpaid your last
phone bill and they need some information from you -- which might include your
Social Security number -- to process a refund check.
How to protect yourself: Be suspicious and
ask questions. Ask for a callback number. If you ever overpay your local phone
bill, major telecom companies simply apply it automatically to your next bill.
There's no need to call you and process a refund.
Internet/Email Scams
Phishing
How it works: You receive an email that is
made to look as though it comes from a legitimate company you normally do
business with. The email, for example, might tell you that some sort of service
normally provided to you is due to expire soon. The email directs you to a
phony Web site made to look like the site of the company you do business with.
Once there, you are asked to provide personal information -- such as a credit
card or Social Security number -- so that your service can be continued.
How to protect yourself: First clue: Check
for misspelled words in the email and closely examine the return address.
Unless you have pre-enrolled with a company to do business via email, be
suspicious. Contact the company you normally do business with -- via phone or
email -- and ask them to verify the request. The scam can be tough to detect
since many of the criminals involved in phishing design Web sites that are
nearly identical to a real company's Web site.
Modem Hijacking
How it works: This is perhaps one of the most
prevalent scams on the Internet today. When you visit a Web site, you'll often
see pop-up ads that ask you various questions and offer you a variety of services.
To receive them, all you have to do is select "yes" on one or more
ads. If you haven't read the fine print, however, you can unwittingly be
agreeing to have software downloaded to your modem, which then instructs your
modem to make long distance calls to overseas pay-per-call services. These
calls can result in hundreds of dollars in charges. This usually impacts
dial-up customers, rather than broadband customers. Often you don't know this
has happened until you receive your next phone bill.
How to protect yourself: If you are
interested in services offered by a pop-up ad, read the fine print closely
before you select "yes". Unplug your dial-up phone line from your
modem when you're not using it or place a long distance or international call
block service on the line you use for dial-up Internet access. If you do see
unexpected high charges to exotic locations on your phone bill, call your local
or long distance phone company immediately and ask them to investigate.
809 Scam
How it works: Under the scam, you might
receive an email, page, or cell-phone text message urgently asking you to call
someone in the "809" area code or some other area code that you
normally don't call. If you make the call, you may be unwittingly dialing into
an expensive overseas pay-per-call service resulting in large charges being
placed on your next phone bill.
How to protect yourself: If you don't
recognize the phone number or area code, don't return the call. In general,
don't respond to such a message in any situation unless you are absolutely sure
you know the person or the number you are calling.
Overseas Money Transfer Scam
How it works: This falls under the heading of
"if it's too good to be true, it is." You receive an email from someone
claiming to represent a foreign government or someone formerly involved with a
foreign government. The person will claim that, through a change in leadership
or death, he or she has been left with a large amount of money. They will ask
your help getting the money out of the country, and if you help you can receive
a large share of the money. The message will go on to ask you to respond to the
email with bank account information and other personal information to help set
up the transfer.
How to protect yourself: Ignore the email.
Hit the delete button. It is too good to be true.
Worms, Viruses and Other Malicious Programs
Customers need to be aware that there are
computer worms, viruses and other malicious programs that are transmitted
through the Internet and can infect their computers. These malicious programs
can cause serious harm to customers, such as destruction of data and theft of
personal information. A good way for customers to reduce the chance that their
computers will be infected or damaged by these harmful programs is by keeping
their anti-virus software up-to-date and installing patches recommended by the
operating system vendor (e.g., Windows XP) and other suppliers for the software
on their computers.
Verizon recently learned that two computer
worms, "Zeus" and "Limbo", are capable of stealing private
information from customers who have not adequately protected their computers.
When they are active on a particular user computer, these worms are able to
capture data transmitted to and from the user computer and commercial Web sites
and even the actual keystrokes the user makes as they are typing on the
keyboard. The worm then periodically sends the captured information from the
user computer to a location where it can be retrieved by a hacker. The captured
information may include user names and passwords and could allow the hacker to
log in and do business as the victim customer. All of this occurs without the
consumer's or the Web site operator's knowledge.
Neither the verizon.com nor most other Web
sites are the cause of this malicious activity. However, we are taking
proactive steps to help protect our customers who visit our site. When we have
evidence that one of our customer's computers may have fallen prey to one of
these viruses, our practice is to disable the user account and notify the
customer. In this situation, when an affected customer tries to re-enter the
site, a message will be displayed explaining how to contact Verizon to get
additional details on the issue and re-establish access.
If this wasn't a problem with Verizon's site
or Verizon's network, how do you know about it? How was my account identified
as part of this incident?
A third party security company presented us
with information they picked up using virus scanning and analysis technology.
Once we verified that information pertained to actual verizon.com users, we
acted as expeditiously as possible to disable online access to those accounts
and prepare customer notifications.
How can I protect my computer?
While no solution is perfect, there are a
number of ways to protect your computer from unwanted intrusions such as
viruses, spyware and attacks by hackers. For example, firewall software creates
a protective barrier between your computer and the Internet to help prevent
unauthorized access into your computer. Anti-virus and anti-spyware software
helps protect your computer from programs that might cause damage or access
information on your computer without your knowledge, by detecting and removing
viruses and spyware. These and other tools for protecting your computer are
readily available in the marketplace from us, if you are a verizon.net (Verizon
Online) subscriber, or others. It is important to keep the software you use to
protect your computer updated and you should scan your computer frequently for
viruses, spyware and other threats.
If one of these worms gained access to my
computer, what specific Verizon account information might have been stolen from
me?
We believe the worms could have collected
anything that you typed in at the computer you were using once you navigated to
the verizon.com site, including your user name and password, and any changes
you might have made to your account information. [It may have also captured
information sent by the verizon.com Web site after it was received by your
computer.]
Verizon.com and other Verizon sites that
collect sensitive personal information are secured and information traveling
from those sites to our systems does so through a safe, encrypted communication
link and is not available to hackers. Once information is on your computer, or
is typed on the computer keyboard, that information can be secretly stolen by
the worms described above.
I understand that someone out there may have
information sufficient to access my account on verizon.com. What is Verizon
doing to make sure my account is protected in the future?
Verizon has disabled access to the online
accounts we identified using the information we received from the security
vendor. We strongly urge you to "clean" your computer of any viruses
and to protect it as described above before you re-establish access to your
account.
Please note that Verizon changed its online
account registration process in December of 2007. Account registration now
requires a unique pin that is typically provided via mail to the customer's
address of record or via telephone to the customer's telephone number of
record.
I am worried about someone stealing my
identity. What should I do?
The Federal Trade Commission provides
comprehensive information and advice about identity theft at their Web site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
