A charge from USBI appeared on my telephone bill for a 20 minute call placed to 441277770142 in the United Kingdom, totaling 51.63 with taxes (46.26 before taxes).
The number charged is my fax/dsl line so I knew I had not made this call. I called USBI and they stated that it was a connection charge from an ISP. Since I have DSL through my local phone company I knew this could not be correct. The representative then told me that it was a charge for accessing a web site and that the charges were clearly stated before the site was accessed. She further stated that the call had been traced back to my number so it couldn't be a mistake.
By this point I knew it was a scam so I pressed the issue of the charge. She told me that she would remove the charge (as a courtesy) and block my number from being charged by this ISP anymore. I asked who the ISP was and she reluctantly gave me the following information:
Opticom, PO Box 3141, Carmel Indiana, 46032.
I asked to file a complaint with her company and she told me they didn't have a complaint procedure. I asked to speak with a supervisor and she said she didn't have one. Then she disconnected the call.
I contacted my telephone company (Verizon) and they said they have no procedure to file a complaint concerning fraudulent charges so the gave me the FCC toll-free number. I called the FCC and listened to the recorded message on CRAMMING, then filed a complaint on their web site fcc. Gov/cgb/complaints.html
If the call (or web site access) did originate from my computer, it must have been the result of spyware or a virus such as a trojan horse, worm, or dialer. I have taken steps to clean any spyware and viruses off my computer and to prevent future attacks. I would suggest that others do the same, but I don't know for sure if that's how this charge was generated.
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