pineyV ยท 2636 points ยท Posted at 14:58:28 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Put it on every form you fill out. I'm talking credit card sign ups, reward programs, etc. You'll have a whole list of people calling and lining your pockets.
[deleted] ยท 958 points ยท Posted at 16:45:11 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Wouldnโt most companies not call numbers that cost money?
[deleted] ยท 1669 points ยท Posted at 17:01:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Itโs a win-win either way.
They either donโt call, or they call and pay you for each call. :)
loukall ยท 413 points ยท Posted at 02:15:28 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yeah, I'm seriously considering this, but then I remember the fact that you'd have to enter a credit card every time, and no one is going to enter their credit card to be charged 10 dollars a minute because you told them to.
With a lot of providers the $10 would be billed to you through your phone bill in much the same way Pay Per View is billed via cable.
bibkel ยท 34 points ยท Posted at 03:07:49 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Agreed. It is added to a separate page in your bill, you call in to find out what the heck it is and can dispute the charge....but if you made the call, you pay. Isnโt there a mandatory recording announcing the price and to accept press 1or decline press 2 or hang up?
Legally speaking, there should be in the US as well as the UK. Other places like pakistan, UAE, and dozens more don't have that rule. That is why they are considered "high fraud areas"
That said, there are ways around those laws if you use some free VoIP software out there.
preseto ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 09:33:54 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The way its done "legally" is to forward the call to an on site PBX. So long as the PBX is in a country that doesn't require the message, it can't be enforced if legal action is taken. A major market for underground hosting exists for commiting fraud.
The problem there is it normally violates the TOS in most VoIP providers that use offsite hosting. If an account gets shut down its not a big deal as you can just start anther with another stolen credit card.
Sadly this situation happens a good deal. While it's not the most prevalent fraud, it's easily top 5 in my experience.
It depends, but it can be both. I don't want to violate any NDAs or name specific companies, but its a good idea to read your cell phone agreement before you sign. The same goes if you have a VoIP phone. Those are simple to hack and get hacked regularly.
I've seen bills that were almost half a million dollars from one phone company's account to a redirected 1-900 when I was working in the fraud department.
If I'm not mistaken, toll numbers in America follow a specific format that would make it hard to not realize you're calling a toll number just by looking at it. Is it not the same in Europe or is there just some way to get around that?
It depends on the country ? In germany, there used to be only a few specific numbers that started with 0180 for example - later on more and more prefixes became available and now you have to tell exactly who much a call would cost from mobile or land line.
Apart from that these scams are also forbidden by law anyway.
donrane ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 23:51:41 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
In Denmark the toll numbers have to be primes so that they are easily recognised.
Used to be called a courier scam. A courier comes into a business, acts like he got a wrong address, asks to use companyโs phone. It was before everybody had a cellphone
Grokrok ยท 582 points ยท Posted at 22:55:05 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
A really famous case was when the mob would go in to the Empire State building, posing as delivery drivers, and ask an office worker to borrow the phone (back in land line days), dial their 900 number then hang up the phone and leave. Only they didn't hang up the phone, they set it in the phone cradle on ear plugs to keep it from hanging up. Every minute it remained off the hook was more money for them. If this seems like an ingenious scam, just remember they got busted.
baspeysp ยท 107 points ยท Posted at 23:55:56 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How would you 'bust' the mob?
[deleted] ยท 132 points ยท Posted at 23:59:28 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
bust individuals. relatively short prison sentences for that.
Grokrok ยท 26 points ยท Posted at 01:04:40 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The ones who ran the scam got busted. The were affiliated with one of the crime families in NYC.
Probably easier to bust something like that when it's a large operation, versus an individual picking businesses at total random.
Grokrok ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 01:08:55 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Easier today, but back in the early 80's when this scam was pulled, not so much. It was featured in Lexis Nexis, which tracks notable cases. The trouble for the scammers in this type of scam is it leaves a paper trail, and hard to cash out, and if the feds go to the telecoms they can set up the perps to nab them.
[deleted] ยท 164 points ยท Posted at 16:23:03 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It was featured on The Real Hustle TV show.
bevan185 ยท 50 points ยท Posted at 21:18:21 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Knew a guy who ran one of those "Easy money working at home!!" want ads in a couple of penny saver type papers.
You had to call an 900 hundred number,where you heard a pitch saying " Just set up a 900 #, run a couple of ads, uuse the answering machine to respond with "Set up a 900#, run a....."".
I donโt think I follow. Can you explain who exactly was making money?
[deleted] ยท 36 points ยท Posted at 00:11:49 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Sounds like the guy who created the ad suckered people into listening to his recording thus making him money. His recording was suggesting they perform the same scam to make money.
He also did a 'send a self addressed envelope and $5.00' version.Youd get a letter back saying ' Buy an ad in a....'
He also sold the addresses to some marketting company.
Told me he made a couple of hundred bucks a month doing it.
beetard ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 00:24:51 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Send one dollar to "happy dude" 842 evergreen terrace
I almost missed out on an amazing deal the other day because those fake Tinder bios had made me sceptical. Apparently, Elon Musk was giving away 300 ETH to everyone that sent .2 ETH to his address. I immediately thought it must be a scam, and was going to pass, but then I saw all the comments saying it was legit. Thankfully I got in on time, and should be getting paid any day now.
Disclaimer: I'm full of shit. Please don't send Elon Musk or anyone else crypto. They are all scams.
One guy did that. The best thing is that it attracted attention in itself, and journalists trying to reach him for an interview called this very phone number.
Sure thing, but first call me at 1-900-546-7878. Just wanna verbally make sure you typed out your number correctly. Also it'd be cool if you watched the entire Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series from start to finish while on the phone with me while giving me a quick rundown of what's going on.
I could actually see this blowing up in your face if you really tried to pull this off.
"The preamble usually contains specific things, such as the cost of the call, a description of the service provided, and age requirements. A caller is allowed to hang up during the preamble without any charge. However, you as a business owner may be charged by your 900-number provider."
