Sorry for all the yelling in the title, but I wanted to get your attention as this diary may be important to you.
I just want to drop in a quick diary to warn everybody about a phone bill scam that apparently is going pretty widespread across the nation. There is a company that is appears to be running out of Florida that is doing unauthorized billing to people's phone bill. And the phone companies are participating in this scam. I just found I had been a victim. Please read on.
Background
I don't use my home phone as frequently as my cell phone so I don't usually have a high bill. Most of the time, I'm just paying minimum services just to keep it on.
But this month, I happened to notice the total of my last bill as being a bit higher than usually. I checked the details of the bill and discovered I was being billed an extra $13.85 (including taxes) for a service I not only NEVER requested - but I had no idea what the service was. The service was called FAMILYCONTACT911.COM and it is run by a company called ILD Teleservices.
Phone Companies - Complicit in Scam
This charge appeared on my AT&T bill, so I immediately called, AT&T and they basically shrugged it off saying they can't control what 3rd a party attaches to my phone bill. AT&T just bills it to you. Needless to say I was furious. AT&T says they can't control it, BUT THEY CAN CERTAINLY PUT IT ON YOUR AT&T PHONE BILL. And I wouldn't doubt they get a fee for doing so. But they claim it's the law and they have to enforce it.
Calling the Scammers on the Scam
I called the phone number listed for the scam (1 800 433-4518)and surprisingly enough, they not only answered, but they told me they had been billing me for the past three months for this "service" (current bill, inclusive). I told them I never asked for this service, I don't even know what it is, etc - and they'd better take it off or else (or something to that effect - perhaps a bit...edgier :).
After a short heated banter, they agreed to remove they charges which had added up to $41.58 total. They told me it would take 2-3 billing cycles for it to be reimbursed to my phone bill (translation: it will take 2-3 months for them to refund me). They gave me a confirmation number. Now I'm supposed to wait (and watch my bill).
WTF?
But what do I do with this BOGUS charges on my bill? Am I supposed to pay for it until they clear it up? Pay AT&T late charges if I don't? So I called AT&T back and after another heated banter, they agreed to remove it from my bill altogether and credit me for all three months I'd been frauded.
A Well-Known, Widespread Scam
Well, I did an internet search for both FAMILYCONTACT911.COM and ILD Teleservices and found an UNBELIEVABLE amount of hits on Google, ALL of which were fraud complaints at sites like Ripoffreport.com and other consumer complaint sites. Some posts date back to March of last year, so this is not a new scam.
And AT&T is not the only phone company participating in this scam. Also named was Verizon and other phone companies who do the dirty work for this scam company, attaching their charges to your bill, collecting these charges for them and then claiming they have to charge you when you call them up to complain. Here is one of the posts from a Mike_L on a site called 800notes.com:
This is how it works. Familycontact911.com (1-866-381-1674) in India hires ILD.com (1-800-433-4518) in Mexico to handle their billing. Familycontact911.com bills ATT.Com for services. ATT.com says that they cannot stop Familycontact911.com from charging the account. Familycontact911.com asks for identifying information when you sign up including name, address, phone, and mother's madenname and the names of up to 8 other people. Use your imagination and then google Familycontact911.com and ILD.com with the word scam and see what happens. I've been seeking to get them off my bill for two months (June and July) without suscess. Please tell us your story.
I was one of the "lucky" ones!
After reading numerous complaints about this company, I realized I was lucky. Some people were told to write the company to have it taken off the bill, others are still waiting for their refund. Some received multiple bills from ILD, totaling over $800 on one phone bill.
Here is the info I have so far:
ILD Teleservices has received complaints on several other scam-companies going by the names of:
o FAMILYCONTACT911.COM
o HBS Billing Services
o Member's Edge
o Fone Right, Inc.
NOTE: This is probably not a complete list.
I found this address online - I have no idea if this is truthful or not:
ILD Teleservices
170 Sand Key Estates Dr
Clearwater, FL 33767
Pinellas County
(866) 381-1674 / 8663811674 / 1 800 433-4518
NOTE: The bolded number is the one appearing on my bill.
Some complaints said they were unable to get through on the other numbers.
How You Can Protect Yourself
1) CHECK YOUR PHONE BILL REGULARLY, Especially your landline bills. This is how I got into trouble. This was a phone I hardly use - a bill I almost never check. I don't know how they got my phone number, NOR do I know how they knew my provider was AT&T. Is AT&T complicit in selling your phone number to companies that can then use that info to bill you for bogus services? I don't know (it wouldn't surprise me) but even if it wasn't them there are plenty of other companies (including the utility companies) happy to sell your personal information to make a turn over a quick buck.
2) Beware of Cold Calls or Telemarketers asking who your phone provider is. They may claim to be able to give you a better rate on your phone bill or who knows what - just to get that information. It's obvious they already have your phone number since they called you. But the minute you tell them your provider, they can fraudulently bill your provider for "services" you never asked for or received. Nor does your phone company have an obligation to inform you - other than tell you what you owe and collect it from you. You are that vulnerable.
3) Be wary of Websites asking for your phone company information. It doesn't' happen often - but it only takes once.
If you think you may have been scammed already:
1) Call Your Phone Company First.If you see a similar service that you didn't ask for, call to complaint to your phone provider immediately. They may say they can't do anything BUT THEY CAN. They took it off my bill immediately but not until after I called the scam company and then called AT&T back and I complained loud and long about it.
2) Call the Scam company, if you can get through. Dispute the charges. They'll give you a confirmation number. Make sure you call the phone company back and let them know. Tell them you want the charges off your bill. This is a well-known scam and there's NO WAY AT&T, Verizon (and other complicit phone companies) haven't already heard about this. I was fortunate. Not everyone else was.
3) Beware of New Scams using your Phone Number and Phone Provider info Once one of these scam companies gets your phone info, it's only matter of time before that info is spread to other scammers. It's apparent our brilliant lawmakers have sided with 3rd scam companies that can bill you for services not requested. So once your phone # and phone provider info is leaked around, don't be surprised that more scammers will see the profit in billing your phone company without your consent or knowledge, and with no questions asked. So don't give out your phone info on the internet or on telemarketers or you may end up with bullshit charges on your bill. NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW WHO YOUR PROVIDER IS.
4) Get Consumer Affairs involved, immediately.
The AT&T phone bill has a blurb on what to do if you think you are being scammed. They give this address to either write or fax to (no emails):
CPUC Consumer Affairs
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Toll free: 1-800-649-7570 to file an informal complaint with a live operator. You may need to follow this up with a written complaint that you will need to either snail mail or fax in.
5) Please pass this information on to others. Apparently, according to the posts I've read, this scam has been going on for at least a year. So far not much appears to have been done since they are still in operation.
6) Get lawmakers involved. Write whomever you have to get this to stop. Perhaps the third party billing law has to change so that phone providers don't have an excuse to charge you for services you're not getting.
7) Consider getting a new phone number/provider. It SUCKS I know. But once your info is out there, it's only a matter of time before some other scammer tries the same shit (and will likely get away with it). Keep in mind the company that scammed me is still in business.
Follow up to Come
I'll be posting followups to let you all know how this plays out for me and any other info I find out that may be of help to prevent this from happening to others.
Cheers everyone. And WATCH YOUR PHONE BILL!