Major telecommunication companies should be ashamed of themselves for allowing and tolerating scammers from across the globe to do their dirty business utilizing relay services over the internet. I was a relay operator for a major telecommunications company for eight and a half years. For five and a half of those years, I considered being a relay operator a noble profession and the best job I ever had and would have probably made a career of it if it hadn’t been for IP Relay, where anyone with access to a computer could use our services. Even crooks.
For the last three years as a relay operator, I’d have to say that 80 percent of the calls I handled every day were these scam calls, many of which originated in Nigeria. Scammers would purchase large quantities of products from retailers using stolen credit card numbers. A lot of store owners and employees caught on. A lot of them didn’t. As a relay operator, I could tell immediately which calls were scam calls and which prospective victims were not yet aware of them. Anyone with a conscience would be inclined to warn the retailers, but a relay operator had to handle the call—without prejudice or judgment—and was not allowed to inform the uninformed. I went through this for three years before I decided to finally make a “career” change.
Having been away from the biz for nearly two years, I haven’t been exposed to any of these internet relay scams and wonder if they’re going on as much as they went on when I was on the battlefield. Have the telecommunication companies done anything to curb them? Has anyone reading this been victimized by these scammers recently?
The blame falls not only on the telecommunication companies but most of all on the FCC for protecting the privacy and “rights” of these thieves. I’m sure if we followed the money trail, we would find that the telecommunication companies still make their millions. How many more millions do they need to make before they stop forcing their relay operators to conduct scam calls over the relay system?
I remember conducting one call where a young girl was being evicted from her apartment because she unknowingly stored stolen goods in her apartment, goods that were purchased with stolen credit card numbers. She got caught. She was crying and telling her Nigerian contact she was being evicted and all he said was, “I’m so sorry.” How many more people have to be victimized before the telecommunication companies refuse to accept relay calls and stop forcing their good relay operators to conduct scam calls over the internet relay system?
To all those relay operators who have stuck with it, I applaud you. I know it isn’t easy. To all you relay operators who have done and will do your vigilante efforts under the radar so you won’t get caught by your managers and supervisors who are secretly monitoring you, keep up the fight. I, myself, had read credit card numbers wrong so scammer’s stolen credit cards won’t get approved. And, finally, if anything is being done to combat this fraud which I haven’t yet heard about, please let me know of any updates.