DistLib writes “chronicle.com (sorry, subcription only) has an article by Scott Carlson on College libraries and academic departments around the country who have recently been hit with a new type of telemarketing scam. In a typical case, a telemarketer calls during off hours, in hopes of reaching a lower-level employee, and says he needs to confirm an address. But after the address is confirmed, the telemarketer says, “So this is where we should send the directory?” If the library employee says yes, the library will get a bill.”
They say those operations can be lucrative. “When you look at these telemarketing scams, they may be getting anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per hit,” Sargeant Elliott says. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but there are hundreds or thousands of victims, so that’s a lot of money.” A telephone scam busted in Montreal earlier this month had bilked American companies out of some $45-million, authorities say.
Recent Comments