Nine Zero Hash Phone Scam Hoax
Summary:Email claims that a scammer can take control of you phone if you key in 90# (
Full commentary below.)
Status:False, with some rare exceptions.
Examples:
Australian Version:
FYI - Phone Scamm
This has been confirmed by Telstra: DO NOT push 90# on your home phone.
Got a call last night from an individual identifying himself as an AT&T
Service technician who was conducting a test on our telephone lines. He
stated that to complete the test I should touch nine (9), zero(0), hash
(#) and then hang up. Luckily, I was suspicious and refused. Upon
contacting the telephone company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you
give the requesting individual full access to your telephone line, which
allows them to place long distance telephone calls billed to your home
phone number. I was further informed that this scam has been originating
from many of the local ails/prisons. DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE. PLEASE
pass this on to your friends. If you have mailing lists and/or newsletters
from organisations you are connected with, I encourage you to pass this
on.
[DETECTIVE'S NAME REMOVED]
Detective Sergeant
Major Fraud Investigation Division
[NUMBER REMOVED]
Mobile phone version:
If you receive a phone call on your mobile from any person, saying that, he or she is a company engineer, or telling that they're checking your mobile line, and you have to press # 90 or #09 or any other number. End this call immediately without pressing any numbers. There is a fraud company using a device that once you press #90 or #09 they can access your "SIM" card and make calls at your expense
One US Version:
I received a telephone call last evening from an individual identifying himself as an ATandT Service technician who was conducting a test on telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test I should touch nine(9), zero(0), the pound sign (#), and then hang up. Luckily, I was suspicious and refused.
Upon contacting the telephone company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you give the requesting individual full access to your telephone line, which enables them to place long distance calls billed to your home phone number.
I was further informed that this scam has been originating from many local jails/prisons. I have also verified this information with UCB Telecom,Pacific Bell, MCI, Bell Atlantic and GTE. Please beware.
DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE.
The GTE Security Department requested that I share this information
with EVERYONE I KNOW.
PLEASE pass this on to everyone YOU know.
If you have mailing lists and/or newsletters from organizations you
are connected with, I encourage you to pass on this information to
them.
After checking with Verizon they said it was true, so do not dial
(9),zero(0), the pound sign # and hang up for anyone.
Commentary:
There have been a number of versions of this hoax.
These emails warn recipients that they may receive a call from a fraudster posing as a phone technician who will advise them to key in "Nine-Zero-Hash" or a similar sequence of numbers. According to the email, once you key in these numbers or similar, the fraudster has immediate access to your phone and can use it for making calls that will be billed to your account.
In late 2003, an Australian version of the hoax claimed to be a "police warning" and used the name and contact number of a real Victorian Police Officer. Although the officer did not send the email, he was inundated with calls and emails about the hoax. Australian telecommunications giant, Telstra, denounced the email as a hoax. An earlier US version claimed the supposed scam calls were coming from prisons. Yet another version of the hoax targets mobile phone users.
In rare cases, the information in the email can be true. Some business telephone switching equipment that has been configured in a certain way may be vulnerable to the scam. If a particular type of PABX phone system requires users to dial "9" to get an outside line then it is theoretically possible for a scammer to take control of the line. However, since the information is false for the vast majority of home phone users, and certainly for mobile phone users, the email can be dismissed as a pointless hoax and should not be forwarded.
References:
http://homepages.tesco.net/~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/please-do-not-perpetuate-the-9-0-hash-hoax.html
http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=120627
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/30/1056825335277.html
Write-up by Brett M. Christensen