So basically they could call you several times a day and hang up and you might get a bill larger than any profits. Make sure to read ALL the fine print.
I could actually see this blowing up in your face if you really tried to pull this off.
The actual mafia used to do this. So some of those blowing up in your face would, I assume, include many years of jail time for fraud or obtaining monies by deception.
Yeah, but it's one line of code to just have it not dial 900 numbers. Importantly, robocallers hang up in about 30 seconds without input, so they're not making it through the preamble.
What's the point of that? Just to piss off the person with the 800 number?
Okay, after burning through the episode on high-speed (On a related note: the Internet runs on text, and eyes are faster than ears. Get a transcript, people)...
1-800 lines get spammed with calls that are made to be interesting or confusing enough to keep the recipient on the line.
Cause: It's a scam. The scammers own or work with a sketchy or bullshit "phone company" that takes a cut of the fee (since it's reversed charges, the destination pays the originator) for handling the bogus calls.
Basically, it's the reversed-charges version of "start a phone company/service with exorbitant termination fees (the cost that other carriers pay to send a call), and drum up a bunch of calls to yourself". IIRC, that was a common one some years ago, with services like conference bridges and the like. They wouldn't be 900 toll numbers, but instead were a block of normal numbers on sketchy telcos with that would collect high fees for handling the calls.
Relax007 ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 23:06:01 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I came here to say this. That episode was fascinating.
I want to work at Gimlet, seems like such an amazing place.
PURKITTY ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 23:37:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Tones will dial a land line phone. There was a commercial, โHey Kids! Hold the phone up to the TV to call Santa! (Remember to get your parentsโ permission first.)โ
It would dial a 1-900 number to a Santa Claus recording.
Now we need YouTube videos prerecorded to say hey Alexa order (insert trigger for item you have created).
And along the lines of the Alexa thing, I wonder if Amazon has some sort of inaudible invalidating tone or signal that causes their commercials to be ignored.
(One Google search later...) It seems they do. Either an effect that signals that it's not real, or the obvious-in-hindsight fact that they know what their own commercials sound like.
That said, set up your pass codes, kids.
Dranx ยท 45 points ยท Posted at 17:05:21 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Fa6ade ยท 36 points ยท Posted at 20:28:54 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I had a flick through, thereโs nothing in here that I could see about borrowing someoneโs phone to dial a toll-line. Itโs more normal regulatory stuff about how to operate such a service legitimately.
It even says in the โWhat is a billing errorโ section:
โIt is not considered a billing error to claim that calls were made on a customer's phone by "unauthorized" persons, like a child or someone not living with the customerโ
So it would seem that such a situation is covered under separate regulations and laws.
I can't say for sure but last I knew and this was several years ago supplements products like protein-bars and powders or nutritient-laden workout snacks aren't hardly FDA regulated like food from the supermarket shelves. So, with food you have to pass all sorts of testing and FDA requirements which takes time and costs money before you can sell your product on store shelves the same doesn't hold true for supplement products. You can sell your protein bars as a supplement in a health store rather than a food at a market and you don't need to pass nearly as many stringent requirements to sell your product.
That's what I learned about it a few years back and I guess that's where the above commenter gets associating supplements with fraud because they are by and large more of a food product and marketed as a supplement so they skip a lot of hoops required by food manufacturers for selling their product.
Introduction
When dialing pay-per-call services, consumers did not always know how much the call would cost and what they would get for their money. To help them get this information more readily, Congress passed the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act in 1992. This Act required the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to adopt rules governing the pay-per-call services industry. The FTC's 900-Number Rule, which became effective November 1, 1993, covers the advertising and operation of pay-per-call services, as well as billing and collection procedures for those services.
You also should know that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a rule that applies to common carriers that assign telephone numbers for interstate pay-per-call services. To learn more about this rule, contact: FCC - Common Carrier Bureau, Informal Complaints and Public Inquiries Branch, Washington, DC 20554.
If you operate a pay-per-call service or provide billing for a pay-per-call service, this booklet explains how you can comply with the FTC's 900-Number Rule.
This booklet represents the Federal Trade Commission staff's view of what the law requires. It is not binding on the Commission.
If you have further questions after reading this booklet, you can contact:
Division of Marketing Practices
Bureau of Consumer Protection
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20580
(202) 326-3128
[back to top]
Who Must Comply with the FTC Rule?
All providers of pay-per-call services must comply with the FTC 900- Number Rule. A "provider of pay-per-call services" (or "information provider") is any person who sells or offers to sell a pay-per-call service.
Service bureaus, which provide access to telephone service and voice storage to information providers, may be found liable for violations of the 900-Number Rule where they knewโor should have knownโthat pay-per-call services using their call-processing facilities were violating the rule. Also, billing entities that send billing statements for pay-per-call services must comply with the billing and collection provisions of the 900-Number Rule.
What Is a Pay-Per-Call Service?
A "pay-per-call service" is defined in the rule and the statute as "any service--
In which any person provides or purports to provide--
Audio information or audio entertainment produced or packaged by such person;
Access to simultaneous voice conversation services; or
Any service, including the provision of a product, the charges for which are assessed on the basis of the completion of the call;
For which the caller pays a per-call or per-time-interval charge that is greater than, or in addition to, the charge for transmission of the call; and
Which is accessed through use of a 900 telephone number or other prefix or area code designated by the [FCC]..."
YouSwear ยท 10 points ยท Posted at 22:24:33 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
US cell phone carriers block calls to 900 numbers. Now setting up a premium sms number with a subscription fee might yield better results.
Google voice uses call forwarding. It doesn't actually call anything.
FourDM ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 22:47:49 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Better yet, get a 900 number, post it all over the internet and rake in $$ from all the telemarketer scams run by people too stupid to configure their software not to dial 900 numbers.
carl0071 ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 00:56:47 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Or just write the number on every survey and form that asks for your phone number for marketing...
