Coming home for Easter, I come to find out that my parents have been ripped off by a scam on their Sprint local phone bill. There is a bogus charge for $88.00 on the current bill dated April 4. Somehow, a dialer software was on my mother's computer and started dialing all sorts of crazy numbers. Since my parents have dial-up, the dialer started up every time the computer was booted or restarted. They didn't want me to use the internet for fear that the software would act up again.
Against their wishes, I got on the internet to research this scam. Damn, I'm glad that I did! I was able to download Ad-Aware and it found the problem right away. It's mind boggling how this scam is affecting so many people.
Apparently, USBI and The Billing Resource are all a part, or are affiliates of, a company called Integretel. None of the websites will give you an actual physical address. All it says for The Billing Resource and Integretel is that they are both located in San Jose, California.
It's funny how The Billing Resource doesn't have any career opportunities, but Integretel is looking for a Financial Analyst! Too bad I didn't major in economy. If I had, I would work with the feds to bust their conniving asses!
It doesn't stop there. I checked the bill for December and for January. January was actually legit, but December shocked me. Call me crazy, but I know my parents don't know anyone from Wallis & Futuna Isl. Or from Austria! Why are there $562.68 in charges for calls to these places that were never made? Because some dipshit that wrote this trojan horse, virus, worm (or whatever the hell that dialer software is) didn't have anything better to do with their pathetic, miserable lives, so why not con my parents and make money off of them instead of getting a real job and earning their money!
Being a graduate with a BS in computer science, it really irritates me to see just how corrupt our society has become. My mother and father just want me to get the virus or, in their words, "what-the-helleva it is" off the computer. They just want the computer to not be infected.
I want more. My parents work hard for every cent they earn, and they can't afford to be conned out of their money. Granted, I haven't lived with my parents for 2 years now, but if somebody messes with my mother, they're in for a fight. I don't care if I do live almost 200 miles away from my parents, I'm not going to let them take this sitting down. I'll fight on their behalf!
As a side note to whoever thought of this scam, GET A JOB YOU PATHETIC LOSER! I apologize for all caps, but I just had to get my point across. (That and I don't feel like going through the trouble of trying to italicize that statement!) As a message to those on the internet, if a popup says "free" on it, don't click on it. You're just asking to get a virus.
To all of those who have been hit by this scam, I feel deep sympathy for you. I understand your pain. To all of those who are getting away with doing this scam, why don't you contribute to society and just die?
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