Phone Scam Hits Number of Victims

State and federal officials are looking into complaints from hundreds of Southern California residents who say they were left with hefty phone bills after accepting collect calls from impostors claiming to be relatives.

More than 500 people have called the office of Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) to complain about the charges on their bills, which range between $57 and $100. The calls appear to have originated from pay phones in Tijuana. The owners of the pay phones, according to the phone company that provides them service, would be the ones who profit from the calls.

“We’re looking at every level of this issue. My first job is to find relief for some of my constituents,” Correa said. “It’s the perfect crime. You go to Mexico, get the [Southern California] white pages and start dialing away. Of course, this is speculation, but that is what I suspect is going down. It’s nasty.”

A representative of the Federal Communications Commission confirmed that the agency is also investigating the matter, as is the state attorney general’s office.

“We’re well aware of what’s going on and we’re investigating to see what we can do,” said the representative, who asked that his name not be used.

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According to the recipients, an operator calls and asks whether the person will accept a collect call from someone who has the same last name. The recipient, assuming the caller is a relative, accepts the call, only to find out that he or she does not know the caller and hangs up. By that time, however, the call has been billed.

Sandra Michioku, spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office, said the agency is determining whether to conduct a formal investigation.

“What we know is that people are being billed for collect calls from people they don’t know. We’re looking into it,” she said.

Santa Ana resident Francisco Bernal said he received a collect call from Mexico from a man who said he was Roberto Bernal. Since his brother is named Roberto, Francisco took the call, thinking there might be a family emergency.

“But the minute this guy began to talk, I knew it wasn’t him. I said, ‘Who’s this? What do you want?’ I got really worried,” Francisco said.

After he called his family in Guerrero and determined that everyone was fine, he figured it might be a case of someone mistaking him for someone else. Several weeks later, when he received a bill for $69, he was livid.

“It made me think someone was out to make money off of the call,” he said.

The calls show up on the monthly phone bill as “billed by Zero Plus Dialing Inc. (ZPDI).” ZPDI bills on behalf of companies that provide long-distance phone service.

ZPDI Chief Operating Officer Jacquelene Mitchell said the complaints about her company were unjustified because ZPDI just handles the billing on behalf of carriers who set rates.

Given the phone numbers of a few of the people who have made the complaints, Mitchell said the long-distance carrier was OCI, or Oncor Communications of Dallas, Texas. The company provides services to pay phones.

Oncor spokesperson Tracy Frederick said the company was aware of the fraud allegations and had shut off the pay phones in Tijuana, where the calls were made. The pay phones are owned by people who make commissions on the calls made from each phone, she said. Owners of stores where the phone booths are located also earn commissions, she said.

“Under no circumstances does Oncor want to allow fraud to occur. We try to look out for it and stop it when we see what’s happening,” Frederick said.

According to Frederick, allegations about this type of fraud occur periodically.

Oncor charges $57 for a call that lasts up to five minutes and then charges for each minute after.

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Anaheim resident Rosalina Pineda said she returned from her native Guatemala on Dec. 30. The next day at 9 p.m., while her family was celebrating New Year’s Eve, Pineda was billed for a collect call from Mexico. She said she didn’t accept a collect call and doesn’t know if someone in the house did. But she was billed $57 by ZPDI.

“I’m not going to pay. I didn’t make a call. I didn’t receive a call, and I don’t know anyone in Mexico. The only person I know who is Mexican lives in Westminster,” said Pineda, who has lived in Anaheim for 28 years and gets by on $700 a month from Social Security.

Guadalupe Covarrubias, 70, who lives on the Westside of Los Angeles, said he picked up the phone about two months ago and an operator said that Jose Covarrubias was calling collect from Tijuana.

“The operator said, ‘He says he’s your relative, he wants to talk to you.’ I figured what the hell, it’s only a few minutes. Then I really regretted that thought. It cost me $69,” Covarrubias said.

Since receiving that first bill, he said he has received two other calls with requests to accept collect charges. He declined.

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Tips on Avoiding the Scam

* Before accepting a collect call, ask the operator how much the call will cost per minute and if there is a minimum amount of time you must pay for, for example, five minutes for $57.

* Make sure the person calling is someone you know by asking questions through the operator.

* Advise friends and relatives traveling or living in Mexico to ask what the charges are for collect calls before they make them.

* Some Mexican phones will accept access codes from larger U.S. long-distance carriers, which may charge lower rates. Advise those who may be calling from there to check out that possibility before calling.

* If you believe you have been wrongly charged for a call carried by Oncor, call customer service at (800) 864-2149.

Sources: Consumer Action, Oncor