By BART JARMAN
An Internet scam that lured customers with the promise of erotic photographs, and allegedly cost patrons hundreds of thousands of dollars in overseas charges, has been halted by the Federal Trade Commission.
The Utah Department of Commerce reported that the telephone is beginning to play a larger role in private and business affairs. Telemarketing is a growing industry in Utah, and the telephone is an important marketing tool for legitimate businesses.
But the Better Business Bureau cautions consumers to watch for scams executed by phone and through the Internet.
Here's how a few of the more popular scams work.
Internet sites promise visitors free images by downloading a special image viewer. The sites fail to disclose that consumers who use these programs will be disconnected from their local Internet connection and reconnected to a foreign provider -- at a cost of $2 a minute. After leaving the site, the international charges continue until the consumer logs off the net.
Companies and groups that use these scams often have arrangements with other countries to get a commission or a kick-back from the foreign phone company, said the National Fraud Information Center.
Consumers can also be scammed into calling 809 and other international telephone numbers without knowing that they are dialing out of the country. The Fraud Information Center reports that several places, such as the Caribbean and Canada, have phone numbers available that look just like U.S. numbers with a 3-digit area code and a total of 11 digits.
Sometimes scam artists threaten legal actions if the consumer doesn't call back immediately, or they leave messages that a close family member is ill, and request a return call.
Consumers call the return number and find themselves listening to long recorded messages, or they are put on hold so that international phone charges will accumulate.
The Fraud Information Center advises consumers that have been victimized to call the phone company. Part of the charges that come from these scams go to U.S. companies for hook-up fees, and some companies are willing to credit consumers for the disputed amount on a one-time basis.
Never return calls to unfamiliar numbers, check with the operator if you have a question about an unfamiliar area code and report suspicious phone scams to local and state consumer protection agencies.
According to the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing, Americans lose an estimated $40 billion each year in telemarketing fraud.
Some of the top phone scams offer free prizes that usually include large shipping fees; charitable solicitations, which may or may not be legitimate charities; travel offers, with free trips that hide costs and expenses; investment fraud, including 'hot' tips that must be acted upon quickly and credit repair scams that offer consumers a chance to repair damaged credit ratings that usually take your money and do nothing for your credit.