FCC Scammed Out Of Millions In Telco Scam

from the probably-not-the-best-target dept

Thu, Mar 11th 2010 11:27am — Mike Masnick

If you're going to pull a telco scam, perhaps targeting the FCC isn't the best idea. However, some employees at a couple of video relay services apparently scammed the FCC out of a few million dollars. In case you don't know, Video Relay Service is a mandated program for helping people who are hard of hearing to communicate by using interpreters and web cameras to help make phone calls. The way the program works is that the FCC will reimburse service providers who offer this at $6.50/minute. That's a pretty good per minute amount, and so folks at these two video relay services decided to make fake phone calls to run up those minutes.

Filed Under: fcc, scams

15 Comments

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Ima Fish (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 11:42am

My wife's parents are deaf (in fact my wife graduated from Gallaudet, you can't get more Deaf cred than that...) and we know plenty of people involved with this scam. Its amazing how much they were making, how long it went on, and how obvious the FCC was.
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- Ima Fish (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 11:43am
  
  Re:
  how oblivious the FCC was!
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  - Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2010 @ 12:04pm
    
    Re: Re:
    It was oblivious to the rest of us what you meant. Don't sweet(sic) it.
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Overcast (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 12:35pm

Question is: was it really a 'scam' or was it 're-direction' of tax dollars?

Like the $999.00 hammers the Pentagon buys?
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Stupid, 11 Mar 2010 @ 12:50pm

Ryan
This is stupid anyway. Instead of letting the actual, you know...users of these services pay for it, they're subsidizing it with everybody else's money. If there's not enough demand for it to entice service providers, then there's not enough demand period. But they set up a system that pays providers per usage for a system there's apparently not enough demand for, and then they're surprised that it gets abused?

Actually, I take that back. I'm sure nobody's surprised, but since when did anybody in the government give a shit about other people's money?
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- Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2010 @ 12:58pm
  
  Re: Ryan
  So you think we need more deaf people to pump up the demand?
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  - Chargone (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 1:47pm
    
    Re: Re: Ryan
    I like how you think.
    (apparently many bands agree with you, and are doing their best to do just that
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Glenn, 11 Mar 2010 @ 4:07pm

So?
This still runs a distant second to the Universal Slush Fund scam.
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jim, 11 Mar 2010 @ 8:32pm

why bother with the petty millions you can make here instead of going after some of the 6 billion you can collect from medicare yearly by faking equipment and procedures.
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john (profile), 12 Mar 2010 @ 2:14am

a bit incorrect
the info is a tad incorrect -

First, there's numerous relay service providers out there - and there's been 26 people caught in the FBI's dragnet, across multiple VRS providers.

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/wfo011310.htm

Secondly, it's ALOT more than a couple million.
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Eric Stein (profile), 12 Mar 2010 @ 9:45am

Terms of service :: sounds like "scam me"
It seems to me that the underlying problem is not connecting people who need this service to a free alternative. Who pays $390 an hour for vidchat?
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VRSEngineer, 12 Mar 2010 @ 11:48am

Point-to-point video calls are, of course, free. VRS providers provide free or subsidized videophones to the deaf and hard of hearing, and carry all point-to-point calls for free.

The cost here is for American Sign Language interpreter time when placing calls between deaf customers and hearing PSTN numbers. ASL interpreters are not free, and interpreting time is physically exhausting. Long-duration calls actually trade-off interpreters in the middle of a call.

As for the cost... well, I suggest you look into running your own VRS provider service before commenting.

Yes, some providers used fraudulent practices to run up minutes. This is unfortunate, as a number of VRS providers are quite innocent and have not been charged with any fraudulent practices.
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ijcaonline.org, 27 Apr 2010 @ 4:09am

SCAM JOURNAL - ijcaonline.org
SCAM JOURNAL PUBLSIHING UNREFEREED PAPERS!!! International Journal of Computer Applications ijcaonline.org The best place to publish nonsensical papers!!! Papers published by IJCA have no recognition in most Universities!! Blacklisted by several universities in Europe, US and Asia!! International Journal of Computer Applications ijcaonline.org a SCAM JOURNAL!!! BEWARE!!!!
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ijcaonline.org, 27 Apr 2010 @ 4:10am

SCAM JOURNAL - ijcaonline.org
SCAM JOURNAL PUBLSIHING UNREFEREED PAPERS!!!

International Journal of Computer Applications
ijcaonline.org

The best place to publish nonsensical papers!!!

Papers published by IJCA have no recognition in most Universities!!

Blacklisted by several universities in Europe, US and Asia!!

International Journal of Computer Applications
ijcaonline.org

a SCAM JOURNAL!!! BEWARE!!!!
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Goerge gurmin, 9 Jul 2012 @ 9:22am

IJORCS-White Globe Publications
International Journal of Research in computer Science is a one of best available platforms available for publishing original computer science research articles.IJORCS,JOURNAL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE,COMPUTER JOURNAL
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