North Carolina AT&T Subscribers to See New Fee June 1 - AT&T long distance subscribers in North Carolina will begin seeing a $1.17 In-State Connection Fee on their monthly long distance bills starting June 1, 2004. According to AT&T, the fee is being levied to "help the company recover the costs charged by your local telephone company to carry your in-state long distance and local toll calls over its lines." TRAC has been a longtime opponent of these kinds of fees. To download the official AT&T notification of price increase, click here(iii).
WIRELESS WATCH
Marshall University Students Get Free Wireless Phones - An innovative program at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia is replacing expensive-to-use dorm phones with free wireless phones. MU students will have access to unlimited minutes, free long distance (within the continental U.S.), and no roaming charges. The idea could catch on at other universities. According to university officials, they have received inquiries from over one hundred higher learning institutions about MU's Mobile Alternative for Residents on Campus (MARC) initiative. For college students living in dorms, having a cell phone may be a good alternative to using dorm phones to make long distance calls. Universities often enter into exclusive arrangements with long distance carriers for dorm phone service, resulting in higher-than-average long distance rates for students. For more information on the Marshall program, click here(iv).
SCAM WATCH
Verizon Customers Should Beware of Online "Phishing" Scam - Verizon DSL and dial-up customers should be aware that they are being targeted by a "phishing" scam which tries to trick users into giving up personal information. The scam revolves around an official looking e-mail (complete with the Verizon logo) which asks the recipient to go to a website to update billing information or face a $7.99 "processing fee." The website looks like an official Verizon site but is actually bogus. Visitors are asked to provide sensitive information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, and mother's maiden name which can be used for identity theft. Consumers should wary of these sorts of e-mails and delete any that appear suspicious. For more information on this and other scams, click here(v).
TRAC IN THE NEWS
Examine Phone Bills Often to Save Money, Advises TRAC - TRAC Research Associate John Breyault was quoted in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun advising consumers to do a regular "checkup" on their phone bills to avoid paying for unused services. "Take the last three months of bills and figure out what you're actually using, as opposed to what you're paying for, then decide what you want to keep," said Breyault. An easy way to save money is to get rid of unnecessary inside wiring maintenance plans. "We have seen very few instances where people have a problem with their phone that can be traced back to their inside wiring," Breyault said. "We find that most of the time, it's not worth it." Click here(vi) to access the Chicago Tribune article.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page - http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions - http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we’ll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
©2004 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source:Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
Endnotes
