A residential client called me around supper time tonight to inquire about a problem that she was having. Multiple calls within the last 24 hours and when she answers, she gets dead air and the CLID disappears right away.

I told her it was probably Telemarketers searching for how numbers are answered, whether it was by fax or voice. (I once had a client with 5 or 6 residential lines into her house and was being paid by a company to do just that. She was given one exchange at a time, anywhere in North America & once she was done, she'd get another one.)

Anyway I told her to report the issue to the CRTC and file a complaint with them as well as with Bell.

The client just called back and since we talked she had been on the line with Bell (for over an hour). She is now the proud owner of an invoice of $837.00....all within the last 24 hours and they won't cancel the charges. They claimed that these scammers call a number and if someone answers, it triggers long distance calls to be made and charged to the innocent victim's number AND it's the victim's fault by answering the phone.

So again, I tell her to file a complaint with the CRTC, Bell and notify the media as Bell will not credit her account. She sure as hell won't be paying the bill. She made THAT very clear!

The following numbers were showing in her call log:
425-406-9023
872-253-9786
061-897-4427
238-827-1006 and
066-945-6632

These numbers are non-existent and that was verified by Bell as they tried to call them as well. I assume they're coming from a PRI line and being spoofed, so the numbers may be irrelevant.

The client's problem is that her husband is very sick & his son travels the world for some big company so they never know where he'll be calling from...

Any of you CO guys have some input that I can pass on?

Scientists say that the universe is made up of Protons, Neutron & Electrons. They forgot "Morons".
Dave. (CTUB) Canadian Techs Use Bix!