From owner-announce@net.bio.net Fri Aug 06 21:36:00 1999
Path: biosci!biosci!not-for-mail
From: taguebwREMOVE@wfu.edu
Newsgroups: bionet.announce
Subject: WARNING: Journal Renewal Scam
Date: 6 Aug 1999 15:36:43 -0700
Organization: Wake Forest University
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Readers,

Please forgive the wide-cross posting of this message but I think everyone
in the bionet.* and sci.* communities should be warned of a possible
telephone scam involving the journal Nature.

On 8/3/99 I received a phone call at my home. The caller claimed to
represent "Nature Publishing" (not MacMillan Publishing) and told me that
my subscription to Nature needed to be renewed. He said that he could do
this over the phone and that if gave him a credit card number, I would get
a 10% discount on my subscription. I claimed that I was busy at the
moment, but could I call him back. When I called the 800 number back, I
got a non-descript voice mail system.

I've contacted the American Rep. for Nature and was assured that Nature
does not use any type of phone renewal.

My guess is that this individual is cross-referencing subscriber lists and
local telephone data bases (my Nature subscription goes to my academic
office, not my home) in an effort to get credit card numbers. It could
work just as well with any journal for which the subscriber list is
available.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't give out your credit card number on the phone!


Again, sorry for the wide-crossposting. I'm hoping to save some people grief.

Thanks,

Brian W. Tague
Department of Biology
Wake Forest University

-- 
My 2 electrons,

Brian

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