Campus Phone Bill Could Skyrocket With Transfer Scam

Do not transfer callers to extension 90, 900, or 9000 or you may be a victim of a phone scam. If you transfer the line to these numbers, the caller will be connected to an operator and may be able to bill the UW fraudulently for long distance or overseas calls.

Most UW lines are restricted from such operator-assisted calls being billed to the calling number; the caller needs to provide a calling card or third number billing. This is intended as a safeguard, but it is not foolproof.

Good Practices When Handling Calls

Protect yourself, your department, and the university from deceptive callers by following these call-handling tips:

Refer any calls from telecommunications vendors, especially requests to test your telephone equipment, to Communication Technologies at 206-543-0133
Never transfer a call to a non-campus number if you do not know the person on the phone (and never to 90, 900, or 9000)
Never accept collect calls unless you know the person who is calling, and never transfer an incoming collect call to another number because you will be charged until the call ends

Scrutinize Your Phone Bill and Ask for Help

Be sure to review your monthly long distance billing statements. If calls to unfamiliar numbers appear, consider how that might have happened. If a caller asks to be transferred to an outside number or says they are with a company that is testing the phone lines, report it immediately to Communication Technologies (206-543-0133) so that any potential fraud can be investigated.

University of Washington Computing & Communications
Windows on Computing, No. 22, Winter 1999
newsltr@cac.washington.edu