The Chronicle: 2/25/2005: College Libraries Are New Targets of Telemarketing Scams

Reg. Req. The Chronicle: 2/25/2005: College Libraries Are New Targets of Telemarketing Scams: "Rick Anderson, a librarian at the University of Nevada at Reno, says he was suspicious when he got a call demanding that the library pay for a business directory he had never heard of. The woman on the line demanded to speak to the university's lawyer. His suspicions deepened when the caller, who said she was from a company called Pentium Capital, would not give her full name, identifying herself only as 'Ms. Larson.'

He pressed her for more information, and he did get a phone number before she got huffy.

'Are you refusing to give me the name of your attorney?' she said. Then she said she'd see him in court and hung up.

Mr. Anderson, who has received calls like this several times in the past, says the call fit the pattern of a type of telemarketing scam that has recently hit college libraries and academic departments around the country. A telemarketer calls -- especially during off hours, trying to reach a lower-level employee -- to confirm an address. But after the address is confirmed, the telemarketer might say, 'So this is where we should send the directory?' If the library employee says yes, the library will get a bill."

A good read--be sure to check it out!