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When Barrett Smith got the strange, operator-assisted call, he knew exactly what was up. The president of Auto Damage Experts, Inc., in Dover, Fla., had read about the scam in BodyShop Business and knew how to handle it.

“It was the same old song and dance about a guy who has a Cadillac Escalade in Texas in need of inspection/repair and needed it towed for a fee,” Smith said. “In recognizing this as the scam it was, I advised the operator that this was a fraud scheme and that the entire industry was well aware of it and the caller needed to ‘get a life.’ Upon conveying my message, the operator advised the caller and terminated the call. She apologized and advised there was nothing she could do as it would require the federal government to investigate.”

The scam goes as follows: a call is placed to a body shop through IP Relay, a service offered by AT&T, Sprint, MCI and others that allows deaf people and people with speech impediments to connect via any Web-ready computer, PDA or phone. The “customer” claims to need a tow to the shop’s city from somewhere out of state but needs cash because the tow company won’t accept a credit card. The customer then asks the shop to charge an amount ranging from $2,500 to $3,500 to his or her credit card (presumably stolen), then wire the same amount of cash to him or her.

The FCC says that some businesses have requested Telecommunication Relay Services (TRS) providers not make calls to their numbers, but, per regulations, TRS providers can’t refuse to make an outbound call requested by a TRS user in any circumstance. Section 225 of the Americans with Disabilities Act is intended to ensure that TRS “gives each person with hearing or speech disabilities functionally equivalent access to the telephone network.”
 
Ron Kromer of Ultimate Collision Center in Brick, New Jersey, has received some of the IP Relay scam calls, too, and urges anyone who receives a similar call to file a complaint at www.ic3.gov. 

FCC Says IP Relay Scam Calls Can’t Be Blocked

More Phone Scam Complaints Filed by Shops

Washington Shop Warns of Phone Scam

Comments (51)

Comment by: Rodini 6/20/2010 12:17 AM

i work as an IP relay operator. if you guys are receiving these scam calls, (they are indeed scams) imagine what we relay operators feel. We're receiving 90% fraud calls. It's unfair to those who really needs the service. Note it is fraud when: - too many quantity - overpayment with their supposed credit card Disconnect the call. Pls don't accept these calls. You can contact IP relay cust service 877 885 3172 to block calls from IP relay. Been happening for 1 year : (

Comment by: david dorman 5/29/2010 2:52 AM

i just recieved a similar call tonight. i have an auto repair & towing business. the caller stated she had purchased 6 cars & needed them picked up from the nearest airport & stored for 3 days until she could pick them up.she then proceeded (only after protesting giving me any of her info) to give me a fake name & address ( i checked)the address is a thai restaurant in mpls. she wanted me to charge extra to the credit card & send the rest (supposedly) to the shipper. and she wanted the card charged right away because the cars were to be delivered on monday(memorial day). who works then??? needless to say all this started to peek my spidey senses so i declined. when i called back the origional # she called me from i get a recording saying this phone # is "reported in trouble"

Comment by: JOHN 5/28/2010 4:04 PM	I HAVE CONTACTED FBI, INTERNET SCAM DEPARTMENT, AND LOCAL POLICE AND AS USUAL THEY WILL DO NOTHING. HE EVEN USED A FEDEX ACCT FROM SOMEONE IN MEMPHIS, TENN. AND THE CREDIT CARDS HE USED WERE FROM CITIES IN CALIFORNIA, AND ALSO A CALIFORNIA FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Comment by: Cassandra 5/19/2010 7:39 PM

