Attorney General Kelly Ayotte warns consumers and business owners throughout the State that they should be particularly careful of telephone calls from individuals purporting to be a telephone technician and asking the consumer or business to dial a certain sequence of numbers on their telephone in order to test the lines.

The Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office has received information that these types of telephone calls are being placed to homes and businesses. The individual placing the call identifies him/her self to be a representative or technician from a telephone company. The individual placing the call then explains to the unsuspecting consumer that they would like the consumer to dial a certain sequence of numbers in order that they may test the telephone lines. The consumer is then instructed to hang up after dialing the requested sequence.

Consumers as well as business owners should be aware that legitimate telephone representatives or technicians would never ask a customer to perform any dialing tasks for them and that consumers should be suspicious of any call from someone who claims to be a representative of a telephone company and asks you to dial any numbers.

The possible danger in performing the dialing tasks as requested by a caller is the consumer may unwittingly enable a caller to access your phone line to make fraudulent calls from your phone account. All consumers and businesses should be aware of this scam.

Attorney General Ayotte offers these tips to consumers:

1. Be suspicious of anyone calling and asking you to perform certain dialing tasks on your telephone. No legitimate telephone company will call unsolicited and ask you to test your phone.
2. If you do receive a call such as this, simply hang up your phone.
3. All calls of this nature should be reported to your telephone company and the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau.