USBI rip-off! Slammed, victimized! Never, ever, ever give your phone number online! Internet

It's those idiots at National One Telecom again! They're running the tired, old modem dialer con along with the fake billing scam. Both of them are designed to get their hands on your money!

The modem dialer con first started back in 1997. The Federal Trade Commission reports it was one of the top 10 frauds of 2002.

Here's how it works. While you're on the internet, unknown to you, a program comes over the connection. Usually, a series of pop-ups will occur. Then, the computer won't respond anymore.

The program hijacks your modem, replacing the normal dialer. First, it mutes the speaker, so you can't hear when it dials out. Then, it starts dialing to 44-207-335-84, a number located in the United Kingdom. The program waits until nobody is using the computer before it dials.

No unprotected computer is safe from this attack. It doesn't matter if you have cable or DSL. In fact, you don't need any modem or phone line at all. Your computer doesn't even have to be turned on! Once they have your information, National one will simply make a fake bill!

They use white page directories to find your name and address. Much of the information is old and outdated. Some victims report getting bills for numbers that have been disconnected long ago.

Next, you will start receiving the bills. First, you will get a real bill from your phone company.
You will be charged $1.99 per minute for the international long distance calls. Then, you will get a fake bill from One Web Direct for another $5 per minute. Depending on the length of the calls, this could add up to hundreds of dollars!

You will need to call your phone company and have the charges removed. Some phone companies will remove all charges for calls made by dialers. Others want payment, but at a reduced price, up to 85% off. After all, your computer did make the calls, even if you had no idea it was doing it. The phone company doesn't want to take the loss for something your computer did. If you don't pay, they'll get stuck with the bill.

When you call the phone company, remember to remain calm and friendly if you want them to help you. Most companies will try to assist the victims any way they can.

Your phone company has only one way to prevent this. A block on your line won't work, because the fraud uses 10-10 dialarounds to bypass that. A toll-restriction would stop it, but then you couldn't make any long distance calls. Most people aren't willing to do that.

As for One Web Direct, you can save their bill as evidence of fraud. You may need to send it in after you file your complaints to the feds. Do NOT try to pay it!

One Web Direct will not talk to you on the phone. They ignore messages left on their voice mail. They direct you to a web address, nationalone.com or onewebhlp.com. They send you one email telling you to pay up. They also tell you that the bill will be turned over to a collection agency.

Don't worry about One Web Direct at all. Don't waste your time trying to call or email them. They made up their own fake collection agency, Collection Express. They don't have your social security number. And, because it's a total fraud, they won't be reporting anything. They just try to scare you into paying the fake bill. Don't even think about it!

You do need to start reporting this fraud to the federal agencies. Remember, the frauds have your phone number. Next month, there will be more calls on your phone bill. You need to put a stop to this, once and for all.

These are the actual complaint form pages. You will need to fill in all your information to file your complaint. Fill in your information accurately. Check your spelling. If you are having trouble, try filing by phone instead. Copy the IP address and paste it into the address bar, then hit enter.

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

FBI Internet Fraud Complaint Center
https://www.ifccfbi.gov/complaint/cf2.asp

econsumer.gov
https://www.econsumer.gov/pls/econsumer/wimsnery2$com.main?p_lang_seq=1

US Postal Inspection Service
www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm

Public Utilities Commission
each state is different-address below is California
www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/forms/complaint.htm

Federal Communications Commission
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm

California Attorney General
each state is different-address below is California
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/mailform.htm

Better Business Bureau
http://www.dallas.bbb.org/complaint_form.html Dallas
http://www.bbbnh.org/complaint_form.html New Hampshire

Feel free to use pages from this site as needed. In addition, I recommend you call your city newspaper and make them aware of the problem. This fraud relies on people being unaware and uninformed. When everyone fights instead of pays, the money will stop coming in to the fraud. Currently, the fraud is using these names and addresses:

1-National One Telecom
2-One Web Direct Bill
3-Collection Express
4-Enhanced Services Billing Inc/ESBI
5-Tellsys
6-One Call Com
7-Candid Publishing
8-Intercosmos Media Group or directNIC
9-Money Management International
10.Steve Griffin
11.Michael Walczak
12.Terry M. Blaney
13.Suzanne Hanse

PO Box 10007-Bedford, NH
PO Box 612929-Dallas, TX
PO Box 130959-Dallas, TX
PO Box 612608-Dallas, TX

All of these names are in some way connected to this fraud. Many are involved in setting it up. Some help with the fake billing. Other names are the actual fraud companies themselves.

If you have already paid, or know someone that has, file the complaints and hope for a refund. Check this site for the information that explains how to get a refund through your bank.

This post tells you how to handle the bills. My next message will explain how to clean up your computer. Look for it in a day or two. Then, we can start collecting evidence to catch the people behind this.

These frauds count on you to pay quietly. They'll try to bleed you dry, if you let them. Be sure to file a complaint on EVERY site above. Remember, it's up to you to put a stop to this. They are counting on your fear and ignorance in this situation. Instead, show them they're wrong. Dead wrong!

Good luck!