I WORK FOR AN AUTO BODY SHOP IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. WE RECEIVED A FAX ON MONDAY THAT STATED - "MY NAME IS MILL GEORGE. I HAVE A 2005 ESCALADE THAT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED. PLEASE EMAIL ME @ QUICK2523@YAHOO.COM AND I WILL GIVE YOU MY CREDIT CARD INFO. THE NAME OF THE TOW COMPANY IS ABC TOW AND THE DRIVER WILL BE THERE TODAY WITH THE VEHICLE. PLEASE CHARGE MY CREDIT CARD $2000.00 AND PAY THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER CASH AND KEEP $500.00 FOR A DEPOSIT ON REPAIRS." THIS WAS THE FIRST SCAM OF THIS KIND I HAD HEARD OF IN 12 YRS. OF WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY. TODAY I RECEIVED A RELAY CALL AND IT WAS THE SAME SONG AND DANCE. SAME PERSON, SAME EMAIL, SAME DOLLAR AMOUNT, VEHICLE ETC. AND AS SOON AS I REALIZED IT, I TOLD THE RELAY OPERATOR THAT IT WAS A SCAM AND I WAS 100% SURE OF IT. I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPEN ON THEIR END BUT THE CALL WAS TERMINATED. I DID FILE A COMPLAINT. AND I REALLY HOPE THAT THIS DOESN'T END UP HAPPENING TO ANYMORE SMALL BUSINESSES BECAUSE HONESTLY IN THIS ECONOMY -- NO ONE CAN AFFORD IT!! THESE PEOPLE NEED TO BE CAUGHT!

Comment by: Allana 3/30/2010 2:40 PM

It's not just the towing industry, this guy has called our hydraulic shop in Alaska MANY times. The guys here usually just hang up. I have let the operator know that these are scam calls and they just act rude. I replied to "MIKES" email and told him I know the scams he's into and told him not to waste our time that he could by Vickers parts from a distributer in the States if thats what he really wanted.

Comment by: Allana 3/30/2010 2:29 PM

It's not just the towing industry, this guy has called our hydraulic shop in Alaska MANY times. The guys here usually just hang up. I have let the operator know that these are scam calls and they just act rude. I replied to "MIKES" email and told him I know the scams he's into and told him not to waste our time that he could by Vickers parts from a distributer in the States if thats what he really wanted.

Comment by: Creek Crew 3/23/2010 3:32 PM	We are getting lots of relay calls wanting to buy our puppies that we have advertised in a local paper. They want the puppies shipped. Of course we never let the conversation get that far because we don't ship puppies.

Comment by: Creek Crew 3/23/2010 3:25 PM	We are getting lots of relay calls wanting to buy our puppies that we have advertised in a local paper. They want the puppies shipped. Of course we never let the conversation get that far because we don't ship puppies.

Comment by: flodorsky 3/17/2010 4:35 PM

hey guys i work as a relay operator and first thing i wanna do is apologize if we sound rude or annoying sometimes, cuz since we cant inform you that its a scam, the only thing we can do is be obnoxious so that you would hang up and not get victimized. and its hard for us too. cuz we want to do our jobs well, but i wont be the best i can be when i know im helping some evil fool rip off someone else. i like my job, its a very nice feeling after processing a legit honest to goodness relay call, when i know that i am helping somebody live a normal life, talk to their family or order food or prank call people hehe. but yeah these relay calls suck. for you and for us. just as soon as they pop up on our screens, we immediately know its a scam. Goodluck people, i hope nobody gets scammed. stay alert!

Comment by: disgruntled operator 3/17/2010 2:03 PM	huh! i'm a relay operator and i process like not less than 50 fraud calls a day.we're sick of it. yes, we try to sound rude and robotic on purpose so that the voice party would get annoyed and hang up, not knowing he just spared his business from potential loss. man it's tough! we're practically caught between a blowtorch and a soldering iron.

Comment by: Bob 3/11/2010 12:24 PM	We just got the adieselll@aol.com email also. Thankfully the relay service is so pathetic (and a bit rude) that I thought it was some kind of scam and started the research. Now I wonder if the operator was rude on purpose because she knew it was a scam and made it difficult to the point I would hang up.

