IDN: Warnings

Subj: NAD Issues Alert on Scam Operations   
Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 4:05:40 PM
From: editor@nad.org
To: NADSA@yahoogroups.com, editor@nad.org
cc: president@nad.org, vicepresident@nad.org, treasurer@nad.org, secretary@nad.org, dunkle@nad.org, bergquist@nad.org, curtis@nad.org, cooper@nad.org, reisinger@nad.org, null@nad.org, northup@nad.org, chrismon@nad.org


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NAD Issues Alert on Scam Operations

A News Release from the National Association of the Deaf
Release Date: March 22, 2004
For Immediate Release

Contact:
Anita Farb
Associate Executive Director, Administration
National Association of the Deaf
Email: nadinfo@nad.org
Voice: 301-587-1788
TTY: 301-587-1789
FAX: 301-587-1791

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NAD Issues Alert on Scam Operations

Silver Spring, MD -This is a notice from the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) that individuals should be alert to those who operate scams through the Internet, TTY, telephone, mail and email, particularly those from overseas.

There is a particular scam that has circulated in the United States for many years, whether by email, mail or fax, usually sent by a person who claims that he is a public official or related to a public official from a specific foreign country. This person states that there have been extra funds that need to be transferred to a U.S. bank account. The victim is then offered a portion of the funds for the number to the individuals bank account. Individuals have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars by providing their individual bank account numbers to people they do not know.

NAD President Andrew J. Lange said, "I know that there are many deaf and hard of hearing people who are being scammed via relay and other means by people from overseas. More businesses are refusing relay calls because this has become a popular tool for scammers to use to take
advantage of deaf and hard of hearing people, cheating them of thousands of dollars. Dont be scammed! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is a scam!"

More details and examples of such scams can be found at http://www.scambusters.org.
Fraud victims should contact
the U.S. Secret Service, Financial Crimes Division, 950 H
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; (202) 406-5850 voice
(see also: http://www.treas.gov/usss/index.shtml).

The NAD has also received an increasing number of reports
that businesses, attempting to avoid credit card fraud,
are refusing to receive calls from customers using relay
services. This practice is discriminatory to over 28
million deaf and hard of hearing individuals, in violation
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Businesses
may need to instruct employees to accept any and all TTY
relay calls. Policies and practices may have to be altered
in order to provide access. See also:
http://www.nad.org/infocenter/infotogo/legal/ada3aux.html.

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About NAD
The NAD, as a national federation of state association and organizational affiliates, offers civil rights advocacy, grassroots and youth leadership development, and legal expertise across a broad spectrum of areas including but not limited to accessibility, education, employment, healthcare, mental health, rehabilitation, technology, telecommunications, and transportation.

Specific services include public information and dissemination; information and referral services;
technical assistance, training seminars; national and regional conferences; legal and public policy analysis, guidance and research; and litigation consultation services. Such services are both directly and indirectly provided to the volunteer officers and membership of state association and organizational affiliates, both via electronic mail as well as in person (i.e., consultation,
seminars, and conferences).

The NAD website (http://www.nad.org) also disseminates a wealth of advocacy information and resources that is accessed by both individual and affiliate members, as well as by members of the general public.

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The NAD distributes press releases through the NADpr list on Yahoo Groups. This list is limited to those who: work for the professional media, both hearing and deaf, both electronic and print; representatives of organizations affiliated with the NAD; State Association of the Deaf
Presidents and editors of State Association newsletters.

Please submit credentials (where you work or who you represent) when requesting admission to this list. To join, send email to nadnews@nad.org or visit:

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National Association of the Deaf
814 Thayer Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4500
301-587-1788 Voice
301-587-1789 TTY
301-587-1791 FAX,
nadinfo@nad.org
www.nad.org

For more information please send email to the "Contact
Person" identified at the top of the release.




For more information regarding this story, please send email to the "Contact
Person" identified at the top of the release.

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