My ISP has sent this info:
Modem Hijacking
I got stung for $43.89. Not as much as others but wonder if anyone else has been caught.
Lately we have noticed an increasing number of victims of what we call the "dialer scam". What happens is that a program puts an unwanted dialer on your machine and at set times it dials - often to Africa. Unless you are at your machine you are unaware that this is happening and your first indication of a problem is a huge phone bill. That's how this scam works. They use your phone company to collect the charges. The OPP considers this fraud and advises that you not pay the disputed charges.
There is no easy solution to this problem. Here are my suggestions:
First scan for viruses and when you know you are clear download and run a free program called Spybot. (You can find this through a search engine like google). Remove any parasites you find. Note that this may cause some programs to fail but these programs are invariably the ones that brought the parasites in the first place.
Go to: http://www.safer-networking.org/
Another good one is Adaware. You can find it at: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Other things:
1. Turn off the computer when not in use.
2. You can unplug the phone line when not actively using the Internet. If you want, pick up a phone line extension free at Aztec and tape the jack within easy reach.
Fight the charges. It doesn't seem right that a phone company should either profit or collect charges that are fraudulent. Make sure you pay the legitimate portion of your bill but dispute and withhold payment of the fraudulent charges. Fax the disputed bill with a brief note to the OPP at 1-888-654-9426. Detective Staff Sergeant Barry Elliott says they need as many as they can get. Feel free to use Aztec's FAX machine.
If Bell provides your long-distance and their customer service won't cancel the charge, call Bell Head Office at 1-800-267-7734. James Campbell in Bell customer relations says they often waive charges. Phone but be polite. Take their time and explain about ethics and the responsibilities of Corporate Citizenship. Ask why they don't block those known overseas numbers or at least hold back payments to rogue phone companies. Both of these solutions are easy for the phone companies, after all, we can block spam and that is much harder to identify.
Here are the Ethics:
The phone company cannot control the equipment plugged into its network. This is a point for the phone company.
On the other hand, according to the OPP this scam constitutes fraud in that it involves "deception with deprivation and intent". In my opinion the phone company, in collecting and profiting from this fraud becomes party to the fraud. Threatening and bullying behaviour on the part of a phone company therefore constitutes extortion.
As a final note, the phone company may claim that "you must have clicked on something" or "agreed to something" thereby bringing this down on yourself. In the first place this is irrelevant. You never agreed to be robbed. Secondly these things can happen while surfing and entirely without your consent. It's called a "drive-by" in the Internet industry.
Good luck,
Rick Hall
Modem Hijacking
I got stung for $43.89. Not as much as others but wonder if anyone else has been caught.
Lately we have noticed an increasing number of victims of what we call the "dialer scam". What happens is that a program puts an unwanted dialer on your machine and at set times it dials - often to Africa. Unless you are at your machine you are unaware that this is happening and your first indication of a problem is a huge phone bill. That's how this scam works. They use your phone company to collect the charges. The OPP considers this fraud and advises that you not pay the disputed charges.
There is no easy solution to this problem. Here are my suggestions:
First scan for viruses and when you know you are clear download and run a free program called Spybot. (You can find this through a search engine like google). Remove any parasites you find. Note that this may cause some programs to fail but these programs are invariably the ones that brought the parasites in the first place.
Go to: http://www.safer-networking.org/
Another good one is Adaware. You can find it at: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Other things:
1. Turn off the computer when not in use.
2. You can unplug the phone line when not actively using the Internet. If you want, pick up a phone line extension free at Aztec and tape the jack within easy reach.
Fight the charges. It doesn't seem right that a phone company should either profit or collect charges that are fraudulent. Make sure you pay the legitimate portion of your bill but dispute and withhold payment of the fraudulent charges. Fax the disputed bill with a brief note to the OPP at 1-888-654-9426. Detective Staff Sergeant Barry Elliott says they need as many as they can get. Feel free to use Aztec's FAX machine.
If Bell provides your long-distance and their customer service won't cancel the charge, call Bell Head Office at 1-800-267-7734. James Campbell in Bell customer relations says they often waive charges. Phone but be polite. Take their time and explain about ethics and the responsibilities of Corporate Citizenship. Ask why they don't block those known overseas numbers or at least hold back payments to rogue phone companies. Both of these solutions are easy for the phone companies, after all, we can block spam and that is much harder to identify.
Here are the Ethics:
The phone company cannot control the equipment plugged into its network. This is a point for the phone company.
On the other hand, according to the OPP this scam constitutes fraud in that it involves "deception with deprivation and intent". In my opinion the phone company, in collecting and profiting from this fraud becomes party to the fraud. Threatening and bullying behaviour on the part of a phone company therefore constitutes extortion.
As a final note, the phone company may claim that "you must have clicked on something" or "agreed to something" thereby bringing this down on yourself. In the first place this is irrelevant. You never agreed to be robbed. Secondly these things can happen while surfing and entirely without your consent. It's called a "drive-by" in the Internet industry.
Good luck,
Rick Hall