Comment by: Jason Stahl 3/8/2010 3:33 PM

This comment from Speed & Floyd's Collision Repair in Moline, Ill., puts a new twist on the scam with a fax form: I'm the general manager in a small body shop in Illinois and wanted to take the time to let you know about a new scam that is happening in our area. We received a fax today from a "consumer" whose wife had wrecked his 2007 Cadillac Escalade and he wanted to have it towed here from out of state. There was no insurance on the vehicle. He requested our address and wanted us to e-mail him. I had previousy received some of the scam IP Relay calls, and this sounded like another version. After contacting some other shops in our area, I found that they had all received the fax also. Just wanted to let you know that tactics have changed.

Comment by: Hydraulic shop in Texas 3/8/2010 10:08 AM	We are having operator assisted calls and the guy named Mike is looking for Vickers parts totaling about $10,000 and wanting them overnight. Don't let him rip[ you off. Tell operator to stop calling right away.

Comment by: michael - Seattle, wa 2/24/2010 3:16 PM	Ha, These dirt bags need to be stopped. It is a TOTAL SCAM. Do not fall for it. You know it's too good to be true if they supply all of the information you need and don't ask many questions. To top it all off it gives the legit. TTY users a bad name. It will come back to them. Just say no! It will cost you far less to walk away then to try and get your money back from some email address.

Comment by: A Different Hydraulic Company 2/10/2010 5:47 PM

So thankful I decided to google this email address (ADIESELLL@AOL.COM) after receiving a TTY call this afternoon. I also work at a hydraulics shop and this was our first deaf relay call in quite some time. Customer's name was also Mike, email addieselll@aol.com. He requested our email & fax number and I provided both...of course, now I wish I hadn't. I was just getting ready to quote him for numerours Vickers parts, but now will cease any further communication with him. Do you know if/how to report this person/scam to the authorities? Email from Mike follows: THANK YOU FOR THE PHONE CONVERSATION BELOW ARE THE PART NUMBER'S NEEDED :-) VICKERS PARTS:- 02-102522 C KIT 20V14 GPM (OEM) 02-102535 CATRIDGE KIT 21 GPM (OEM) 02-102552 C KIT 25 GPM (OEM) 02-102555 C KIT 38 GPM (OEM) EMAIL ME BACK TO ADIESELLL@AOL.COM OR FAX ME BACK WITH PRICES TO (877) 452-6702 REGARDS MIKE

Comment by: A Hydraulics Shop 2/9/2010 12:05 AM

I work at a hydraulics shop and we received our first deaf relay call the other day. Customer name was Mike, email addieselll@aol.com. He insisted that he get my email. While I thought it strange I gave it to the operator. Basically through the course of 2 days we got more and more suspicious. In our company we just don't get individuals wanting over $10,000 worth of Vickers parts. Just doesn't happen. He kept dodging the question about his first and last name and his address. Kept asking if we could overnight parts - not possible with these as it takes days to build. We were suspicious because the emails were in broken English and he was obviously dodging our questions. Long story short we called the credit card company to verify (he wanted $xxx.00 charged 5x on each card - we're not naive even though he THOUGHT we were) all the information he have us. Nothing matched - yet another scam. Luckily we saved ourselves a $10,000 headache by contacting the proper people because of a suspicious situation. It's sad - I know deaf people and this just ruins their chances of making legitimate inquiries.

Comment by: Mike 1/29/2010 7:36 PM	We are located in Morristown, Tn. and have recieved these same calls on 3 seperate occassions.

Comment by: Kari 1/28/2010 12:24 PM

We have just recently starting getting these calls. Twice now I've dealt with the "customer" via fax, and twice with e-mail. When our shop is really slow, i go along with the scammers as long as i can because i figure that way there is one less person out there that they are able to get to.. The best one i have received so far was just today. The guy said he'd like to have his a/c fixed in his 2007 camry because he did not like the hot weather here in our state. We are in Ohio. It's 6 degrees outside right now. Don't fall for this people! But, if you have time, screw with them, it'll make you laugh, and pass time on a slow day!

Comment by: Con-Tex Hydraulics 1/27/2010 5:47 PM	I wanted to add that the email I am getting from these scammers is as follows: adieselll@aol.com and the guys name is Mike or there is another one named Marion. They were looking for "Genuine" Brand name parts.

