TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: "Reputed Mobsters" Plead Out in Phone and Credit Card Scams

"Reputed Mobsters" Plead Out in Phone and Credit Card Scams

Danny Burstein (dannyb@panix.com)
Mon, 14 Feb 2005 19:15:40 -0500

"Six reputed mobsters pleaded guilty before jury selection was to
begin Monday in a case alleging that the Gambino crime family placed
hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized charges on
unsuspecting consumers' credit cards and telephone bills.

"Alleged Gambino captain Salvatore Locascio, made member Richard
Martino and four mob associates pleaded guilty to charges including
money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

...

"Prosecutors said the defendants helped set up shell corporations that
advertised free services such as psychic readings, phone sex and
horoscopes. But calling the numbers triggered unauthorized monthly
charges on customers' phone bills, eventually grossing more than $420
million for the Gambino members and their associates, prosecutors
said.

...

(and also direct credit card fraud) :

"Prosecutors said $230 million in fraudulent charges was levied on
consumers who believed the sites needed their card numbers for age
verification ..."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--phonecompany-mob0214feb14,0,7044766.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have seen cases like this, where web
sites have demanded credit card numbers as 'proof' that the holder
was over the age of 21 and they (web sites) have said they did not
intend to charge the credit card, only to use it for validation
purposes. Yet they insisted on complete details from the card, then
proceeded to put through a small charge. I never have trusted any
site which said 'all they wanted to do was age verification using a
credit card'. PAT]

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