[QUOTE
The only legitimate tie it seemed to have were claims that it was backed by/associated with Change.org. Thus, the only logical thing to do was to contact Change.org for clarification. I just got this response:
Thanks for the note, Eric. We are in no way connected to the phone number you mentioned, and it also looks very much like a scam to us. We would really appreciate it if you would update your blog to let your readers know about this, as well as anyone else who may have been spreading the rumor that this is a legitimate number/operation, which it is almost certainly not. We will also try to write a blog post about it tomorrow clarifying things if we can find the time.
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention,
Ben Rattray
Founder and CEO, Change.org
Everything was pointing at “scam”, but this severs the last bit of potential legitimacy that the number had.
So
please,
DO NOT CALL 973-409-3274 as it appears to be a type of scam to either harvest phone numbers or even potentially
charge you money by hitting the pound key (which would be the equivalent of you accepting charges).
STOP sharing this phone number as well. I literally sit and watch person after person share this on twitter thinking they are helping the cause when in reality they are just helping these scammers reach new victims. If you have shared this link,
please post this update to let others know to keep an eye on their phone bill for any
unauthorized charges.
Again, just to be clear:
This number is not a legitimate polling number associated with any known marijuana advocacy group. Calling it does not help/support marijuana legislation in anyway and only risks you becoming a victim to some type of phone scam.
If you
really want to help legalize marijuana, consider making a contribution to
MPP,
NORML, or other reputable, legitimate marijuana advocacy groups. Just like the many online petitions available, a “phone call poll” will hardly destroy prohibition.
Thanks again Mr. Rattray for your prompt response!
UPDATE: Here is what
one victim had to say about their experience:
“i called and immediatly after i hung up i get a call from mediacom (my internet, phone, cable company) saying i have several new charges on my phone bill and they was chastising me bout it for like 5 minutes, i was like fuck it i’ll pay it, click.
so its a scam and now i have a few extra dollars to fork up on tha first!!!!”
Please help to spread this information especially on twitter to save people from experiencing this!
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