[deleted] ยท 25 points ยท Posted at 15:05:57 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The 900 number charges the phone bill of whoever owns the phone that made the call. They then send money (etransfer or cheque i assume) to who owns the 900 number
[deleted] ยท -14 points ยท Posted at 19:05:16 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
[deleted]
bluejams ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 22:18:56 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How do you think phone sex hotline or miss Cleo worked?
@the top comment who implied cellphones killed this... "Hi, my cellphone is dead, I was wondering if I could use your phone to call my boss and tell him I'll be late"
Whenever an event is sold out. Use a fake account on e.g. facebook and make a fake listing with the number. Would work wonders with a Bieber Tour in the past. Girls and parents calling in
ej1oo1 ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 23:15:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
flakula ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 02:11:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Most cell phones wont even let you call a 900 number, and it's almost impossible to dispute a chargeback when a person claims the call from their phone was fraudulent. You'll end up losing money.
rs_alli ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 22:13:34 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Couldn't you just find one of the like 4 pay phones in America and just repeatedly call the number? Idk how much pay phones cost but there's no way it's $10
Vyo ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 16:42:45 on February 23, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
There's a Dutch vlogger by the name of DieTim, formerly Snapking, who already did this. He asked for his followers - lots of 'm young and impressionable kids - to call a number for a chance to get in touch with him. He didn't make it clear that it would cost X euro's per minute.. and you would just be put on hold, there was no chance of actually getting in touch with him, it was just another "prank".
Then it became this beautiful trainwreck when it backfired on him. People started asking their money back, the phone/isp companies cut him off and eventually even the telecom watchdog (the equivalent of your FCC) got involved and ordered refunds. Those refunds were paid by the phone companies though. The price he had to pay is that his public image has been completely wrecked.
Break into houses and make the calls. Just make sure you dial a bunch of different 900 lines so the cops think the burglar was just being a dick. If you just dial your number it's kinda suspicious.
Wouldnโt even need to break in, a $10 test set off Amazon and some cutters and you could splice into the demarc box, call out from there and leave it running
I wonder if I could set up a 1-900 number, get a caller ID spoofer attached to a program that I can set it to random numbers from a database with specific numbers mixed in there to annoy some certain people, have a computer program autodial numbers similar to the system some politicians use, but when it calls the number and someone answers, another separate computer program manipulates the $10 per minute fee by thinking that each passing second is really a minute, but if they don't answer and it goes to voicemail the computer program leaves a very long message, or when someone answers, the preprogrammed machine makes them go through a series of questions designed to keep them on the phone as long as possible. Basically with the millions of phone numbers in the country, I'd like to see if I could make $5 million dollars per day, and just let things run for months and months or maybe a few years. It could be set up to call fifty separate people all at once, and keep going with continuously calling fifty people.
Saved comment
pineyV ยท 2636 points ยท Posted at 14:58:28 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Put it on every form you fill out. I'm talking credit card sign ups, reward programs, etc. You'll have a whole list of people calling and lining your pockets.
[deleted] ยท 958 points ยท Posted at 16:45:11 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Wouldnโt most companies not call numbers that cost money?
[deleted] ยท 1669 points ยท Posted at 17:01:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Itโs a win-win either way.
They either donโt call, or they call and pay you for each call. :)
loukall ยท 413 points ยท Posted at 02:15:28 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Step 1 โ setup $10/min 900 number
Step 2 โ setup answering bot (โHello?โ)
Step 3 โ telemarketer bot calls
Step 4 โ PROFIT
Step 5 โ buy an island
Step 6 โ never talk to anyone again
buddytokerman ยท 131 points ยท Posted at 02:39:27 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Step six sounds glorious, but the first five steps sound like too much work.
NutCalculator ยท 35 points ยท Posted at 02:43:23 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
If Nick Cage can do it, I can too.
BrokenBunBun ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 05:53:03 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
r/me_irl
BadW0lf-52 ยท 247 points ยท Posted at 23:51:05 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The real LPT.
gimmedatjuice ยท 79 points ยท Posted at 01:02:04 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Is always in the comments
St_Anthony ยท 31 points ยท Posted at 01:32:14 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
.
connorwaldo ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 03:54:17 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
,
[deleted] ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 04:38:56 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
[deleted]
Tuckertcs ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 05:00:40 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
โ
[deleted] ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 10:47:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
;
smittenkitten559 ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 11:04:32 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
!
[deleted] ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 03:28:44 on March 10, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
gimmedatjuice ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 03:30:20 on March 10, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Why did you just bump a 17 day old post?
dotlinefever3 ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 00:04:32 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
yeah it is.
Mr-Zero-Fucks ยท 13 points ยท Posted at 23:36:30 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Genius
DontOpenTilXmas ยท 66 points ยท Posted at 00:50:28 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yeah, I'm seriously considering this, but then I remember the fact that you'd have to enter a credit card every time, and no one is going to enter their credit card to be charged 10 dollars a minute because you told them to.
popemichael ยท 117 points ยท Posted at 02:51:16 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Telecom worker here.
With a lot of providers the $10 would be billed to you through your phone bill in much the same way Pay Per View is billed via cable.
bibkel ยท 34 points ยท Posted at 03:07:49 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Agreed. It is added to a separate page in your bill, you call in to find out what the heck it is and can dispute the charge....but if you made the call, you pay. Isnโt there a mandatory recording announcing the price and to accept press 1or decline press 2 or hang up?
popemichael ยท 22 points ยท Posted at 03:38:23 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Legally speaking, there should be in the US as well as the UK. Other places like pakistan, UAE, and dozens more don't have that rule. That is why they are considered "high fraud areas"
That said, there are ways around those laws if you use some free VoIP software out there.
preseto ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 09:33:54 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How would free VoIP help hide the message?
popemichael ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 20:06:18 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It depends on a few different factors.
The way its done "legally" is to forward the call to an on site PBX. So long as the PBX is in a country that doesn't require the message, it can't be enforced if legal action is taken. A major market for underground hosting exists for commiting fraud.
