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When you purchase a Magic Jack, allowing you to make and receive VoIP phone calls, you can choose a telephone number from almost any area code. One state attorney general says that feature is being exploited by scammers who want to hide their location.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says his office has received reports of a scam that combines the long-existing “emergency” and “phone spoofing” scams.
In the emergency scam, the caller leads you to believe that there is some existing emergency that requires you to immediately wire money to handle it. Phone spoofing disguises the number from which you are actually receiving a phone call.
“The most recent case reported to us was from a Madison, Miss., couple trying to verify information, “ Hood said. “The caller used a 407 area code and claimed to be an ‘Officer Jack’ from Orlando, Florida. He told the female there was a warrant out for her arrest and she would be picked up the next day if she did not pay to settle the charge. She and her husband were smart to verify before panicking.”
Just a scam
As it turned out in the Madison case, there was no warrant and the phone number taken from the couple’s caller ID was registered to Ymax Communication, also known as Magic Jack, a legitimate Internet based phone business.
Hood said the con-artist was using Magic Jack to conceal the fact that he was actually calling from India. When contacted by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Magic Jack officials immediately responded to requests for more information, helped verify the scam, disconnected the phone number and marked it with fraudulent behavior in the company’s system.
“The bad guys like to use legitimate businesses to perpetrate their crimes,” Hood said. “Your best defense is to keep your guard up and verify all information before panicking and wiring money, most of which ends up overseas and virtually impossible to get back.”
Other tips to guard against this scam:
- If someone mentions there is a warrant out for your arrest, verify by contacting your local law enforcement agency or the alleged law enforcement agency to confirm.
- Do not depend on caller ID to confirm the caller’s information.
- Know that law enforcement agencies do not accept wired money, only cash and bonds. Never wire money to anyone who is alleging arrest, warrants or the like.
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YMax MagicJack
The MagicJack service first arrived on the VoIP scene back in 2007, with an offer too tantalizing to ignore: unlimited local and long-distance calling for a mere $20 per year (after the first year, which was included with the $40 MagicJack hardware), plus free international calls to other MagicJack owners.
Too good to be true? If you've done any research, you've probably read some horror stories about spotty call quality and atrocious customer service. But that was then. Has MagicJack improved with age? Can it now take the place of a landline, or even of a Vonage? Based on my experiences, the answer is a definite...'your mileage may vary.'
The Zippo lighter-size MagicJack plugs into a USB port, where it automatically installs its own software. Plug any corded or cordless phone into its RJ-11 jack (or connect a headset to your PC), and presto: You have a dial tone. It's that easy.
Completing the registration process takes only a few minutes, but it concludes with page after page of annoying upgrade come-ons. In the end, you'll have a new local number ready for dialing. When I signed up, MagicJack users couldn't keep their existing number, but the company says it will soon offer that option for $10. Though the service doesn't offer a multitude of calling features, it does cover the basics: voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, and free 411 (directory assistance) calls. Voicemail messages are accessible via dialing in, but you can also have the service deliver them automatically via e-mail as audio attachments. That's a nice perk--and one that costs extra with the Ooma Telo system.
MagicJack's embedded dashboard software maintains a call history and a contact list, both of which are available on the device wherever you plug it in. In fact, portability is one of MagicJack's best assets. For example, you can plug it into any computer anywhere, and as long as there's a broadband connection (even via a 3G modem), you'll have a dial tone.
The catch is that you have to leave a computer running 24/7, which is neither convenient nor energy-efficient. Still, you could always dig an old PC out of the closet and use it as a dedicated MagicJack box to replace your landline.
Call quality makes or breaks a device like this, and MagicJack performed quite well--most of the time. When it was plugged into a desktop wired to my router, incoming and outgoing calls sounded consistently loud and clear.When I plugged it into a netbook connected via 802.11g Wi-Fi, however, some calls were fine while others dropped. In one instance the phone rang, but when I picked up the receiver, the call went dead.
Need help with issues like these? Don't look for a support number to call--there isn't one. The only support option is online chat, assuming you can find it on YMax's hideous, infomercial-inspired Website. When I did, I was quickly connected to an online tech who provided helpful, courteous answers to my questions. Even so, the lack of a customer-service department reachable by phone gives me pause.
Ultimately, I found MagicJack to be a very reliable phone service, as long as I used it with an ethernet-connected PC. But reliable enough to replace a landline? I'd recommend testing it for yourself before you make that decision. If nothing else, it makes for a fine second line that the kids can use without tying up the home phone and racking up huge bills.
YMax MagicJack
The MagicJack lives up to its name, offering solid, reliable phone service for peanuts.
Pros
- One of the lowest-cost home phone services on the planet
- Highly portable; use it nearly anywhere you go
Cons
- Computer has to be left running 24/7
- Customer service and technical support not available by phone