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Sprint Cracks Down on TTY Relay Abuses

Posted by michael on from the do-not-call-list dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Sprint thinks it has found a way to keep West African scam artists from using Sprint's deaf-relay service to defraud people." Our previous two stories have background information.

9 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Nigerian fraud. by Lotharjade · · Score: 4, Funny

    I guess we will just have the Nigerian fraud to keep us company. Glad that one will never go away. Ive almost come to enjoy seeing emails with it in the message. sigh...

    --
    Party at O'zorgnax's Pub! Buy me a Slurmtini aye?
  2. Reduction in fraudulent sales overseas, I hope. by The+I+Shing · · Score: 4, Funny

    I hope we'll be seeing a reduction in scenarios like the Midwestern couple who owns a jewelry store:

    Wife: Honey, the deaf Nigerian man is on the phone and he wants another $10,000 worth of raw diamonds. He wants to put the order on five different credit cards.

    Husband: Hot-diggidy! Another vacation in Malibu!

    --
    You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
  3. Uh yeah simple... by WwWonka · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sprint thinks it has found a way to keep West African scam artists from using Sprint's deaf-relay service to defraud people

    Uh yeah simple...

    You don't allow anyone from West Africa to purchase $30,000 or more worth of laptops from the US!

    Duh.

  4. Of course... by Tuxedo+Jack · · Score: 4, Funny

    There's more fun things to do with a TTY operator than just 419 scams.

    Phone sex with a TTY operator relaying the action... ho, boy. I just hope that the operator in the middle's an uber-prim-and-proper woman who blushes like mad at the whole thing.

    --

    Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
    1. Re:Of course... by PalmerEldritch42 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually, I have done this. A deaf acquaintance of mine used to call me all the time and we would try to see how far we could go before the operator would stop translating. Sometimes, we'd get someone who would enjoy it.. Sometimes, we'd get the uber-prim-and-proper type. Those were by far the most fun.

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une sig.

      :wq!

    2. Re:Of course... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      My friends and I pranked a TTY operator one time. We used to go around looking for payphones that accepted incoming calls so we could prank people - "If you ever want to see your son again, put the money in the wastebasket behind you and walk away" - and we found a block of payphones that accepted incoming calls and had a TTY keyboard.

      I started a free TTY call to one of the other payphones, where my friend picked up, and we pretended to be a couple having a really bad fight. Towards then end, the operator gave up on keeping up with us swearing at each other. Whats funnier still, is that the operator seems to have thought it was completely real. That was one of the funniest things I've ever done.

  5. What about deaf scam artists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    AFTER ALL THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN
    WHY SOME SCAM ARTISTS LIKE
    TO SHOUT... :)

    Here is an honest scammer:

    DEAR MADAME

    I AM DEF AND DISABLED DUE TO
    A TERRIBLE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
    THAT OCCURED ON JULY 21ST IN
    LAGOS CITY.

    MY LEGS WERE PULVERISED WHEN
    A BEER LORRY CAREENED OFF THE
    ROAD AND INTO MY STALL.

    I AM NOW REDUCED TO ENJOINING
    FOREIGNERS WITH CONSIDERABLY
    MORE WEALTH THAN MYSELF FOR
    CERTAIN FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.

    I DO NOT HAVE $50MM IN A BANK.
    I DO NOT EVEN HAVE AN ACCOUNT.
    BUT YOU ARE STILL WELCOME TO
    SEND ME SOME MONEY. US$2000
    WOULD BE WELCOME.

    NOTE I AM DIRECTING THIS THRU
    SPRINT BECAUSE I DID NOT GO
    SCHOOL AND CANNOT WRITE.

    THE OPERATOR HAS KINDLY PUT
    EVERYTHING INTO CAPITALS SO
    THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME BETTER.

    SIGNED
    OBAY D. OBASANJO

  6. Just in case you have not heard about "419" by Curly-Locks · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wonderful scam on scammers: check this out - Ha ha ha ha . Some guy out there is a genius, funniest site in years.

  7. Re:Blocking IP addresses? Only a matter of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    He tried to send it to you, but you're on his blacklist.