Hacked business stuck with huge phone bill

BELLEVUE, Wash., July 17 (UPI) -- A Bellevue, Wash., business was victim of phone hackers, leaving it with a $90,000 bill, officials say.

Reliance Mortgage owner Hank Lo's average phone bill comes to about $1,000 a month, Seattle's KOMO-TV reported. His most recent bill from his long-distance provider, Integra, however, was for almost $90,000, chalk full of international calls to North Korea and South Africa.

"I don't know anybody in North Korea or South Africa," Lo said.

The phone bill indicates that on Feb 5 and 6, hundreds of calls were made to the two countries, which Integra admits is implausible.

What happened was hackers targeted the mortgage company's PBX or switchboard, so when the international calls were placed, Lo would be billed for them.

Integra offered to take about $47,000 off of the bill, leaving Reliance responsible for the remaining $41,000, which the phone company offered a payment plan of $500 a month for the next seven years.

"I don't know, I need help," Lo said, adding he can't afford to pay the amount.

Integra officials declined to comment on the situation since it's now a legal matter, KOMO said.