The problem there is it normally violates the TOS in most VoIP providers that use offsite hosting. If an account gets shut down its not a big deal as you can just start anther with another stolen credit card.
Sadly this situation happens a good deal. While it's not the most prevalent fraud, it's easily top 5 in my experience.
DontOpenTilXmas ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 03:23:37 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Just not on cell phones right?
popemichael ยท 7 points ยท Posted at 03:34:55 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It depends, but it can be both. I don't want to violate any NDAs or name specific companies, but its a good idea to read your cell phone agreement before you sign. The same goes if you have a VoIP phone. Those are simple to hack and get hacked regularly.
I've seen bills that were almost half a million dollars from one phone company's account to a redirected 1-900 when I was working in the fraud department.
WUT_R_YOU_DOIN_HERE ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 06:13:14 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Setup call forwarding
one-joule ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 08:20:20 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Wouldnโt the forwarder pay instead of the caller?
WUT_R_YOU_DOIN_HERE ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 08:23:24 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Use someone else's number maybe? I dunno, i am no hackerman.
ChuckStone ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 07:53:04 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Not if they use an auto dialler. Which most companies do.
niquetapute ยท 210 points ยท Posted at 15:03:38 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Is this for real? Not from America, excuse my ignorance
Airazz ยท 87 points ยท Posted at 20:40:27 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
This works in Europe too, there have been a few scams like that in the past. It doesn't end well when the scammed people contact the police about it.
aPurpleLiger ยท 35 points ยท Posted at 21:21:12 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
If I'm not mistaken, toll numbers in America follow a specific format that would make it hard to not realize you're calling a toll number just by looking at it. Is it not the same in Europe or is there just some way to get around that?
ProudToBeAKraut ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 23:07:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It depends on the country ? In germany, there used to be only a few specific numbers that started with 0180 for example - later on more and more prefixes became available and now you have to tell exactly who much a call would cost from mobile or land line.
Apart from that these scams are also forbidden by law anyway.
donrane ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 23:51:41 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
In Denmark the toll numbers have to be primes so that they are easily recognised.
popemichael ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 02:53:06 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Telecom worker here.
It's am easy fix: call forward from another number. So long as you do it in such a way that it's in the 1-900 system it will work every time.
tetralogy ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 00:29:57 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
900 for toll numbers and 800 for free phone calls are pretty universal I think.
funkmon ยท 0 points ยท Posted at 22:39:44 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Only a few countries use the area code system.
NJBarFly ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 08:10:07 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
A guy by the London Eye was trying to get me to call some number. I figured it was a scam, but wasn't sure what kind.
Kinslayer2040 ยท 107 points ยท Posted at 19:02:26 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
yes 1-900 toll numbers are for real.
NewAgeKook ยท 124 points ยท Posted at 19:51:18 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I didn't know that.
LPT: Never call 1-900
[deleted] ยท 32 points ยท Posted at 01:51:55 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
[deleted]
ProbablyFullOfShit ยท 10 points ยท Posted at 03:40:21 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Kick them nasty thoughts.
JuliusSneeezer ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 07:07:28 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Baby got back..
Joe_Sapien ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 20:41:12 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
From America and never thought of this.
recon6483 ยท 34 points ยท Posted at 20:45:46 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Next question is how exactly do you get a phone number that costs money to call.
20Factorial ยท 34 points ยท Posted at 21:37:56 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
You cal your phone provider and ask for one.
You can also set up your own 800 number, where people can call you for free.
Walkerg2011 ยท 17 points ยท Posted at 22:52:07 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
1-800 numbers are cheap too. Like only a couple bucks a month. Note sure about 1-900 numbers.
macthebearded ยท 13 points ยท Posted at 00:34:25 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
And you can just... sign up for one? As a regular person?
fukitol- ยท 18 points ยท Posted at 00:49:21 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yep. You can even do it online at twilio.com (800 numbers, anyway, I don't know if they have a 900 inventory)
A little chunk of xml later you can make it forward to whatever you want.
[deleted] ยท 61 points ยท Posted at 16:22:14 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The real LPT is in the comments.
[deleted] ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 00:13:10 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Is this legal?
newtrawn ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 04:16:17 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
yup
ch4rl1e97 ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 01:59:38 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I went to a local gym on a free weekend and they took my number, now they keep calling me. Really wish I'd done this
[deleted] ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 06:38:12 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Well update it with the new one!
ch4rl1e97 ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 13:20:36 on February 22, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I don't know how ๐ญ
AndrewZabar ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 21:56:47 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Lol yeah if only. Companies block 900 numbers.
Describe ยท 35 points ยท Posted at 22:38:15 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Perfect. So either they call me and pay for my time, or they block my number.
Periwinkle_Lost ยท 1231 points ยท Posted at 15:56:09 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Used to be called a courier scam. A courier comes into a business, acts like he got a wrong address, asks to use companyโs phone. It was before everybody had a cellphone
Grokrok ยท 582 points ยท Posted at 22:55:05 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
A really famous case was when the mob would go in to the Empire State building, posing as delivery drivers, and ask an office worker to borrow the phone (back in land line days), dial their 900 number then hang up the phone and leave. Only they didn't hang up the phone, they set it in the phone cradle on ear plugs to keep it from hanging up. Every minute it remained off the hook was more money for them. If this seems like an ingenious scam, just remember they got busted.
baspeysp ยท 107 points ยท Posted at 23:55:56 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How would you 'bust' the mob?
[deleted] ยท 132 points ยท Posted at 23:59:28 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
bust individuals. relatively short prison sentences for that.
Grokrok ยท 26 points ยท Posted at 01:04:40 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The ones who ran the scam got busted. The were affiliated with one of the crime families in NYC.
weedful_things ยท 13 points ยท Posted at 02:16:11 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
With RICO laws.
ReverseSalmonLadder ยท 16 points ยท Posted at 03:25:26 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Easy there, Harvey dent!
