Nuisance phone
calls not originating in Tillamook County
Police here have been fielding
complaints from all over the United States about harassing calls from a
telemarketer with a 503 area code phone number.
Tillamook Police Chief Terry Wright
said complaints have been coming for about three months.
Even though the calls have been
traced to a 503 number, Wright said, they are not originating in Tillamook
County or anywhere else in Oregon.
The number - (503) 457-1034 - is
registered to Pacific Telecom Communications Group Inc., a telemarketing
company in Los Angeles, according to the website for the Oregon Public Utility
Commission.
According to another website,
Scaminformer.com, Pacific Telecom Communications Group provides telephone
services for "two layers of hidden companies that refuse to abide by federal
regulations regarding telemarketing."
A number of complaints posted
online about calls from that number say recipients are asked questions of a
medical nature. A Google search of the phone number turned up an online
pharmacy that does not give its location or phone number and can only be
contacted by sending an email through the website.
Scaminformer.com said similar
complaints have been lodged with authorities in Montana about calls emanating
from a phone number with a 406 area code.
According to Wright, no complaints
have been received by his department from Tillamook County residents. He added
that local law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction in the matter.
The police chief urged those who
have received harassing phone calls from telemarketers to contact the Federal
Trade Commission at (877) 382-4357 or online at www.ftc.gov and file a complaint.
|
