National Association of the Deaf

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 in exchange 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 and 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: Title III of the ADA: Provision of Auxiliary Aids.