Telephone Service - AT&T Long Distance Charged $ 222.05 for call to Vanuatu by AT&T

Complaints.com received the following e-message on December 8, 2000:

From:

RE: INTERNET SCAM

I recently received a bill for $222.05 from At&T (not my LD carrier) for 1 call to Vanuatu.

This is a group of islands in the South Pacific.

I called AT&T and they explained that there have been several complaints about this and it was an internet service with inline games, adult web pages, etc.

Aparently, if you click on some kind of icon, it dials you into this - without your knowledge and bills you for the time you are on their number.

So if you don't know you are on - you get stung.

AT&T told me this, and claimed they had nothing to do with it - the site uses AT&T lines.

However, they did offer to cut the bill in half if I WOULD SIGN UP WITH AT&T - Doesn't this sound fishy to you?

I have no recollection or evidence of ever signing on to such a web service.

ANY SUGGESTIONS ON THIS SCAM?

James D. Sanders, MA, LMFT