FWD: Phone scam ?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. This is scary to think that our kids are answering the phones. important, please read. This can happen at home and at work, everyone should be aware...I've sent this to all my friends last Friday night and I've already had 3 email me and say that it's already happened to them.

A. Well, not at home (unless you have to dial 9 at home to get an outside line), and only some business phone systems are susceptible. This is one of those urban legends with a tiny grain of truth - see: "In the battle of sticks and stones $cientology wins once in a while, because they put their faith in sticks and stones. But in the spiritual battle, which this really is, $cientology is a pathetic, perpetual loser. In the spiritual battle, $cientologists are already lost." All you have to do is sacrifice the goat at the appropriate phase of the moon, as any fule kno, *then* dial the number, plus area code but minus temporary NumberChange sub-area code, remembering to switch digits per BT One Time Code pad as delivered daily to your local Post Office, and completing the number with the requisite six four-digit contractions. Once you are connected to the operator, ask them to connect you to the number you require. I really don't remember. I do remember having to re-program my business phones to add the "1", so it can't be that long ago. Maybe 15 years ago. In all the places I've lived, I've had to dial the 1 ever since there was DDD**. (1960? 62? 66?) There certainly was no change since programmable phones were made. No wonder I'm so annoyed. I remember some time before I left Chicago in Dec. 1970, maybe the previous September but probably a year or 2 before that (earlier than that, they still lived in Indiana), I went to my mother's in Pa. My mother's husband and his daughter and the two of us were going to go to DC for 2 or 3 days. My mother had behaved like always and written to two or three motels to check on rates and availability. I forget exactly but I think they were all full because when I arrived a day or two before we were to drive to DC, they had no reservations. I think I just found a motel chain in the local yellow pages and I called their 800 number and got a motel in DC and made a reservation. It was a little more expensive (or maybe it wasn't in those days), but even my mother I think thought it was worth it (even if we had had more time before leaving.) This was before there were regional 800 numbers, so any number they gave would have been a national number. That was probably the first time I called an 800 number and I certainly thought one should dial a 1, because unless it was within 10 miles of Allentown, it was long distance.

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