Crystal Crimi, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- When Mary Elson’s phone bill showed $400 in long distance calls she hadn’t made, she thought Bell Canada had made a mistake.
Unfortunately, the charges were no accident.
The Goodwood resident had been the victim of computer modem hijacking and before she could get the scammers out of her Internet connection, they rang up another $400 in calls to places such as New Zealand, Tokelau, and Sao Tome. «We noticed it in April and called Bell about why all these (charges) were on there,» said Ms. Elson. «Then we got our May bill and they were on there again.» Modem hijacking is possible when a victim clicks on Ms. Elson says she assumed the charges would stop after the first call to Bell, but they didn’t. After the second phone bill and call to Bell, the family realized to get rid of the hijackers, they had to remove the downloaded «spyware», which was allowing the outside calls to be made, by having the computer’s hard drive cleaned out. «We’ve had about 2,000 complaints so far this year,» says Det. Elliott of the hijacking scam. «We’ve had people victimized from anywhere to $60 to $5,000 or $6,000.» In March and April, calls to the centre regarding the scam averaged at 500 per month, but have decreased since phone companies, such as Telus and Bell, have taken precautions to block calls from being made to countries commonly associated with the hijacking process. «Telus took the lead on it and we really applaud them for taking the step,» Det. Elliot says. Bell followed the initiative and as of Aug. 1, those calling Sao Tome and Principe, Nauru, But Mohammed Nakhooda, media relations spokesman for Bell Canada, warns the step is not a «magic» solution. «This is really a situation of buyer beware,» says Mr. Nakhooda. «That’s why Bell Canada is really taking measures to work with our customers.» Since the beginning of Internet service, he says, Bell has been warning customers that the Internet is an unregulated environment and they have to be careful about «Sometimes you’re clicking a button that looks like an ’X’ that you think you’re closing it, but really you’re downloading it,» said Det. Elliott. Pop-ups «We have kids in the house, I could have clicked it myself,» says Ms. Elson, who adds she is more or less computer illiterate. Now she is much more cautious on the Internet and makes sure the modem is always unplugged when it is not being used. Unless the modem is plugged in, hijackers cannot gain access to the phone line. «Hopefully it will never happen again,» she says. «It’s kind of scary when things pop up. I’m certainly more aware of what not to do.» As for the $800 stolen through her modem, Bell provided an $80 discount — the difference the Elsons would have saved if the calls had been made during discounted hours, she says. «Generally we work with our customers on a «But at the end of the day, it is a situation of being aware,» Mr. Nakhooda says. «It’s being vigilant and diligent when Det. Elliott warns people to have lots of virus protection on their computer to prevent a Trojan horse (spyware) from making its way into modems. «And be careful out there,» Det. Elliot adds. «It’s a dangerous world surfing the net.» Those who have fallen victim to modem hijacking can fax their complete phone bill, not just the page with the charges, to PhoneBusters at 1–888–654–9426. By doing so they’ll be added to a database keeping track of those who have been invaded. Det. Elliott adds the information could possibly be required for a class action lawsuit recently launched against Bell. David Thompson of Scarfone Hawkins LLP in Hamilton is handing the statement of claim recently issued to the Ontario Superior Court against Bell Canada. The class action is on behalf of those who paid Bell for long distance calls made through hijacking to the noted locations.