Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Rogue diallers now use satellite

Dec 1, 2003 7:50PM PST

The German site Dialerschutz (Dialler Protection) warns Internet users against new rogue diallers which connect through Emsat, Eutelsat's satellite system. Internet users have been faced with exceptionally high phone bills.

Trojans and premium rate diallers which call out to expensive numbers in faraway countries are a well-established scam. They often come disguised as an ActiveX control that disconnects you from your ISP, then silences your modem and (re)dials a number, usually somewhere in Africa. Phone bills exceeding ?1,000 are not unusual. In Germany phone fraudsters have raked in ?300 per call. Since most phone companies share revenues with service providers, rogue diallers seem to make good money.

Meanwhile, Dialerschutz offers a couple of downloads to protect you from rogue callers

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34289.html

Discussion is locked