Taking out a loan just to pay the phone bill

frch said:What does any of this have to do with politics?

And what exactly is your connection to politics, huh? 😁 😁 😁

Jose Miller3 said:Look, for about 99% of those dialer program installs, the user is solely and exclusively to blame. Our most hated monopoly, AT&T, has absolutely nothing to do with it. Those calls were placed—to places like the Cayman Islands and beyond—almost certainly because he installed a dialer while browsing certain adult sites. He’s the one who installed it, not AT&T. Since the calls originated from his computer, he's the one responsible for the bill.

It is perfectly clear to me that it's just human nature to look for someone else to blame for your own mistakes, especially when there's a damn monopoly involved. I feel for the guy, but he should just pay his bill like everyone else did—people who didn't end up in the news because they aren't public figures or hard of hearing.
Sorry... maybe next time he'll be more careful about what he clicks on when he's downloading stuff!

Exactly. 👍

Michael Sullivan3 said:Spot on. 👍

man, you can't expect me to feel better when dustyscout53 doesn't see eye to eye with me... 😢 my whole world just loses its meaning

Jose Miller3 said:Honestly, there’s no point in trying to comfort me if dustyscout53 won't see things my way. 😢 My whole world just feels empty right now.

Give him a little grace... even dustyscout53 had a bit of a mishap with those dialers once, so he’s understandably a bit frustrated with AT&T right now. 😁

Jose Miller3 said:Man, you can't really comfort me when dustyscout53 is totally disagreeing with me. 😢 My life just feels meaningless now...

But hey, at least Michael Sullivan3 is on your side. 🤣 🤣

dustyscout53 said:But hey, at least Michael Sullivan3 is on your side. 🤣 🤣

Look, I already told you—he’s not exactly the guy who can cheer me up... glad my lack of comfort is giving you a good laugh though!

Walter said:At least Michael Sullivan3 is on your side. 🤣 🤣

Walter, what’s your monthly bill looking like? 🤣 🤣

And who’s actually at fault here? Is AT&T to blame? 🤣 🤣 🤣

dialer , simba , dialer (the nickname)
a dealer is something else entirely; they’re out there handing out burgers, cars, pastries, and narcotics
🙂
the truth is, as usual, it’s fifty-fifty
users really ought to take the time to actually read and learn something once in a while, seeing as they’re staring at computer screens all day, but then again, AT&T should probably bother having some actual quality security protocols running on their own servers too
at the end of the day, people are paying for the service of connecting to those servers and browsing safely, not for connecting through some shady proxy in the Caymans
that’s why we don't need AT&T
I’ve run into plenty of people who were using a dialer, and when I tried to warn them, they just gave me this look like, "Why do I care? It's not my problem," right up until the moment their bill arrived
and then suddenly, they come crawling back in a total panic, looking for help because they've already blown through their entire budget

steelhawk7 said:It just doesn't work that way for me, at least when it comes to internet access. I don't even own a landline—honestly, you should probably just grab a smartphone and be done with it...😁 )
As far as the technical side goes, almost all exchanges are fully digital and computer-managed nowadays, which means everything leaves a digital footprint through system logs. If there were ever a legal dispute, those logs could be subpoenaed and reviewed by the court without any issues. Falsifying those logs is virtually impossible without getting caught immediately, and frankly, telecom companies aren't in the business of messing around with stuff like that.

Anyway, this whole thing has nothing to do with politics.

I think you might be slightly off on that point. Even with all this advanced digital technology, it is still possible to bypass logs and manipulate the system... For instance, in the mobile network, someone could manually alter an IMSI number at the exchange level, giving you plenty of room to play games if you get a bill you don't like. Of course, that only works if you happen to have some powerful connection with someone working at AT&T or Verizon 😁, provided they are "well-placed" enough to pull it off.

zg_sash said:A dialer, Bryan Sanchez86, a dialer (the one who calls)
A dealer is something else entirely—they're out there handing out burgers, pastries, or even drugs.
🙂

🙂 😵Just a total slip of the tongue—I didn't get much sleep last night...
Thanks for catching that. 😉

Lipi said:I think you're missing a piece of the puzzle here... even with all this fancy digital tech, logs and everything else can be bypassed. Like, with mobile service, someone could "manually" swap an IMSI number at the switching center—meaning you could basically pull some shady moves when the bill hits. Of course, that only works if you've burned a bridge with someone working at Verizon or HT who happens to have some "pull"... 😁, obviously.

