Editing Advance-fee scam (section)

==== Telecommunications relay services ====
Many scams use telephone calls to convince the victim that the person on the other end of the deal is a real, truthful person. The scammer, possibly impersonating a person of a nationality or gender other than their own, would arouse suspicion by telephoning the victim. In these cases, scammers use [[Telecommunications Relay Service|TRS]], a US federally funded relay service where an operator or a text/speech translation program acts as an intermediary between someone using an ordinary telephone and a deaf caller using [[telecommunications device for the deaf|TDD]] or other [[teleprinter]] device. The scammer may claim they are deaf, and that they must use a relay service. The victim, possibly drawn in by sympathy for a disabled caller, might be more susceptible to the fraud.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

FCC regulations and confidentiality laws require operators to relay calls verbatim and adhere to a strict code of confidentiality and ethics. Thus, no relay operator may judge the legality and legitimacy of a relay call and must relay it without interference. This means the relay operator may not warn victims, even when they suspect the call is a scam. [[MCI Inc.|MCI]] said about one percent of their IP Relay calls in 2004 were scams.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Bob |date=2004-04-20 |title=Con artists target phone system for deaf |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4781806 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030075724/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4781806 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 October 2020 |access-date=2012-02-22 |publisher=MSNBC}}</ref>

Tracking phone-based relay services is relatively easy, so scammers tend to prefer Internet Protocol–based relay services such as [[IP Relay]]. In a common strategy, they bind their overseas IP address to a router or server located on US soil, allowing them to use US-based relay service providers without interference.

TRS is sometimes used to relay credit card information to make a fraudulent purchase with a stolen credit card. In many cases however, it is simply a means for the con artist to further lure the victim into the scam.