Scammers Using Hearing Impaired Relay Service

Using a system designed to assist the hearing impaired, scammers are attempting to con Ohio small businesses out of money. According to Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, his office is receiving complaints from businesses around the state that received calls from scammers abusing the telephone relay system.

"Several Ohio businesses have been targeted by the ploy," Cordray said. "The businesses are receiving calls from scammers who are using the phone system in an attempt to gain immediate trust. The con artists usually pose as consumers interested in a product and then commit check fraud or use stolen credit cards to rip off the business. It is absolutely disgraceful that there are some who would abuse this very beneficial system. Businesses need to remain vigilant when accepting these orders."

The relay system is an operator service that allows people who are hearing impaired to make standard phone calls using a keyboard to communicate. The hearing impaired person will type a message which is then relayed by the operator to the end user. In the scam, the con artist uses the system as cover by pretending to be deaf and communicating through typed written messages.

An auto repair business in Groveport reported that it received a relay call from a "consumer" who said that he was in an out-of-state car accident and needed an emergency repair. In order to facilitate the repair, the caller offered a credit card payment of $3,500, which included $1,000 for the auto repair services but required the company to wire the remainder of the money to a "towing company" because it did not accept credit cards, he claimed.

According to an Ohio restaurant association, restaurants are receiving orders through the relay system that are paid with forged checks or stolen credit cards. After placing the order, the scammer will then cancel it and ask for a refund. While the transaction is pending and the restaurant operator believes the money is in the restaurant's account, the restaurant issues a refund. A short time later, the bank will deny the transaction, and the restaurant will have lost the amount of money they "refunded."

Cordray advises businesses to be extra cautious when accepting payments over the phone.

To file a complaint with the Attorney General's office, visit www.SpeakOutOhio.gov or call (800) 282-0515.