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Keep an ear out for 'deaf' con men - Top Stories
The device is supposed to be used by the deaf.
It's supposed to let those who can't talk on the phone use a keyboard and a special operator.
But in the wrong hands, a text telephone can become an extra layer of protection for a con man trying to steal your hard-earned money.
At least two county residents in the past two weeks said men claiming to be deaf used the devices and federally mandated operators in an attempt to bilk them out of thousands of dollars.
Both victims - a Tracys Landings woman trying to sell some Labrador puppies in The Capital and an employee of a Glen Burnie-based awning company - figured out it was a scam before they lost any money.
Only the awning attempt was reported to police, and a department spokesman said that was the first TTY scam the department had seen.
Still, the Better Business Bureau warns that the scams - first reported in 2004 - appear to be on the rise again.
"We got an alert last week," said Angie Barnett, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, adding that the scam is sweeping the country.
She said the new twist on an old scam is very serious.
"It makes it more difficult to track and locate the fraudulent business and put them out of business," she said. "And it takes advantage of a system that was created to help the disabled."
The Text Telephone Yoke and Telecommunications Relay Service were products of the Americans with Disabilities Act. With the use of a special keyboard, a deaf person can type messages to a TRS operator. That operator, in turn, can read what's written to a hearing person on the other end of the call.
By law, relay operators aren't allowed to disclose the origin of a call. They also must relay any message, no matter how suspicious it might sound.
Jim Smith, a spokesman for Verizon, said their operators have repeatedly complained about the scam artists.
"It's frustrating for the operators to be exposed to this nefarious behavior and be powerless to do anything about it," he said, explaining that Verizon has filed papers with the federal government for a review of the TTY and TRS systems. "I guess the next stop is the FCC."
Stacey Atwell, an employee of PG Awning at 1041 Dorsey Road, told police she got a TTY call Jan. 22 from a man claiming to be a deaf pastor from Westminster. That man, who gave the name "Andrew Morgan," said he raised money for charities and wanted to order some awnings to be shipped to the Bahamas.
According to the police report, Ms. Atwell "thought this to be a little strange, but felt it must be legit since she was dealing with a deaf reverend."
That said, when Mr. Morgan tried to have her overcharge his credit card and send a personal check to a shipping company, she realized it was a scam.
She told police she canceled the $6,500 credit-card order - the BBB warns that the cards are usually stolen - and asked for a certified check. She then did some research online and found a similar con outlined on the Better Business Bureau Web site.
Likewise, Jane Powers of Tracys Landing said she didn't know what to think when she got a call from a TRS operator on Jan. 18 asking about her Labrador puppies. After a few minutes, though, she and "Bennie Scott" - a supposedly deaf man from Brookfield, N.Y. - traded e-mails and planned to write each other later.
"I never heard the person on the other side (of the phone)," she said, explaining that her entire conversation was just with the operator.
The next day, she got an e-mail from Mr. Scott saying in fractured English that he was interested in buying a puppy and would send her a cashier's check to pay for the dog and shipping. The e-mail said she would have to deposit the check, deduct $750 for the dog - $100 more than her asking price - and then send the remaining cash to a shipping agent.
"It didn't take me long to figure it out (that it was a scam)," said Mrs. Powers. "He never said what color, or male or female, or anything."
Cpl. Sara Schriver, a county police spokesman, said an officer took a report about the awning scam, but noted that there's not much more they can do on a local level.
"This is an international crime," she said.
The BBB advises anyone who receives an order like this to ask the buyer for a complete name, address and telephone number, the name of the bank that issued the card and its toll-free customer service number. If the caller refuses to provide the information, or if the card comes back canceled or stolen, don't make any deals.
The device is supposed to be used by the deaf.
It's supposed to let those who can't talk on the phone use a keyboard and a special operator.
But in the wrong hands, a text telephone can become an extra layer of protection for a con man trying to steal your hard-earned money.
At least two county residents in the past two weeks said men claiming to be deaf used the devices and federally mandated operators in an attempt to bilk them out of thousands of dollars.
Both victims - a Tracys Landings woman trying to sell some Labrador puppies in The Capital and an employee of a Glen Burnie-based awning company - figured out it was a scam before they lost any money.
Only the awning attempt was reported to police, and a department spokesman said that was the first TTY scam the department had seen.
Still, the Better Business Bureau warns that the scams - first reported in 2004 - appear to be on the rise again.
"We got an alert last week," said Angie Barnett, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, adding that the scam is sweeping the country.
She said the new twist on an old scam is very serious.
"It makes it more difficult to track and locate the fraudulent business and put them out of business," she said. "And it takes advantage of a system that was created to help the disabled."
The Text Telephone Yoke and Telecommunications Relay Service were products of the Americans with Disabilities Act. With the use of a special keyboard, a deaf person can type messages to a TRS operator. That operator, in turn, can read what's written to a hearing person on the other end of the call.
By law, relay operators aren't allowed to disclose the origin of a call. They also must relay any message, no matter how suspicious it might sound.
Jim Smith, a spokesman for Verizon, said their operators have repeatedly complained about the scam artists.
"It's frustrating for the operators to be exposed to this nefarious behavior and be powerless to do anything about it," he said, explaining that Verizon has filed papers with the federal government for a review of the TTY and TRS systems. "I guess the next stop is the FCC."
Stacey Atwell, an employee of PG Awning at 1041 Dorsey Road, told police she got a TTY call Jan. 22 from a man claiming to be a deaf pastor from Westminster. That man, who gave the name "Andrew Morgan," said he raised money for charities and wanted to order some awnings to be shipped to the Bahamas.
According to the police report, Ms. Atwell "thought this to be a little strange, but felt it must be legit since she was dealing with a deaf reverend."
That said, when Mr. Morgan tried to have her overcharge his credit card and send a personal check to a shipping company, she realized it was a scam.
She told police she canceled the $6,500 credit-card order - the BBB warns that the cards are usually stolen - and asked for a certified check. She then did some research online and found a similar con outlined on the Better Business Bureau Web site.
Likewise, Jane Powers of Tracys Landing said she didn't know what to think when she got a call from a TRS operator on Jan. 18 asking about her Labrador puppies. After a few minutes, though, she and "Bennie Scott" - a supposedly deaf man from Brookfield, N.Y. - traded e-mails and planned to write each other later.
"I never heard the person on the other side (of the phone)," she said, explaining that her entire conversation was just with the operator.
The next day, she got an e-mail from Mr. Scott saying in fractured English that he was interested in buying a puppy and would send her a cashier's check to pay for the dog and shipping. The e-mail said she would have to deposit the check, deduct $750 for the dog - $100 more than her asking price - and then send the remaining cash to a shipping agent.
"It didn't take me long to figure it out (that it was a scam)," said Mrs. Powers. "He never said what color, or male or female, or anything."
Cpl. Sara Schriver, a county police spokesman, said an officer took a report about the awning scam, but noted that there's not much more they can do on a local level.
"This is an international crime," she said.
The BBB advises anyone who receives an order like this to ask the buyer for a complete name, address and telephone number, the name of the bank that issued the card and its toll-free customer service number. If the caller refuses to provide the information, or if the card comes back canceled or stolen, don't make any deals.