DontOpenTilXmas ยท 31 points ยท Posted at 00:48:23 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Probably easier to bust something like that when it's a large operation, versus an individual picking businesses at total random.
Grokrok ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 01:08:55 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Easier today, but back in the early 80's when this scam was pulled, not so much. It was featured in Lexis Nexis, which tracks notable cases. The trouble for the scammers in this type of scam is it leaves a paper trail, and hard to cash out, and if the feds go to the telecoms they can set up the perps to nab them.
[deleted] ยท 164 points ยท Posted at 16:23:03 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It was featured on The Real Hustle TV show.
bevan185 ยท 50 points ยท Posted at 21:18:21 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Fuck I loved that show
red_killer_jac ยท 13 points ยท Posted at 23:41:23 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Is it illegal?
DontOpenTilXmas ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 00:48:43 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yes....
dotlinefever3 ยท 66 points ยท Posted at 00:03:32 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Knew a guy who ran one of those "Easy money working at home!!" want ads in a couple of penny saver type papers.
You had to call an 900 hundred number,where you heard a pitch saying " Just set up a 900 #, run a couple of ads, uuse the answering machine to respond with "Set up a 900#, run a....."".
His day job? He was a bike courier.
Periwinkle_Lost ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 00:04:58 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I donโt think I follow. Can you explain who exactly was making money?
[deleted] ยท 36 points ยท Posted at 00:11:49 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Sounds like the guy who created the ad suckered people into listening to his recording thus making him money. His recording was suggesting they perform the same scam to make money.
dotlinefever3 ยท 25 points ยท Posted at 00:18:49 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
exactly that.
In his mind, it wasnt a scam doing it that way.
He also did a 'send a self addressed envelope and $5.00' version.Youd get a letter back saying ' Buy an ad in a....' He also sold the addresses to some marketting company.
Told me he made a couple of hundred bucks a month doing it.
beetard ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 00:24:51 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Send one dollar to "happy dude" 842 evergreen terrace
jjoiner356 ยท 7 points ยท Posted at 00:51:29 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
742.
beetard ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 00:57:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Shit. Fat fingers
taversham ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 01:57:44 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialling wand please mash the keypad with your palm now
DrWilliamHorriblePhD ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 07:30:02 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
_____
Periwinkle_Lost ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 00:12:14 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Oh, now it makes sense
AlwaysSunnyInSeattle ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 00:13:23 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Whoever posts the ad makes the money when people call the 900 number they posted.
WildNight00 ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 05:33:41 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How do I set up a 900#?
dotlinefever3 ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 11:46:56 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
call my 900# for instructions.
jewishboy12 ยท 1155 points ยท Posted at 19:34:45 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Set up a girl tinder account and put that number in its bio
Wingul-The-Nova ยท 127 points ยท Posted at 23:24:02 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Kinda like the " send me $5 and see what happens." trick.
ProbablyFullOfShit ยท 72 points ยท Posted at 03:46:17 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I almost missed out on an amazing deal the other day because those fake Tinder bios had made me sceptical. Apparently, Elon Musk was giving away 300 ETH to everyone that sent .2 ETH to his address. I immediately thought it must be a scam, and was going to pass, but then I saw all the comments saying it was legit. Thankfully I got in on time, and should be getting paid any day now.
Disclaimer: I'm full of shit. Please don't send Elon Musk or anyone else crypto. They are all scams.
Wingul-The-Nova ยท 38 points ยท Posted at 04:59:43 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I can't believe Elon Musk has resorted to scamming people. He's fallen on hard times ever since he accidentally left his car on a space rocket.
3original5me ยท 17 points ยท Posted at 04:03:36 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Eh I was gonna Google this but you're probably full of shit so I don't think it's worth it
PM_PICS_OF_ME_NAKED ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 04:41:41 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Either u/ProbablyFullOfShit has an accurate username or he's a dick. Possibly both. Here's what Google has for an answer.
[deleted] ยท 40 points ยท Posted at 02:50:22 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Wasnโt there a girl on tinder who actually pulled this trick?
Like someone actually sent her $5 and she did absolutely nothing?
Wingul-The-Nova ยท 32 points ยท Posted at 02:53:57 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yes that's what I'm referring to. It was more than some girl. After it went viral, a lot more people followed suit.
[deleted] ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 02:54:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Ha, thatโs classic!
Now I wish I were a pretty girl...
Wingul-The-Nova ยท 37 points ยท Posted at 02:59:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Dude it's Tinder. Just find a pic online.
Mustard_Icecream ยท 58 points ยท Posted at 03:10:08 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
He knows that. He still wishes he was a pretty girl.
geumsog ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 14:20:14 on March 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Not particularly proud of it but that's how me and another girl made ยฃ65 one night after a few wines lol
fewer_boats_and_hos ยท 393 points ยท Posted at 20:58:43 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The real ULPT in the comments right there...
Nun01 ยท 37 points ยท Posted at 04:17:19 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
ULPT stands for ultimate life pro tips
mildlyinfiriating ยท 30 points ยท Posted at 22:09:08 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Did anyone call?
MeanBrad ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 00:43:21 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
He's making a suggestion
mildlyinfiriating ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 00:44:09 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Opps. Sometimes I feel like I need to learn to read again.
Cottenswab ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 09:29:03 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
This person understands life.
Rustedcrown ยท 605 points ยท Posted at 14:48:04 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Set it as you contact number so people are less likely to call and bother you. And if they do you get paid
obnoxiously_yours ยท 403 points ยท Posted at 20:12:42 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
One guy did that. The best thing is that it attracted attention in itself, and journalists trying to reach him for an interview called this very phone number.
DimeBagJoe2 ยท 87 points ยท Posted at 20:42:03 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Sign. Me. Up.
