By Teresa McUsic

Special to the Star-Telegram

Fort Worth is apparently at the center of a nationwide Internet telephone scam.

The Better Business Bureau in Fort Worth has received more than 100 complaints since Nov. 4 from across the country concerning a local company and a high-tech crime called modem hijacking.

The complaints allege that Premier Premium Communications, which has a Fort Worth post office box, has gained customers through a deceptive pop-up ad and sent bills ranging from $60 to $700 for long-distance Internet calls to the United Kingdom. The customers say they didn’t make the calls. Sometimes, the charges appeared on their local phone bills. Other people were billed directly by PPC. The bills often contain charges for pay-per-view Web site access.

Some of these consumers reported that they don’t own a computer, that their computer was not on when the call was made or that they were not home, proving they didn’t make the calls.

Last week, in a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission, Verizon said it has handled thousands of complaints related to this type of Internet dialing scam. The amount ranges from under $100 to more than $7,500, with an average of more than $300, according to the filing.

The Texas attorney general has received one complaint about PPC, as has the attorney general in New Hampshire, where PPC also has a post office box.

RipoffReport.com shows 106 complaints across the country about PPC charging for unmade calls to a telephone number in London. One person, a Richard in Plano, said he received a $197 bill for a «live webcam» from PPC and $184 in long-distance telephone charges on an SBC bill.

Lisa Dorian, a Savvy Consumer reader from San Antonio, faxed me her bill for $70 from PPC for a 14-minute long-distance call to the U. K. The company called the bill an «error» after she threatened to complain to authorities.

Dialing scams generally start with a pop-up advertisement on the Internet that, when answered in the affirmative, causes «dialer software» to download onto a home computer, said William Kula, a Verizon spokesman.

Dialer software, often used by adult Web sites to levy and collect fees, can allow a third party to make a call on your computer via the Internet.

«Through a series of pop-up ads, people unknowingly open up the floodgates,» Kula said.

Dialer software is not illegal if proper wording shows consumers what they are getting, Kula said. The ads often promise entertainment for no cost.

«You have to read the fine print,» he warned.

The scams are aimed primarily at dial-up Internet users, not those with a broadband connection such as DSL or cable modem. However, broadband users can be vulnerable if a telephone line is connected to their modem to send faxes, for example.

In the PPC case, some consumers complaining to the Better Business Bureau do not even own a computer or were not home at the time of the call, said John Riggins, president of the Fort Worth bureau.

When called, PPC’s customer service phone line was repeatedly busy. An e-mail sent to the company prompted what appears to be a form letter stating that I also owe PPC for a «live webcam» even though I have never been billed by the company.

PPC wrote in its e-mail: «In extremely rare cases billing errors do occur where a customer would get a bill for a phone number that does not belong to them. These rare cases occur when a phone number was reassigned to another subscriber and the local exchange carrier databases were not updated immediately. In such cases we do credit for the call placed as required by law.»

The FCC and a local phone provider told the bureau that the billing service should ask for payment upfront before the Web site is accessed, Riggins said.

The Fort Worth BBB also tried to contact PPC by telephone and mail but has not received a response.

If you get an invoice from the company or if an unauthorized call to the United Kingdom appears on your phone bill, the Fort Worth bureau suggests you contact your phone and Internet providers to request that a block be placed on your phone and e-mail account.

You may also wish to contact the BBB at (817) 332–7585 or file a complaint at www.fwbbb.org. Complaints can be filed with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or by calling, toll-free, (877) FTC-HELP (382–4357).

Verizon has made billing adjustments for those who can prove their case, Kula said.

Consumers should also be careful to read all of the terms and conditions of any online offering, consider using pop-up blocker software and warn family members of pop-up pitfalls.