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In America, one victim of a Rogue Dialer scam racked up some $500 in charges after their modem was hijacked and a premium rate number was contacted on just six occasions. In
UK too, numerous victims have reported huge telephone charges, with some in excess of £1500 ($2800). The consumer website, Bad Business Bureau has received over 1300 complaints from victims of this latest scam and, while this whole matter is being investigated by Federal Trade Commission in States and by Office of Fair Trading in UK, scammers are already responding with new software which dials numbers in countries where trade controls are lacking.
A further blow has recently been delivered to UK based victims with announcements from leading telecoms providers, BT and NTL that they are "not responsible" for calls which have been made fraudulently and that customers will not be exempted from any charges incurred.
Protecting Yourself & Your Wallet Firewalls and and anti-virus software WILL NOT provide protection against Rogue Dialer infections. The "drive-by download" method of introducing a Rogue Dialer onto a PC normally involves an ActiveX script and users advised, at very least, to set their browser settings to either disable ActiveX or warn of its existence. For a more professional approach to protecting your modem, StopItNow, an Australian based software company has released a specific Rogue Dialer killer which retails for just $16.95.
To avoid having a Rogue Dialer dumped onto their computer via preview pane of Outlook Express, users may want to consider an alternative email client such as freeware program, Eudora.
Related Links: http://www.badbusinessbureau.com http://www.stopitnow.com.au http://www.ftc.gov http://www.oftel.gov.uk http://www.eudora.com
Robert Palmer is CEO of deskNET Communications (http://www.desknet.co.uk) - providing webmasters and e-commerce with a more successful alternative to opt-in email marketing and email newsletters.
