sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information 800 Toll Free Phone Fraud?

I know that this is out in left field but? Somehow someone has found a way to use my Company 800 Telephone fraudulently, at least I am pretty sure. Bell Canada has charged us with calls that I know for sure we are not receiving.

It first started months ago with a few calls, but now on our last bill was a charge for 30 calls from the same call Area code NPA 613 EXCH 264 Perth Ontario, for 15 hours of call time. Bell says that they are legitimate calls, but we know better. This Area Code's calls are more than all the rest of North America combined. We have just not had these call come to us.

Does anyone have any Idea how this is being accomplished? Thanks Leonard Chowns C.E.T.

edited: overlooked one of your statements.

What kind of a telephone system do you have? Do you have a Voice Mail? What kind?? Do you have any kind of an answering device at all??

Sounds as if they are telemarketer calls and the machine/caller is hanging up. What time do they occur?? Is there a pattern??

Are the last 4 digits of the calling numbers in any sort of a pattern?? What happens when you call some of those numbers??

Does Bell have the ability to give you the actual calling number? Most carriers can block inbound calls from specific numbers, exchanges, area codes, states/provinces or countries.

You may also want to confirm that calling party disconnect is being sent by Bell to your phone system when callers hang up. If this is not being sent, you will end up with long voice mail recordings of silence. If the phone system isn't "told" that the calling party hangs up, then it doesn't know to tell the voice mail to release the line and subsequently keeps the call tied up. That's just a stretch, but it is a legitimate avenue.

Then, of course there's the possiblity of true hackers and there's no telling what they manage to pull off.

800 Toll Fraud is all too common. Several of our clients have had the same situation occur with two different causes.

One the Nortel voicemail system was hacked because the sys admin passwords had not been changed from the original default. (Not our install, we were hired to consult and troubleshoot afterwards).

The others had been a manipulation of a feature in the phone system known as DISA. A feature where you can dial in to control most phone system features remotely using the dial pad. Again, default system settings were a contributing factor.

Please consider contacting a reputable local telephone equipment dealer to assist you in securing your own system/equipment.

Security departments from most ILECs and CLECs can tell you many stories of toll fraud where the billing client had no idea their phone system had been manipulated by an unknown 3rd party.

Update; Just a little more info I will endeavour to answer all queries from, barster, JWRacedog, ev607797, and OCI, A.S.A.P. but OCI your second suggestion is the cause, I am pretty sure.

Please Help if you can ???

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I am en-broiled in a Bell Canada Telephone conflict. It all goes back to Months and Months ago when I started being billed for calls that were supposed to be coming to my Resort on my Toll Free 800 line. The discrepancies stand out like sore thumbs, They all come from the same exchange and add up to ridicules amounts of time , and therefore money {in one month 15 hours on 30 calls. That is more than the rest of North America combined !! } P.S. my Wife or I are the only ones answering that line and we Know that we NEVER got those messages? It would be imposable not to remember 938 min or over 15 hours from the same place Perth Ontario.

My phone supplier will not listen to reason they insist that I pay the complete charges or I might loose my service coverage.

I was looking for another type of phone service . As Bell Canada has a monopoly in my area on phone lines.

That is why I asked the question in my post just before this one.

I hope someone out there could help us in some way . Thanks Leonard Chowns C.E.T.

Bell Telephone supposedly did an investigation and closed that investigation on March 7th they never told us that the investigation was over until we Phoned them again and again. We were then told they could find no problem as DID WE NOT KNOW THAT ALL CALL MADE ANYWHERE IN NORTH AMERICA CAN BE CHARGED TO OUR 800 PHONE NUMBER THEREFORE WE ARE LIBEL FOR THOSE CHARGES? Therefore we should read our contract so that we will know what our coverage is? WE GIVE UP !!!!!


Bell has now reopened that investigation.Also they will not give me any more Info. than was on the Bell Canada Statement. NPA 613 EXCH. 264 ORIG Location PERTH ONTARIO # CALLS 30 BILLED MIN. 938 And That's all there is on the statement. Only one line in from Bell ,two phones same line and are Bell units Nothing else.

Bell Canada will supply the last four digits at a cost for the full 800 toll free line at Setup $5,000.00 and $250.00 per month??? forget that!!!!

The Phone just does not ring and we live here so it's monitored 24/7 Leonard Chowns

Not necessarily your system at all.

Had a client who was getting threatening calls from people in California who had received calls from my client's 800 number on their CID box. Also received calls from all over the US. The callers swore that they had dialed another number. Went on for over a month, but luckily the amounts were negligable.

Of course, Bell refused responsibility, client blamed me as she had got her lines from Primus through me, etc.

Long story short, the 800 number was being improperly re-routed via Bell's network in the US. God only knows which CO was responsible. Bell insisted that she either remove coverage from the US, but client refused as she's an insurance agent and advertised to her clients the number in case of accident. Eventually the client had no choice but change her numbers.

She happy now, but she won't let me forget it. One of the reasons I'm getting out of selling lines.....everything's MY fault.

Dave

I thought I had your answer until you insisted it is watched 24/7 and not forwarded. There is a well known hack involving 800 numbers forwarded to answering services that can deliver the troubles you are experiencing. Especially if the 800 number terminates on loop start lines.

to ev607797 Ed We can not block out the whole 613 NPA as that is almost 1/2 Ontario

RATHER BE FISHING Yeah me to. Thanks for that info, But it was good to share as I learnt something new.

OCI & MooreTel This is more the reasons that will inevitably end up as being the cause. I seem to have inherited a full time Bell Canada Tech. parked the whole day here yesterday trying to get it fixed he was on the Phone 4 1/2 hours He is bringing his boss tomorrow. Here's Hoping ???

Leonard

Leonard: Do you have loop start lines (regular lines not T1 lines) at your facility? Do you have calls where the phone rings and no ones there so you hang up? If so I need to send you a private message to get you to test something.

Dave