Deceptive Collect Calls

The Better Business Bureau has been alerted to deceptive collect calls being made to individuals in the guise of a charitable donation. According to call recipients, individuals are asked if they would accept a collect call from "Jennifer" (sometimes "John" is used). If they agree, they then hear a prerecorded message that informs them that they have just made an eight ($8) dollar donation to a specified children's charity.

The Better Business Bureau offers individuals the following tips in dealing with such calls:

• Don't accept a collect call from someone you don't know. If you can, verify the full name of any collect caller before agreeing to accept the charges.
• If you accept a deceptive collect call in error, listen carefully to the message and note any information that might be helpful in filing a complaint (i.e., the exact name of the charity, its location, the name of the long distance carrier, etc.)
• Contact the Better Business Bureau so we can alert others in the community about the ruse.
• Inform your local phone carrier about the problem. However, they might not be able to provide immediate assistance without the name of the long distance carrier that placed the collect call.
• Look at your next phone bill carefully. It should identify the deceptive collect call charge and the long distance carrier that placed the call. Make a copy of the bill and send it along with a complaint letter to your local phone carrier, with a copy also being sent to:

a) The Federal Communications Commission, Consumer Protection Branch, Washington, D.C. 20554, Mail Stop 1600A ;

b) the Better Business Bureau, and

c) the Federal Trade Commission, 63 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, H285285, Washington, D.C. 20580.

This report is general in nature and not intended as a reliability report on any company, service or product.