Call the toll-free number listed for a senior dental program in the Verizon phone book and you will instead reach a phone sex line. This number is one of many 800 numbers in the senior reference guide in the blue pages. And I do mean "blue."
Special thanks to a concerned reader for calling it to my attention.
State Attorney General Mike Fisher and Verizon Pennsylvania created the centralized guide for seniors to conveniently obtain necessary information. "The folks at Verizon not only brought the concept to life, but conducted additional research to ensure that the directory was user-friendly and met the specific needs of older Pennsylvanians," Fisher stated in a recent news release announcing the guide.
One phone number is a little too user-friendly. And speaking of specific needs ...
After dialing the senior dental program number, a recorded announcement says to call another 800 number for the talk line for exciting people nationwide. Instead of talking dentures, callers hear, "Hi, guys, welcome to an exciting new way to go live and one-on-one with hot, horny girls waiting right now to talk to you." The "Intimate Encounters" service costs between 99 cents and $2.99 per minute.
The sultry voice on the phone is numbers oriented. Are you over the age of 18, and what is the number of your Visa, MasterCard or American Express cardâ¢
If you aren't forthcoming with that information, you are told about one of the two long-distance numbers you can call to talk with girls. The area codes are for the Caribbean nations of Antigua and the Commonwealth of Dominica. There is no mention of the per-minute rate charged to your telephone bill.
A customer service representative for Intimate Encounters' parent company, Pilgrim Telephone Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., also didn't know the international call rates.
However, he knows that when I give him my Social Security number, home address and telephone number, I could qualify for a Pilgrim Gold Card. Meaning that using services such as the gender lines to chat with transsexuals, lesbians, gays and those into bondage and domination will cost only 69 cents a minute. Jawing with someone about grandma's gums is not one of the options.
"As an organization, we are not too happy that our former number was assigned to an organization that is less than family friendly," says Caroline Power Gangl, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Dental Association. "You can be sure we will be calling Verizon and the attorney general's office."
Calling Verizon could be enough.
When the initial guide was prepared for the December 2001 edition, someone at Fisher's office coordinated and verified the listings, according to Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski. However, when preparing the 2002 edition, the Verizon product manager violated company policy and did not contact anyone for verification, Gierczynski says.
"We are going to re-evaluate procedures," he says. Gierczynski also is checking to see if that number is published in other Verizon phone books across the state.
In the meantime, when unsuspecting callers realize the number is a come-on for aural stimulation instead of oral hygiene, they might end it by paraphrasing the title of an old Bob Hope film: "Boy, did I get a wrong number."
