TAMPA - Inmates at the Falkenberg and Orient Road jails are abusing their phone privileges in a scam that has unsuspecting Hillsborough County residents paying for inmates' unauthorized telephone calls, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The scam works like this: An inmate calls a resident outside the jail, who picks up the phone and hears a recorded message stating that an inmate is calling from a detention facility.
The person is asked if they will accept the call.
Sheriff's officials say many individuals accept the call, thinking it's from a relative or friend in need. Once the call is accepted, the inmate apologizes for calling the wrong number and asks the victim to transfer him to a friend or family member that can help.
In most cases the inmate asks the victim to dial *72, then a seven digit number. The *72 transfers or forwards all calls to the number given - in many cases a pay phone.
The inmate then makes additional calls to the pay phone, and the victim gets charged for each call to that number.
The Detention Department has met with the pay phone vendor, MCI, and changed the recorded message to notify all phone call recipients that if the calls are accepted or forwarded, they will incur charges. Deputies have received similar complaints that suggest inmates in Miami-Dade County are participating in the same scam.
