My son attends Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, and we installed a phone at his apartment with local phone service only, to enable him to dial into the school's modem pool. He uses a cell phone for long distance calls, and the local Qwest line for local calls ONLY.
The October bill from QWEST arrived in the mail on Friday, October 22, with 6 calls to the United Kingdom totalling $214.17 plus $23.99 in taxes on those calls. I called QWEST and they told me they have nothing to do with the long distance portion of my bill (although when I ordered phone service, I specifically told them we wanted NO long distance on this phone).
Attempts to reach the phone service broker listed on the bill, "USBI" by phone (1-888-481-8724) resulted in my being told that my call would be forwarded to TELLISS (sp?), who "handles their own customer service". I never reached anyone at TELLISS — there was a busy signal as soon as my call was transferred.
I called back to USBI and asked for a contact number for ONE CALL COMM (another company name that was also shown on my phone bill). They gave me this number: 1-800-472-8889 for ONE CALL COMM's customer service. Again, no connection, just a recording, suggesting that I try again later in the week.
Wherever you are, whatever the circumstance, contact your local attorney general's office with as much information as you can. There are also other places to contact with the information contained on your bill, including the National Fraud Information Center, The Federal Trade Commission Information Center, and the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
Also, make sure that you have all the latest antivirus and spyware detection and removal software loaded. DO NOT PAY THIS BILL if you did not authorize it. An autodialer has hijacked your computer's phone dialer and it must be removed from your computer. Don't leave your computer turned on while you are asleep or away, or you will continue to get these unwanted charges for calls you didn't make. Don't freak out, this will be taken care of eventually, but you must act immediately.
Good luck.
Debbie
TACOMA, Washington
U.S.A.
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