|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
January 16, 2002Traverse City woman's telephone line hijacked- Caller ID has tracked numerous hang-up calls to woman's phone, without her knowledgeBy ALISON VANENGENRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A Traverse City woman's home telephone has been reaching out and touching people across the country by the thousands, without her knowledge. And she doesn't even have long-distance service. Becky Sivek said she first realized there was a problem when she came home from work on Jan. 7 and her daughter told her they had gotten several calls. According to the caller ID, they were all from the state of New Jersey. And many, Sivek said, were from frustrated or even downright hostile callers. "At first it didn't really register, then no sooner than that the phone rang and it was people from New Jersey saying I had called them several times," Sivek said. Since that day thousands of calls have been placed to phones across the country, apparently at random and apparently from Sivek's phone. When someone answers the call is disconnected. Sivek's home phone number shows up on the caller ID boxes of those being called, allowing recipients - some of whom have been called more than 20 times per day - to call her back. Sivek said she was on the phone with her mother for 30 minutes one night and as soon as she hung up she got an angry out-of-state call from a man who claimed she had just called his home more than 10 times - during the same 30 minutes. "When someone gets 20 or 30 phone calls a day resulting in hang-ups, they tend to get ticked off," Sivek friend Don Bowman said. "This lady is scared." Bowman said he got involved after Sivek had reported the problem to Ameritech and the Traverse City Police Department and, according to him, "got nowhere." He made calls to the police and got a patrolman to come to Sivek's home to listen to messages left on her answering machine. "The officer couldn't believe his ears," Bowman said. "But the threatening nature of the messages got his attention." Sivek's answering machine is filled every day with messages from callers who want the activity to stop - and some who say they know where she lives and are angry enough to come over and stop it themselves. Ameritech officials refused to comment except to say they are investigating the problem. Until they find out who, or what, has hijacked her phone number, Sivek has to put up with the messages and constant phone calls. Sivek said when Ameritech checked her phone bill, none of the calls showed up as being placed from her home. Ameritech installed a caller ID unit on Sivek's phone to help track where and when the calls are being made, but the system only tracks calls she receives. The company has called some of the people who have gotten calls from Sivek's phone in an effort to gather more information, but still don't know who, or what, is making the calls or where they're coming from. "It's just not funny anymore," Sivek said. "This could be happening to other people, and it's frightening." Bowman said he left a greeting of explanation about the problem on Sivek's answering machine in hopes that people who have been called will understand that Sivek is not to blame. But some callers still leave nasty messages. Sivek said she hopes the problem will be solved soon so she - and the thousands of people who have been harassed around the country - can get some sleep. "I just want to warn people in other states that this happening, it's not my fault, and apparently can happen to anyone," Sivek said. |
|