Comment by: Con-Tex Hydraulics 1/27/2010 5:41 PM

We have been getting the same calls here at our hydraulic repair company this week. We usually receive at least 2 or 3 of these a year. This time the caller has been bugging me for three days now. They keep asking me to ship overnight. but they are not offering shipping info and everytime they ask about overnight shipping I tell them I will not order or ship until the payment has posted to my bank account. I dont know how many times I have had to tell them the same answer to the same question. WE are not stupid....It is not everyday that we are receiving such a strange call to order $25,000 in parts. I tell them this is a very high ticket item and I WILL NOT order until we get cleared payment. And for the past three days it has been the same thing over and over and over. Finally today I got aggrevated with em and the operator says "caller has abruptly disconnected" I thought to myself GOOD!!! I know these crazy people are trying to pull one over on someone anyway!! I knew it was a scam from the beginning, I was just gonna see how far they took it. Cuz if I could get enough info on them I WOULD DO WHATEVER IT TOOK TO BRING EM DOWN!!!! My God be with these theives!!!!

Comment by: PIAUTO 1/6/2010 3:22 PM	WE REC'D THIS CALL NUMEROUS TIMES. GOT TO THE POINT I JUST TOLD THE OPERATOR IT WAS A CREDIT CARD SCAM AND NOT TO CALL ANYMORE. THE VERYU FIRST TIME WE TOOK DOWN ALL THE INFO WHERE TO SEND THE CHECK THEN CALLED THE CREDIT CARD SECURITY DEPT AND GAVE THEM ALL THE INFO. DON'T KNOW IF THEY GOT THEIR MAN OR NOT. CALLS HAVE FINALLY STOPPED AFTER I TOLD THE OPERATOR NOT TO CALL AGAIN.

Comment by: ACE AUTO BODY 1/3/2010 8:28 PM

i too have gotten this same call i told the operator to call me back when i hung up i called the fbi out of boston and gave them the credit card number they said the card was stollen and to not run it ,the person actually called back and as soon as i said i had contacted the authirities they disconnected,the fbi said that because the tty service is not monitered like regular calls so this is why these scams are now around WORD OF ADVICE DONT RUN THAT CARD ITS DEFINETLY A SCAM.HOW I FOUND OUT WAS GOOGLE "PHONE CALL SCAMS"

Comment by: Bill @a. bob's towing in philly 1/2/2010 3:39 PM	we got four in a three month span for muti escalades at the air port to pick up and store for a week till they were picked up. followed by emails,some guy out of the country making arangements for his uncle the doctor.

Comment by: jim 1/2/2010 9:16 AM	In Delaware, we were getting 2 calls a day for about 2 weeks straight. I guess they gave up, havn't received any calls lately.

Comment by: Traccy 12/31/2009 6:39 PM	Washington State here. Had 3 calls also, same car, different emails. Can't believe these people can sleep at night. I reminded The Good Lord was watching! He still is! Nice to see some teamwork in our field. We are taken for a ride enough by the Insurance companies. Don't need any other help. Happy New Year!

Comment by: Paragon Auto Body 12/31/2009 9:33 AM

We got several calls like this as well. I made calls to the FTC and filed reports. I even got an email about the escalade.. from a peterlawal@aol.com to peterlawal@yahoo.com and bcc to my shop. I have names recorded of all the calls. My escalades range from 05-07.. and I'm pretty sure that the "deaf" person is not really deaf.. it's just a criminal using the system. but we are not stupid and absolutely not desperate to get "THE JOB".. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Comment by: Tom 12/31/2009 8:55 AM

Yip we got three of these calls also, The first one I figured it out pretty quick, no one has there Escalade in FL fixed in Ia. So I played along till the person on the other end hung up. Then told the operator it was a scam. I was told she couldn't do anything about it. The other 2 calls.. Well just say the operator and the person on the other end were not used to typing the words we used. It was very short. Like someone said before you would think they would take you off the list.

Comment by: kevin 12/30/2009 6:37 PM	Anyone who would fall for this scam deserves to be relieved of thier money. They called me and it was so rediculous I thought, how could anyone fall for this.