Totherphoenix ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 05:35:26 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Ok
Just call me on 049123823493
DimeBagJoe2 ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 05:54:06 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Sure thing, but first call me at 1-900-546-7878. Just wanna verbally make sure you typed out your number correctly. Also it'd be cool if you watched the entire Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series from start to finish while on the phone with me while giving me a quick rundown of what's going on.
red_killer_jac ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 23:43:29 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I feel like I saw this in the news not too long ago.
polt1m ยท 27 points ยท Posted at 21:54:02 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Real LPT is again in the comments.
VEC7OR ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 22:51:59 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Read it as the real bargain is in the comments.
iamiam36 ยท 114 points ยท Posted at 22:07:06 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Put the number on your car bumper, "You don't like the way i drive? Call Jenny at 900-867-5309", and drive like an ass.
Megasteel32 ยท 7 points ยท Posted at 04:03:09 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
JENNY JENNY, WHO CAN I TURN TO?
PM_PICS_OF_ME_NAKED ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 04:43:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
YOU GIVE ME SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO
Malak3000 ยท 158 points ยท Posted at 16:30:03 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Is it possible to learn this power?
jacob2319 ยท 85 points ยท Posted at 20:25:57 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Not from r/LifeProTips
xxx_trojanwormdotexe ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 07:48:39 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I thought not. It's not a story r/LifeProTips would tell you.
Blade9091 ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 16:39:30 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It's a r/UnethicalLifeProTips legends.
stonedghoul ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 17:13:47 on February 22, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
*Old legend
regular_gopnik ยท 22 points ยท Posted at 18:34:38 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
not from a common mortal
-mees- ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 06:56:20 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It's not an ULPT the Jedi would give you
omgredditwtff ยท 211 points ยท Posted at 20:21:17 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I could actually see this blowing up in your face if you really tried to pull this off.
"The preamble usually contains specific things, such as the cost of the call, a description of the service provided, and age requirements. A caller is allowed to hang up during the preamble without any charge. However, you as a business owner may be charged by your 900-number provider."
So basically they could call you several times a day and hang up and you might get a bill larger than any profits. Make sure to read ALL the fine print.
AftyOfTheUK ยท 57 points ยท Posted at 23:14:15 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The actual mafia used to do this. So some of those blowing up in your face would, I assume, include many years of jail time for fraud or obtaining monies by deception.
PlaceboJesus ยท 22 points ยท Posted at 23:18:41 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yeah, but what about sales an collection agencies with their war dialers?
I assume it's someone selling something when I answer "hello" and then there's a weird pause and an automated request to hold...
SuperFLEB ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 04:37:34 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
They're not going to wardial the 900 area code.
PlaceboJesus ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 05:25:50 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It's a computer doing the dialing.
As far as I can tell, it just goes through the list until it gets an answer.
It just has to get past the data entry person who processes whatever form you filled.
EchinusRosso ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 10:23:14 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yeah, but it's one line of code to just have it not dial 900 numbers. Importantly, robocallers hang up in about 30 seconds without input, so they're not making it through the preamble.
StraitChillinAllDay ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 05:25:10 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
This ULPT provided by the 900 carrier
andrew_rdt ยท 118 points ยท Posted at 19:23:36 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Or just pretend to be female online and give guys your number.
AshRae84 ยท 43 points ยท Posted at 23:47:17 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I already am a female online, so Iโve won half the battle!
Adjal ยท 37 points ยท Posted at 00:00:25 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
*Suspicious Fry Meme
SoundAGiraffeMakes ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 02:34:04 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
No really, I'll prove it... Just call my cell 1-900-782-5377
AshRae84 ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 02:50:20 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Hey! Youโre not me!
SoundAGiraffeMakes ยท 18 points ยท Posted at 03:10:32 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Hey it's me, ur alt account. Have you tried calling to make sure to you're not me?
[deleted] ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 04:34:55 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
[deleted]
andrew_rdt ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 01:46:36 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Its not much of a battle, especially if they are desperate.
Battlefront45 ยท 33 points ยท Posted at 18:16:49 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I never knew this โ900โ number existed
Howsaboutnothing ยท 21 points ยท Posted at 20:57:13 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
You never had a triple X throw down?
Battlefront45 ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 20:59:08 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Lol I just looked up what a โtriple X throw downโ is, and now Iโm upset
iwantansi ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 22:23:19 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
You better dial 1-900-MIX-ALOT to kick them nasty thoughts
Trey904fsu ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 04:08:56 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Sir Mixalot?
dragonmasterjg ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 23:53:41 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
With the internet, people aren't up all night watching as many infomercials as they used to.
htmlarson ยท 17 points ยท Posted at 21:55:42 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Someone has apparently been doing this exact same thing, but with 1-800 numbers. I listened to it in this Reply All episode
SuperFLEB ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 04:41:01 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
What's the point of that? Just to piss off the person with the 800 number?Okay, after burning through the episode on high-speed (On a related note: the Internet runs on text, and eyes are faster than ears. Get a transcript, people)...
1-800 lines get spammed with calls that are made to be interesting or confusing enough to keep the recipient on the line.
Cause: It's a scam. The scammers own or work with a sketchy or bullshit "phone company" that takes a cut of the fee (since it's reversed charges, the destination pays the originator) for handling the bogus calls.
Basically, it's the reversed-charges version of "start a phone company/service with exorbitant termination fees (the cost that other carriers pay to send a call), and drum up a bunch of calls to yourself". IIRC, that was a common one some years ago, with services like conference bridges and the like. They wouldn't be 900 toll numbers, but instead were a block of normal numbers on sketchy telcos with that would collect high fees for handling the calls.
Relax007 ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 23:06:01 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I came here to say this. That episode was fascinating.
JKitsSpaghetti ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 16:12:04 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I want to work at Gimlet, seems like such an amazing place.
PURKITTY ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 23:37:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Tones will dial a land line phone. There was a commercial, โHey Kids! Hold the phone up to the TV to call Santa! (Remember to get your parentsโ permission first.)โ
It would dial a 1-900 number to a Santa Claus recording.
Now we need YouTube videos prerecorded to say hey Alexa order (insert trigger for item you have created).
