Bulletin staff report

Oregon Attorney General Hardy Meyers is encouraging consumers to carefully read their monthly telephone bills and look for unauthorized international long-distance calls that may result from ”modem hijacking.”

Some consumers have recently been billed for unauthorized calls to Guinea Bissau, Vanuatu in the Southwest Pacific, the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Chad and Madagascar, according to a news release from Meyers’ office.

Justice investigators found that many consumers using the Internet have been enticed into clicking on Web sites, some associated with adult sites, that claim to be free or advertise that no credit card is needed.

The Internet user is then asked to download a ”viewer” or ”dialer” program. Once the program is downloaded to the user’s computer, it disconnects the Internet connection and reconnects to an international long-distance phone number.

Recently, Oregon consumers have complained to Meyers’ office that they have experienced ”pop-ups” or ”bubbles” on their screens that are impossible to get rid of. Victims are unable to stop the dialing to a pay-per-call number of an Internet adult Web site.

Victims are also enticed via voicemail or pager into calling pay-per-call area codes such as 809, 242, 246, 264, 268, 284, 345, 441, 473, 664, 758, 767, 784, 787, 868, 869 and 876, according to the attorney general’s office.

The ways victims are enticed into calling the area codes varies, according to Meyers. Scenarios include receiving messages about a family member who has been arrested or died, or details about winning a fabulous prize.

”Chances are the consumer or someone in his or her family was misled via voicemail or pager into calling a number with an international pay-per-call area code such as 809,” Meyers said.

”These area codes are connected to fees that are calculated per minute, and can often result in exorbitant bills.”

In fighting the unauthorized charges, customers are getting little help from local phone companies and long-distance carriers, who say they are merely providing a billing service for a foreign company, according to Meyers.

Foreign companies are not accepting any responsibility for the problem, and calls to foreign governments often go unanswered.

Consumers can minimize their chances of being charged for unauthorized international calls by never dialing an unfamiliar area code before checking the phone book or long-distance operator, according to Meyers. Web surfers should be skeptical and read online disclosures carefully.

Oregon consumers may file complaints concerning unauthorized long-distance telephone charges by calling the attorney general’s consumer hotline toll-free at 1-877-877-9392.