Comment by: Bradley Czerkies 12/30/2009 6:15 PM

I had the same thing this summer, the customer was in Vermont and had the same Escalade with damage.I told the operator that this was a scam and she did the relay, customer hung up. I ask the operator for her ID # and asked for a transcript that I would pay for, she told me that a court order would get it. I contacted AT&T fraud unit and reported it, nothing they could do. I call the New York State Police, they said that because it was started in Vermount they couldn,t help. I called the FBI fraud # and was told to go on line and file a complaint because just one complaint wouldn't do ant thing, but numerous complaints could lead to a case to be started. So if any one gets called and you think it's fraud go to the FBI web site and file a complaint.

Comment by: J R 12/30/2009 4:46 PM	Well, you can thank the Federal Government once again for this taxpayer (you) funded service to "Disabled" individuals to make life "Equal" for all... If you hang up on them you might be discriminating. What are they doing driving an automobile if they can't hear anyways? Sorry to be so synical (not)What a bunch of B.S.

Comment by: Sue/Red Top Body Shop 12/30/2009 3:48 PM

We got three of these calls in Ohio, two on the same day on each phone line. I explained all three times that we do not accept phone orders for credit cards, which is true and they then terminated the call. I called the PUCO after the 2nd and 3rd calls and she was very helpful. She said they are Internet relay calls from a foreign country and she advised us to ask the operator if it is a STATE relay call. If they tell you it is an internet relay call, you legally can ask them to make a State relay call, explaining that you do not accept internet relay calls. She also advised that you want to be careful to not say anything else, because if it would by some slim chance be legitimate, you do not want to be sued for discrimination. We haven't had any calls since.

Comment by: miami body shop inc 12/30/2009 3:17 PM	We received the same call last month we explian to the operator that miami its the Capital of Scams and by d age of 5 u can smell bullshit a mile a away told them also we can name 200 tow companies in all the states that accept credit card in payment and as a matter of we dont take any Cash Cashier check or Money order oh by the way once the car its ready NO TICKY NO LAUNDRY CASH ONLY

Comment by: harleygirl 12/30/2009 1:51 PM	We received a couple of these calls and an email. As most have stated...once you ask for more details, they hang up. Nothing the local police can do. The body shops try to email each other to keep everyone in the loop.

Comment by: ED VINCENT 12/30/2009 1:44 PM	GOT THIS CALL 6 MONTHS AGO THE GUY EVEN GAVE ME A CREDIT CARD # TO CHARGE AND CLEAR BEFORE I WOULD FORWARD THE TOW BILL GAVE TO LOCAL POLICE STATION THE GUY MUST THINK LIKE THE LOCAL VOTECH YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE ANY BRAINS FOR THIS JOB

Comment by: JAMES GIVENS 12/30/2009 12:46 PM	Received 2 calls like this over the summer and at first blush felt to be legit until I further pressed the person on the credit card info. They kept balking and finally asked me to just "trust them". The call was quickly ended.

Comment by: Lenny Schaeffer 12/30/2009 12:27 PM	I got the same thing but on a resto on 1969 Chevelle I assume they got my name and number off the internet/web site ashame for the person needing TTY for real reson. Old scam in the Hot Rod Custom biz.

Comment by: Shane Sisler 12/30/2009 12:24 PM	Gotten 4 of these calls in three months....after the third one i just started laughing and hung up.....just another idiot trying to steal....what else is new.Its sad because there may be legitimate handicapped people needing these kinds of services, some people seriously have no social graces at all.

Comment by: Michel & Sons Collision 12/30/2009 12:24 PM	I am in Eastpointe Michigan and had one of these calls just last week. I started to question the caller through the operator and realized it was a scam right away. It has gotten to the point that I no longer accept a credit card for repairs or deductible unless the person the card was issued to is standing in front of me with picture I.D.

