Put a stop to pay phone scam

Now I’ve heard it all. I have been in the public telephone business since 1985 and I have seen many crazy things, but this takes the cake. Pay phones have dwindled, due most obviously to the proliferation of cellphones. What has really hurt the venerable pay phone is the toll-free, 1-800 number. Cellphones get to charge for 1-800, toll-free calls while pay phones must by law allow them for free.

However, there is a new scam. The federal government has a free cellphone program called “Safelink.” If you are poor you qualify for a free cell and 250 minutes per month. The new scam occurring on the streets of Chicago is where people with a Safelink free cellphone stand next to a pay phone on the street and offer callers use of their Safelink phone for cash. I know a person who used to work in the pay phone business who gets a commission for signing up Safelink free cellphone customers and encourages them to make some money by standing next to pay phones and selling phone calls on their free government-supplied cellphone.

I am a public utility in the state of Illinois who pays lots of taxes and fees to operate my business. This situation is like giving poor people free electricity or gas and them reselling the service to their neighbors. It is impossible to compete with free.

Mike Simon

Schaumburg