Phone scam

A friend of mine sent me the following. Please pass info. along to others.
Love,
Sandy

< < Subject: phone warning
< <
< < I thought I would pass this along.. just in case.
< <
< < I received a telephone call last evening from an individual
<identifying
< < himself as an AT&T Service technician who was conducting a test on
< < telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test I should touch
< < nine(9),zero(0), the pound sign (#), and then hang up.

< < Luckily, I was suspicious and refused. Upon contacting the telephone
< < company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you give the requesting
< < individual full access to your telephone line, which enables them to
< < place
< < long distance calls billed to your home phone number.

< < I was further informed that this scam has been originating from many
< < local
< < jails/prisons.
< <
< <
< < I have also verified this information with UCB Telecom, Pacific Bell,
< < MCI,
< < Bell Atlantic and GTE. Please beware. DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE.
< <
< <
< < The GTE Security Department requested that I share this information
<with
< < EVERYONE I KNOW.
< <
< < PLEASE pass this on to everyone YOU know. If you have mailing lists
< < and/or
< < newsletters from organizations you are connected with, I encourage you
<to
< < pass on this information to them, too. After checking with Verizon
<they
< < said it was true so do not dial (9),zero(0), the pound sign # and hang
<up
< < for anyone.