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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Govt issues telephone scam warning

The Department of Telecommunications has raised the alarm over a phone scam targeting Bermuda.Acting director Maxanne Anderson said the toll fraud was similar to attacks in April, 2009, when fraudsters accessed Bermuda phone systems to make “multiple long distance calls to foreign countries”.The scheme exploits the private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems used by companies and organisations. A Department spokesman said it was too early to tell how many in Bermuda had been hit, or if the same group was responsible.“We cannot say as we have only been notified recently of the latest attacks, and therefore our first course of action was to get the word out to the public.”However, the spokesman added that the sums of money involved “are considerable”. Police and telephone service providers have also been warned.The scammers hack in through a Bermuda customer's voice mail system, and then charge long distance calls to the victim's account. No particular types of phones or service providers are targeted.The Department has advised businesses to check their phone bills for “unusual call activity to foreign destinations”, and to ensure that employees use secure PBX pass codes that are changed frequently.