Relay fraud

relayoprxxxx · 08-12-2006, 04:15 PM

i found this on another website posted by a fellow relay opr regarding scams/frauds that take place over the various relay services... i am just curious what u all think regarding this issue

Quote:

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcomes! To answer some of the above questions... here goes. I'm long winded, so bear with me...

We've been working with many different groups of deaf people. They are aware of the problem, but unfortunately, aren't terribly concerned.

The heart of the problem is this: Functional Equivalence. The services for the deaf must be "functionally equivalent" to what hearing people must do to use their phone. Functionally equivalent services are heavily accented mandates put out by the FCC and the ADA. What seems to be misunderstood though, is that we DO have to register for our phones. We DO have to give the phone companies our private info in order to have our phones in our home. The difference would be that in order to register for the IP Relay services, you would need something similar to getting a handicapped parking sticker. A doctor would have to say that this is a service you need. They are adamantly opposed to this. Hearing people don't have to enter a username and password before they make a phone call, either.

The thing I think most deaf groups don't seem to grasp though, is that soon their functionally equivalent services will be rendered useless. Already, after just a couple of years of the IP Relay hijacking by the nigerians, people regularly refuse relay calls. Especially if you're calling small businesses, auto parts stores, or pharmacies. These places are big targets for the Nigerians. In turn, the deaf people are getting hung up on because the business thinks all relay calls are scams.

As for the FCC "looking into the problem" is a bit late. Same idea as the lack of action in the deaf community. The damage is done.

About a year ago, I know that some of the big IP Relay corporations decided that in the long run, the profits they are making on the volume of scam calls were going to be outweighed in the long run by ruining their reputation and their business and services they provide. So they started implementing "disconnect procedures". This was in direct conflict with the FCC mandates that we are to make absolutely no decisions to disconnect any call for any reason. Somehow, the companies got around this. What they did is kind of hard to explain without tipping off the scammers. I'll try my best.

There are certain things that happen in every scam call. They do and say certain things that make the operator know that it was a scam. (Any operator worth their salt can tell a scammer just by the manner in which they type the phone number to dial.... but anyway). It's almost like they all use the same script. So the management decided that if X Y or Z happened in a call, you could call a supervisor over to your console, and have them determine that it was a fraud call. Then the supervisor would get on the phone, warn the person in generic terms that this was probably a scam call involving fraudulently obtained credit card numbers, and that the call would now be disconnected. They gave the number to customer service and hung the phone up and disconnected the scammer.

To the operators, this was a GODSEND. But it didn't take long before the scammers figured out the criteria and they now work around it. They're not as successful as they used to be, but they're more determined than ever.

So the fraud continues. I'm afraid that the service has already been ruined. It would take years to undo the damage, even if the registration process was implemented today. I don't know what the answer is, so all the operators can do is continue the good fight. We try to warn people, we call victims on our own time... all things that could get us fired. But I know a lot of operators the ONLY stay at the job so that they can fight the scammers.

ismi · 08-12-2006, 05:13 PM

I understand the motive behind requiring registration for IP relay. But I (and I suspect many others) would never have known this was available if I had had to go to a doctor to get a prescription (or signature, or whatever - approval of some sort). I first began using relay during periods of temporary inability to use the phone - times when I couldn't wear my hearing aids because they were broken or my ears were infected. Now, I'm using it more frequently; but I would not have known about this option without those impulse-driven experiments.

GraysonPeddie · 08-12-2006, 07:26 PM

Well, registration is no big deal for me, but I don't know how I would go to a doctor to get a copy of my document saying that I'm hearing/speech impaired (not only that but visual impaired but that'd be irrelevant to relay service I think...

But if I get it down by the doctor sending me the document to me, then I could mail the document to the relay service office (mostly My IP Relay as I mostly use it for ordering pizza and make business phone calls).

This would help keep the Nigerian scams down to the minimum.

relayoprxxxx · 08-12-2006, 10:43 PM

All relay services are required to be able to svc the needs of the cust within a certain amt of time (don t remmy how long) there have been times where there are so many frauds that there is a queue of fraudulent users waiting to be connected!

this is preventing the intended users (the deaf community!) from using a svc that was intended for them

the FCC has started talks with congress about allowing us as oprs to make a judgement call regarding whether or not the call is fraudulent. some of you may view this as being not transparent and being judgemental about call content and i see it this way as well to an extent. but i think it is a necessary step. i can tell whether a call is a fraud before it even starts dialing (and they re absolutely terrible at using relay!) so i know whats fraud and whats not.

some businesses will just hang up on relay calls and it is annoying trying to explain to them that there is an actual deaf person trying to call them! sometimes i will inform them that by hanging up simply on the basis that it is a relay call that are violating the ADA and the caller does have the ability to take legal action against them. 9 times out of 10 it will straighten them out

operatorhere · 11-27-2006, 11:50 AM

Hello Relayoperator- I was the author of that article/post... whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I posted it... can you tell me where you found that?

11-27-2006, 11:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
operatorhere Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 10	Hello Relayoperator- I was the author of that article/post... whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I posted it... can you tell me where you found that? __________________ Come visit the new Relay Operator's forum. We are fighting against IP Relay scams every day so that you can have your service back, scam free! You can visit us at http://relayscams.aimoo.com/

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08-12-2006, 05:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
ismi Implanted 7/18/07 Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 745	I understand the motive behind requiring registration for IP relay. But I (and I suspect many others) would never have known this was available if I had had to go to a doctor to get a prescription (or signature, or whatever - approval of some sort). I first began using relay during periods of temporary inability to use the phone - times when I couldn't wear my hearing aids because they were broken or my ears were infected. Now, I'm using it more frequently; but I would not have known about this option without those impulse-driven experiments.

08-12-2006, 07:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
GraysonPeddie Eye/Hear/Speech Impaired Join Date: May 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL 32310 Posts: 784	Well, registration is no big deal for me, but I don't know how I would go to a doctor to get a copy of my document saying that I'm hearing/speech impaired (not only that but visual impaired but that'd be irrelevant to relay service I think... But if I get it down by the doctor sending me the document to me, then I could mail the document to the relay service office (mostly My IP Relay as I mostly use it for ordering pizza and make business phone calls). This would help keep the Nigerian scams down to the minimum.

08-12-2006, 10:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
relayoprxxxx Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 10	All relay services are required to be able to svc the needs of the cust within a certain amt of time (don t remmy how long) there have been times where there are so many frauds that there is a queue of fraudulent users waiting to be connected! this is preventing the intended users (the deaf community!) from using a svc that was intended for them the FCC has started talks with congress about allowing us as oprs to make a judgement call regarding whether or not the call is fraudulent. some of you may view this as being not transparent and being judgemental about call content and i see it this way as well to an extent. but i think it is a necessary step. i can tell whether a call is a fraud before it even starts dialing (and they re absolutely terrible at using relay!) so i know whats fraud and whats not. some businesses will just hang up on relay calls and it is annoying trying to explain to them that there is an actual deaf person trying to call them! sometimes i will inform them that by hanging up simply on the basis that it is a relay call that are violating the ADA and the caller does have the ability to take legal action against them. 9 times out of 10 it will straighten them out