| OCR Text |
Show Fraudulent Use of Phone Being Investigated Using code words to send friends and family a message without paying for a long distance call is telephone fraud, according to E. L. Mays, Moab District Service Manager for Continental Telephone Tele-phone of the West. Although many people think there is nothing wrong with code calling, it is a serious offense. Mays said that code calling comprises a large portion of telephone fraud and costs telephone companies millions of dollars each year. The use of electronic devices to avoid payment for toll calls or billing calls to unauthorized third parties, using a phony telephone credit card are other methods of telephone fraud, he said. Over the years, the telephone tele-phone companies have lost millions from toll fraud. As a result, an intensive campaign has been launched aimed at reducing fraudulent calls. The effort is proving quite successful. success-ful. Incidents of telephone fraud still persist, however, at colleges and universities in Utah, and has even permeated to some of our high schools. Mays feels that as more students become aware of the seriousness of the offense, toll fraud can be eliminated and students saved the unpleasant experience of deterrent or prosecutive action. When asked how telephone fraud compared with other crimes, students said they thought it was less serious than theft. The fact is, in Utah, a conviction for telephone fraud can carry a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 15 years in prison or both. |