Comment by: Jody Apfelbeck 12/30/2009 12:22 PM

I've received several of these calls also. I took it upon myself to actually get the credit card #s and call the fraud protection hotline and have these cards stopped. I told the caller my credit card machine was temporarily out of service due to construction and I would run there card after it was working . I even spoke to there so called wrecker service. My local Police Dept. just happned to be here when it all went down . They called me for 2 days and I got several card #s that were stopped. Finally I got fed up with there calls and told them I knew it was a scam and the harrassing phone calls stopped. Try it ...Its A blast !!

Comment by: Charlie 12/30/2009 12:15 PM

Got a couple of phone calls in the last 6 months, the latest one last week.It must be an organized effort because the script is always the same only the state changes.Normally the operator cannot get involved in the conversation but this time rather than hang up I had nothing better to do so I played them with a bunch of questions until the operator realized it was a scam and then apologized to me and ended the call.I wonder if it is really a TTY system or if the "operator" is really the scam artist and there really isn't anyone else!

Comment by: MCC 12/30/2009 12:13 PM	We experienced this same scam in massachusetts during the summer 09. Same Cad Escalade,we got the vin for the vehicle,address name phone#,State Police advise since the scam originates in another country,even if they go after to prosecute 10 minutes later somebody else will do the same thing.The TTY operator knows these are a scam as thet receive several every day.

Comment by: M. R. 12/30/2009 12:10 PM

I started playing with them when I had the time, I'd string them along and get all the info and then tell them we're a specialty shop and only repair 1973 V.W. Beetles or some such nonsense ( antique Pintos, etc.) They hang up pretty quickly. I did explain the situation to one of the operators and was put on the line with a supervisor. She said she was aware of the scam and as of 11/1/09 all users were required to be pre-registered as a TTY user so the calls will stop. Obviously, they haven't. I actually had one person e-mail me a photo of the Escalade, it was in a salvage yard, totalled and still had the plate on it. I ran the plate, it was owned by Hertz. I had the Sgt. from the P.D. down the street who handles fraud, trace it and I got the name and info on the person, e-mailed him on his personal e-mail and told him he was being investigated. We have not had a call in at least 2 mo. now.

Comment by: Richard Hurtado 12/30/2009 11:50 AM	When the first time it happened to me it felt kind of funky,2nd I tried to epxlain to the operator she said she could not engage in a conversation with me i simply ended the call.

Comment by: JIMMY AT MIKES AUTO BODY 12/30/2009 11:49 AM	we also got these same calls in lewisville tx.

Comment by: howard goodman 12/30/2009 11:43 AM	I have received 6 or 7 of those calls the operators are no help at all they claim they are not allowed to respond to anything you say just relay what you say so I just tell them it is a scam and hang up

Comment by: Kathy Ognibene 12/30/2009 11:39 AM	We have had this call several times. On two occasions the caller placed the same call to us three times in the same day. My feeling is that the deaf person is the criminal.

Comment by: R Gault 12/30/2009 11:38 AM	I'm sure the ACLU would argue that hearing impaired have the same right to scam as a hearing person.

Comment by: Theresa 12/30/2009 11:36 AM	Yep, we have been receiving these calls since August. What amazes me is that we have probably received more than 10 of these calls. You would think they'd take you off their list once they call and you tell them not to call back! OK bad joke, but seriously you would think they would stop. We have received these 10 calls over the past 3 months or so.

Comment by: Xtreme Auto Body 12/30/2009 11:35 AM	We recieved one of these calls at our facility. When I starting asking detailed questions the call did not have relavent answers and I terminited the call.

Comment by: Mitch Hoffman 12/30/2009 11:22 AM	We also get these calls,but the caller had told another body shop in Idaho Falls to call me at my shop the verify.We laughed and joked about running the card and waiting for tow truck with Cad Escalade to show up.

Comment by: NEWMAN 2009 12/30/2009 11:22 AM	It is quite obvious that, if the call is from a legitimate TTY operator, that the deaf person using the system is acting as a knowing or unknowing agent for the criminals. If this deaf person is doing this on a regular basis he or she kows that they are involved in a scam. Therefore their right to use the TTY system should be terminated.

 

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