Okay, let's say you're right (and look, I have zero reason not to take your word for it)... but has that actually happened? Have you ever heard of anyone getting stuck with a fake bill through a stunt like that? And what would they even gain from it, besides just the sick satisfaction of screwing someone over?
And if it did happen, is that actually a crime by HT or Verizon... or is it just one rogue employee abusing their position to mess with you?

dustyscout53, let's cut to the chase...

If you got hit with a bill from $17 for a totally useless month, would you actually fight it—or just pay up and move on?

steelhawk7 said:Alright, let’s say you’re right—I have absolutely no reason to doubt your word. But has something like this actually happened before? Have you ever heard of an instance where someone manufactured a bill just like that? Beyond the sheer petty satisfaction of whoever did it to screw you over, what would they actually gain from it?
And would we even call that a crime committed by AT&T or Verizon, or is it just a criminal act by a single individual abusing their position to mess with you...

It’s definitely a crime. But the real question is how you prove it if they manage to bypass the system logs. It’s much harder if someone truly understands every single piece of equipment at the central hub...
I spend quite a bit of time reading up on telecommunications, IT tech, and related fields, so I’m somewhat familiar with how these things work... 🙂

walter said:Jose Miller3, look... let's just get straight to the point...

If you got hit with a massive bill from $17 for one lousy month, would you actually sit there complaining—or would you just pay up and move on with your life?

I’d check my laptop to see if I’d accidentally installed some shady dialer or whatever—and if I found out I was dumb enough to rack up $17 in a single month... honestly, I’d probably just sell a kidney to cover the tab.
It’s the same deal as when I intentionally park in a red zone knowing full well I shouldn't—I just take the parking ticket and deal with it.

That's what owning your mistakes looks like, Walt...

Bryan Sanchez86 said:I think you're slightly off there. Even with all this digital stuff, logs and everything else can be bypassed... For instance, with mobile, someone at the carrier could "manually" swap an IMSI number—then you could basically play games when the bill arrives. Of course, that assumes you've made an enemy out of someone working at AT&T or Verizon 😁, provided they actually have that kind of pull.

Maybe. But I doubt they’d actually bother risking a massive lawsuit over something like that. Especially if my phone happened to be off, or my service had expired, or any other situation where I wasn't even using the device—and I could prove it. There was a similar situation once. Huge bills were coming in, people were complaining—nothing happened. Eventually, they shut the line down for a month, but then—get this—another bill showed up. That's when things got messy. Not sure how it wrapped up.

Bryan Sanchez86 said:If I checked my computer and realized I’d actually installed a dialer—and if I was foolish enough to have racked up $17 in just a month—I’d sell a kidney just to cover the bill.
It's no different from me paying a parking ticket after intentionally leaving my car in a no-parking zone.

That’s what taking responsibility for your own screw-ups looks like, Walt.

Exactly. 👍

it happened to me
I just woke up to find a bunch of extra minutes on my bill for calls I never even made, even though they were charged to the specific number I was actually dialing
🙂
Look, I’m not exactly the kind of idiot who’s going to call Verizon just to chat for thirty minutes straight, but according to the call logs, that's apparently what happened

I’m not entirely sure how much wiggle room there is to avoid logging these things—it's tricky. Then again, how does it even make sense to bill you for a call that isn't even showing up in the logs? I’m no expert, but I assume AT&T isn't just letting their employees run wild without any oversight or anything.

Ozzy Osbourne said:Spot on. 👍

Man, damn... this is actually getting a little scary. 😁

I just had one of those right-wingers agree with me TWICE in a single day!!!

I think I need to go take care of some business or something just to level things out!

Oh, and one more thing. I kind of get why people would file a complaint about an account like that. But what really sucks in this specific case—and it's pretty gross if you ask me—is that he’s filing the grievance and grabbing all this attention basically because he's "deaf and a representative for the US national handball team." Does that mean he deserves special treatment over some random Joe Smith or Mike Jones when dealing with AT&T?

Jose Miller3 said:Man, okay—this is getting scary. 😁

I actually agreed with a right-winger TWICE in one day!!!

Gotta go take care of business or something just to balance things out!

Oh, and one more thing. I kind of get why people would complain about an account like that. But what’s really gross in this case is how he’s filing complaints and grabbing headlines just because he's "Deaf and a pro handball player." Does that mean he deserves special treatment from AT&T compared to some regular guy like Steve, Vince, or dustyscout53?

I thought he made the news because of $17, not because of being Deaf or playing pro handball.

And as for you paying $17 without a second thought—haha, yeah, I totally believe you. 😉