PHOENIX (CBS5) -
It's a scam that could affect anybody. Phone calls are being hijacked by scammers.
There are multiple agencies looking into this, including the FBI. The big concern is that this could be a Homeland Security breach.
You know those customer help numbers that you find on the back of a water bottle, bottle of aspirin, or just about any other product out there? When you call that customer service number, your phone call is intercepted.
The person answering pretends to be from whatever legitimate company you're calling and at some point they offer you a $100 rebate card for your inconvenience. You just have to pay the $3.95 for shipping and access to their free information line.
Then you end up with monthly charges from a company called ASSIST 123.
The Better Business Bureau doesn't know a whole lot about this company, other than they appear to be based in Lima, Peru, and seem to be intercepting phone calls from all sorts of legitimate companies.
The BBB does not know how they are able to intercept the phone calls. If the company is hijacking calls, the BBB said it's a concern of national security.
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