[Gllug] Phone scam?

[Alistair Mann]

John Winters wrote:
>  On 18/04/11 10:37, Alistair Mann wrote:
> > I don't remember where I saw this (might have been the economist?)
> > but with telephone fraud it can take upto three months to get the
> > law to disconnect them. From a business point of view, it can make
> > sense to start up a shell company that looks kosher, and wring it
> > for everything.
>
>  I once had occasion to complain to ICSTIS about a premimum rate phone
>  line scam and they performed far better than any other supposed
>  regulatory authority which I've come across.
>
>  The line was promptly disconnected, all revenue was confiscated, the
>  operators were fined a large sum, and I was sent full details of
>  those behind the scam in case I wanted to pursue it further myself.

To be fair, that was because they were on a premium line -- they're much 
less use against a company with a 'regular' phone number.

>  Would that other operators were as effective.

Perhaps it's as well that they're usually not: a reasonably well-known 
social attack is to induce complaints to a regulator about equally 
legitimate competition to one's own business. I'm led to believe 
brothels do this to each other regularly: leaving anonymous notes under 
the doors of the competition's neighbours asking them to complain to the 
Police if that competing brothel "is a problem." For such 
establishments, perhaps we can afford not to care, but it would suddenly 
be a big problem if someone was able to shut any one of us down 
'promptly' on little more than a single complaint.

Cheers,
-- 
Alistair Mann
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