FCC Scammed Out Of Millions In Telco Scam
from the probably-not-the-best-target dept
If you’re going to pull a telco scam, perhaps targeting the FCC isn’t the best idea. However, some employees at a couple of video relay services apparently scammed the FCC out of a few million dollars. In case you don’t know, Video Relay Service is a mandated program for helping people who are hard of hearing to communicate by using interpreters and web cameras to help make phone calls. The way the program works is that the FCC will reimburse service providers who offer this at $6.50/minute. That’s a pretty good per minute amount, and so folks at these two video relay services decided to make fake phone calls to run up those minutes.
Comments on “FCC Scammed Out Of Millions In Telco Scam”
My wife’s parents are deaf (in fact my wife graduated from Gallaudet, you can’t get more Deaf cred than that…) and we know plenty of people involved with this scam. Its amazing how much they were making, how long it went on, and how obvious the FCC was.
Re: Re:
how oblivious the FCC was!
Re: Re: Re:
It was oblivious to the rest of us what you meant. Don’t sweet(sic) it.
Question is: was it really a ‘scam’ or was it ‘re-direction’ of tax dollars?
Like the $999.00 hammers the Pentagon buys?
Ryan
This is stupid anyway. Instead of letting the actual, you know…users of these services pay for it, they’re subsidizing it with everybody else’s money. If there’s not enough demand for it to entice service providers, then there’s not enough demand period. But they set up a system that pays providers per usage for a system there’s apparently not enough demand for, and then they’re surprised that it gets abused?
Actually, I take that back. I’m sure nobody’s surprised, but since when did anybody in the government give a shit about other people’s money?
Re: Ryan
So you think we need more deaf people to pump up the demand?
Re: Re: Ryan
I like how you think.
(apparently many bands agree with you, and are doing their best to do just that
So?
This still runs a distant second to the Universal Slush Fund scam.
why bother with the petty millions you can make here instead of going after some of the 6 billion you can collect from medicare yearly by faking equipment and procedures.
a bit incorrect
the info is a tad incorrect –
First, there’s numerous relay service providers out there – and there’s been 26 people caught in the FBI’s dragnet, across multiple VRS providers.
http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/wfo011310.htm
Secondly, it’s ALOT more than a couple million.
Terms of service :: sounds like "scam me"
It seems to me that the underlying problem is not connecting people who need this service to a free alternative. Who pays $390 an hour for vidchat?
Point-to-point video calls are, of course, free. VRS providers provide free or subsidized videophones to the deaf and hard of hearing, and carry all point-to-point calls for free.
The cost here is for American Sign Language interpreter time when placing calls between deaf customers and hearing PSTN numbers. ASL interpreters are not free, and interpreting time is physically exhausting. Long-duration calls actually trade-off interpreters in the middle of a call.
As for the cost… well, I suggest you look into running your own VRS provider service before commenting.
Yes, some providers used fraudulent practices to run up minutes. This is unfortunate, as a number of VRS providers are quite innocent and have not been charged with any fraudulent practices.
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International Journal of Computer Applications
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SCAM JOURNAL - ijcaonline.org
SCAM JOURNAL PUBLSIHING UNREFEREED PAPERS!!!
International Journal of Computer Applications
ijcaonline.org
The best place to publish nonsensical papers!!!
Papers published by IJCA have no recognition in most Universities!!
Blacklisted by several universities in Europe, US and Asia!!
International Journal of Computer Applications
ijcaonline.org
a SCAM JOURNAL!!! BEWARE!!!!
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