Article: Phone calls new bait in identity scams.

Byline: Chuck Chiang

Dec. 22--Mollie Edwards received a surprise message on her answering machine two weeks ago, hours after she requested long-distance phone service from Qwest Communications International Inc.

The message, Edwards said, was from someone claiming to be a third-party verifier associated with Qwest. It said Edwards had to provide certain personal information to the third party for her to start receiving her long-distance service.

"They made it sound like you needed to call them to have the long-distance turned on," said Edwards, a retiree living in Sisters.

Those aren't the typical procedures taken by Qwest's ...

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