SuperFLEB ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 05:05:40 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
That's brilliant.
And along the lines of the Alexa thing, I wonder if Amazon has some sort of inaudible invalidating tone or signal that causes their commercials to be ignored.
(One Google search later...) It seems they do. Either an effect that signals that it's not real, or the obvious-in-hindsight fact that they know what their own commercials sound like.
That said, set up your pass codes, kids.
Dranx ยท 45 points ยท Posted at 17:05:21 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Legalities of this?
maddiethehippie ยท 46 points ยท Posted at 17:34:43 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-900-number-rule
SexlessNights ยท 60 points ยท Posted at 20:00:55 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Can someone give me the cliff notes.
Fa6ade ยท 36 points ยท Posted at 20:28:54 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I had a flick through, thereโs nothing in here that I could see about borrowing someoneโs phone to dial a toll-line. Itโs more normal regulatory stuff about how to operate such a service legitimately.
It even says in the โWhat is a billing errorโ section:
โIt is not considered a billing error to claim that calls were made on a customer's phone by "unauthorized" persons, like a child or someone not living with the customerโ
So it would seem that such a situation is covered under separate regulations and laws.
aPurpleLiger ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 21:23:22 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Seems like it would be considered some sort of fraud if anything
VoilaVoilaWashington ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 21:59:41 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Yup. Fraud is a very broad term. Almost any situation where you line your pockets based on a lie (including lie of omission) can be fraud.
wrong_assumption ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 01:52:36 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Why do supplements exist then?
VoilaVoilaWashington ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 03:11:56 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Huh?
NowHowCow ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 04:04:06 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I can't say for sure but last I knew and this was several years ago supplements products like protein-bars and powders or nutritient-laden workout snacks aren't hardly FDA regulated like food from the supermarket shelves. So, with food you have to pass all sorts of testing and FDA requirements which takes time and costs money before you can sell your product on store shelves the same doesn't hold true for supplement products. You can sell your protein bars as a supplement in a health store rather than a food at a market and you don't need to pass nearly as many stringent requirements to sell your product.
That's what I learned about it a few years back and I guess that's where the above commenter gets associating supplements with fraud because they are by and large more of a food product and marketed as a supplement so they skip a lot of hoops required by food manufacturers for selling their product.
casemodsalt ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 20:10:09 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Introduction When dialing pay-per-call services, consumers did not always know how much the call would cost and what they would get for their money. To help them get this information more readily, Congress passed the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act in 1992. This Act required the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to adopt rules governing the pay-per-call services industry. The FTC's 900-Number Rule, which became effective November 1, 1993, covers the advertising and operation of pay-per-call services, as well as billing and collection procedures for those services.
You also should know that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a rule that applies to common carriers that assign telephone numbers for interstate pay-per-call services. To learn more about this rule, contact: FCC - Common Carrier Bureau, Informal Complaints and Public Inquiries Branch, Washington, DC 20554.
If you operate a pay-per-call service or provide billing for a pay-per-call service, this booklet explains how you can comply with the FTC's 900-Number Rule.
This booklet represents the Federal Trade Commission staff's view of what the law requires. It is not binding on the Commission.
If you have further questions after reading this booklet, you can contact:
Division of Marketing Practices Bureau of Consumer Protection Federal Trade Commission Washington, DC 20580 (202) 326-3128 [back to top]
Who Must Comply with the FTC Rule? All providers of pay-per-call services must comply with the FTC 900- Number Rule. A "provider of pay-per-call services" (or "information provider") is any person who sells or offers to sell a pay-per-call service.
Service bureaus, which provide access to telephone service and voice storage to information providers, may be found liable for violations of the 900-Number Rule where they knewโor should have knownโthat pay-per-call services using their call-processing facilities were violating the rule. Also, billing entities that send billing statements for pay-per-call services must comply with the billing and collection provisions of the 900-Number Rule.
What Is a Pay-Per-Call Service? A "pay-per-call service" is defined in the rule and the statute as "any service--
In which any person provides or purports to provide-- Audio information or audio entertainment produced or packaged by such person; Access to simultaneous voice conversation services; or Any service, including the provision of a product, the charges for which are assessed on the basis of the completion of the call;
For which the caller pays a per-call or per-time-interval charge that is greater than, or in addition to, the charge for transmission of the call; and Which is accessed through use of a 900 telephone number or other prefix or area code designated by the [FCC]..."
YouSwear ยท 10 points ยท Posted at 22:24:33 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
US cell phone carriers block calls to 900 numbers. Now setting up a premium sms number with a subscription fee might yield better results.
SuperFLEB ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 04:41:53 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
It sounds fun, but how many cat facts can you really come up with before it just becomes work?
YouSwear ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 04:59:49 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Well if you get bored, thereโs always polyphonic ringtones and wallpapers of early 2000s pop stars
dravas ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 23:42:15 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Anyway to get the Indian and Pakistani repair your computer to call a routed 900 number to a Google voice number?
Asking for a friend.
woketheplug ยท 35 points ยท Posted at 14:59:08 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How do you get paid?
bobhelmut_ ยท 24 points ยท Posted at 15:40:09 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
this is almost the plot of an episode of beavis and butthead
imatthepub_g ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 21:52:54 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
"Uh...huhhuh...Put the phone under your butt. Uh huhhuhhuh"
Hunter_the_Hutt ยท 22 points ยท Posted at 22:50:27 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
For all of you saying that companies block it, you can set up a google voice number to forward to the 900 number and no one would ever know.
[deleted] ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 03:37:28 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
But then YOUR google voice account would be calling the 900 number. Wouldnโt you then be responsible for the fees?
PM_PICS_OF_ME_NAKED ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 04:47:11 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Google voice uses call forwarding. It doesn't actually call anything.
FourDM ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 22:47:49 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Better yet, get a 900 number, post it all over the internet and rake in $$ from all the telemarketer scams run by people too stupid to configure their software not to dial 900 numbers.
carl0071 ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 00:56:47 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Or just write the number on every survey and form that asks for your phone number for marketing...
