Twenty Cook County Jail inmates are accused of letting their fingers do the walking — illegally, and authorities say their telephone skills have now gotten them in even more trouble.
The sheriff's office says the inmates have been charged with impersonating a police officer in a scam that allowed them to cheat people out of tens of thousands of dollars in illegal phone calls.
The inmates would allegedly place collect calls to random numbers all over the country and even Canada. Posing as police officers, they'd tell whoever answered that a loved one was in a traffic accident and instruct the person to call a series of numbers to reach another officer at the scene.
By making that call, victims would open their phone numbers to the inmates' use. AP
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Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The sheriff's office says the inmates have been charged with impersonating a police officer in a scam that allowed them to cheat people out of tens of thousands of dollars in illegal phone calls.
The inmates would allegedly place collect calls to random numbers all over the country and even Canada. Posing as police officers, they'd tell whoever answered that a loved one was in a traffic accident and instruct the person to call a series of numbers to reach another officer at the scene.
By making that call, victims would open their phone numbers to the inmates' use. AP
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Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