[deleted] ยท 25 points ยท Posted at 15:05:57 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
[deleted]
Kinslayer2040 ยท 26 points ยท Posted at 19:00:39 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
The 900 number charges the phone bill of whoever owns the phone that made the call. They then send money (etransfer or cheque i assume) to who owns the 900 number
[deleted] ยท -14 points ยท Posted at 19:05:16 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
[deleted]
bluejams ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 22:18:56 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How do you think phone sex hotline or miss Cleo worked?
CallMeMrFlipper ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 22:43:26 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I always assumed by giving your credit card info
bluejams ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 23:10:51 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Well, thatโs a fair guess.
DontOpenTilXmas ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 00:46:18 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Holy fuck this is BRILLIANT!
@the top comment who implied cellphones killed this... "Hi, my cellphone is dead, I was wondering if I could use your phone to call my boss and tell him I'll be late"
ArtesianYelling ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 01:06:05 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Quitting your job? Just got fired? Dial from a few phones and leave them off the hook.
tooclosetocall82 ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 01:33:18 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
And have clear motive and opportunity when someone notices and presses charges.
NeatBeluga ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 03:12:56 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Whenever an event is sold out. Use a fake account on e.g. facebook and make a fake listing with the number. Would work wonders with a Bieber Tour in the past. Girls and parents calling in
ej1oo1 ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 23:15:37 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Reminds me of the scam in this reply all episode
https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/104-case-phantom-caller#episode-player
flakula ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 02:11:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Most cell phones wont even let you call a 900 number, and it's almost impossible to dispute a chargeback when a person claims the call from their phone was fraudulent. You'll end up losing money.
Kilo_G_looked_up ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 07:03:46 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
How do you set up a 900 number?
rs_alli ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 22:13:34 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Couldn't you just find one of the like 4 pay phones in America and just repeatedly call the number? Idk how much pay phones cost but there's no way it's $10
iwantansi ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 22:23:47 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
No, theyre not toll free numbers
rs_alli ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 22:29:26 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Can you tell I've never used a pay phone
MaleAryaStarksNoHomo ยท 12 points ยท Posted at 22:46:06 on February 20, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Damn Millennials! Get off my lawn!!!
santaclaritaman ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 04:39:38 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Car dealerships, I got over 20 VMs this weekend when I entered some details into true car
Reaper73 ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 11:05:35 on February 26, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Alternatively, get a load of "How's My Driving? Call 1-900-xxx-xxxx" stickers printed and place them on vans and trucks.
Super sneaky method: pick one large company and match the sticker colours and fonts.
distortionwarrior ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 03:52:43 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Brilliant.
badreportcard ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 04:24:21 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
What if you called from a pay phone?
_Solution_ ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 04:30:51 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
sign number up for contest, voter registration, etc.
DemonWTF ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 05:31:00 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Is this legal?
alldogsarecute ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 06:54:35 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Girls can give it to asshats who won't stop asking for their numbers.
altgrave ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 09:45:25 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
TIL 900 numbers still exist
conhobs ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 09:51:04 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Whatโs a 900 number?
Powerdwarf_Kira ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 11:27:20 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Make that number your username
Vyo ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 16:42:45 on February 23, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
There's a Dutch vlogger by the name of DieTim, formerly Snapking, who already did this. He asked for his followers - lots of 'm young and impressionable kids - to call a number for a chance to get in touch with him. He didn't make it clear that it would cost X euro's per minute.. and you would just be put on hold, there was no chance of actually getting in touch with him, it was just another "prank".
Then it became this beautiful trainwreck when it backfired on him. People started asking their money back, the phone/isp companies cut him off and eventually even the telecom watchdog (the equivalent of your FCC) got involved and ordered refunds. Those refunds were paid by the phone companies though. The price he had to pay is that his public image has been completely wrecked.
edit: can't find any english article, but just translate this I guess. googletranslate doesn't really work because of the cookiewall, but right-click->translate does in chrome. https://www.ad.nl/economie/snapking-gedupeerden-krijgen-belkosten-terug~a7c5bbd5/
nub1984 ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 02:45:57 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Back in the days you could achieve the same objective by making unlimited payphone cards and ringing your 900 number from a both.
mystic_chihuahua ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 03:55:43 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Break into houses and make the calls. Just make sure you dial a bunch of different 900 lines so the cops think the burglar was just being a dick. If you just dial your number it's kinda suspicious.
darkmorpha71 ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 07:07:45 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Wouldnโt even need to break in, a $10 test set off Amazon and some cutters and you could splice into the demarc box, call out from there and leave it running
mystic_chihuahua ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 07:12:42 on February 23, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
*takes notes...
AwreetusAwrightus ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 05:03:48 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
Can I get an OutOfTheLoop here: what's a 900 number? How could someone set up one of those so easily, it seems?
I'm not from 'murica, thanks
[deleted] ยท 0 points ยท Posted at 06:49:09 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
900 number...showing your age are ya?
Wilkolek ยท -1 points ยท Posted at 05:14:25 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
This is really, really old scheme.
ithinkoutloudtoo ยท -5 points ยท Posted at 05:06:52 on February 21, 2018 ยท (Permalink)
I wonder if I could set up a 1-900 number, get a caller ID spoofer attached to a program that I can set it to random numbers from a database with specific numbers mixed in there to annoy some certain people, have a computer program autodial numbers similar to the system some politicians use, but when it calls the number and someone answers, another separate computer program manipulates the $10 per minute fee by thinking that each passing second is really a minute, but if they don't answer and it goes to voicemail the computer program leaves a very long message, or when someone answers, the preprogrammed machine makes them go through a series of questions designed to keep them on the phone as long as possible. Basically with the millions of phone numbers in the country, I'd like to see if I could make $5 million dollars per day, and just let things run for months and months or maybe a few years. It could be set up to call fifty separate people all at once, and keep going with continuously calling fifty people.