| Making and Receiving Inmate Phone Calls
Inmates cannot receive phone calls while incarcerated in the facility.
Inmates can place collect calls to phone numbers where collect calling is not restricted. This is the most common method of placing calls from the facility. However, there are some situations where collect calls are restricted… e.g.
- The phone number has reached its credit limit for collect calls
- The owner of the phone has requested no collect calls be permitted to their number
- The phone number is assigned to a cellular phone or pager
- The phone company of the called party has restricted collect calls
Rates – Rate quotes are available to the called party at the start of each call
Process
- Inmate dials phone number
- System determines if called number is able to receive collect calls and places or rejects the call
- Called party must positively accept the call by following the automated instructions
Advance Pay accounts are set up by the called party allowing them to receive calls even if their phone number is collect call restricted. Advance Pay accounts also permit the called party to better manage their monthly call budget.
Rates
Same as collect – See above
Process
- The called party may contact SBC Inmate Services at 888-815-9102 to obtain instructions on how to establish an Advance Pay account
- The inmate dials the phone number
- The system determines if an Advance Pay account exists and if so, places the call
- The called party must still positively accept call by following the automated instructions
- The cost of the call is deducted from the Advance Pay account balance
Facility Calling Rules
- Calls may be recorded and/or monitored
- An attempt to “call transfer” or “3-way conference” during the call will cause the call to be disconnected
- Calls to some phone numbers may be restricted by the facility for security reasons
WARNING
To prevent unauthorized inmate collect call charges to your phone bill, do not attempt to transfer any inmate call; do not attempt to “conference” in another number; do not call forward your phone. If you feel you have been a victim of fraudulent Inmate collect call charges, CALL YOUR LOCAL TELEPHONE SERVICE PROVIDER.
Collect calls from a telephone inside this correctional facility may be blocked in certain situations. See below for some typical examples of these situations.
Situation
The phone company serving the person you are calling has restricted collect calls. Some phone companies allow their customers to receive only a certain dollar amount of collect calls and some allow no collect calls at all.
What You Should Do
The called party should call their phone company for information on their collect call policies. Also, the called party can contact SBC at 888-815-9102 to establish a prepaid account.
Situation
The phone number has reached its credit limit for collect calls from this correctional facility.
What You Should Do
In some cases, credit limits are placed on the volume of collect calls that may be made to a specific phone number; for example $75 a week. The called party should receive a warning message when they are nearing their limit, which should give them a 1-800 number to call for information on how to pay the balance and bring their account below the limit. They can also call SBC at 888-815-9102 for information.
Situation
The owner of the phone has requested that no collect calls be permitted to their number.
What You Should Do
The owner of the phone can call their phone company to have the restriction removed.
Situation
Collect calls to cellular phones and pagers are not allowed.
What You Should Do
Call your party on a “land-line” such as their home or office phone number.
Situation
The phone number is restricted by the calling system.
What You Should Do
Calls to certain phone numbers are restricted by the correctional facility. These restrictions cannot be bypassed.
If you receive a telephone call originating from the Harris County Jail, from an unknown caller, who requests you call a number for him/her preceded by *72 please hang-up immediately! While the caller may seem genuine and may even say something to the effect of, “Please help, I’ve been arrested for traffic tickets. I was supposed to pick up my children from school, this was my only phone call and I dialed the wrong number. Please dial *72 xxx-xxx-xxxx for me so I can check on my children.” This is a common call forwarding scam. If you follow this procedure, your phone will be “call forwarded” to the number provided by the inmate. All future calls to your telephone number will bypass your phone and ring at the number you entered after dialing *72. The inmate will now continue to dial your number but your phone will not ring. All inmate collect calls, accepted by the person at the other number, will be charged to you.
What You Should Do
- Immediately dial *73 to cancel “Call Forwarding”
- Contact your telephone service provider and report the fraud to them
- If you desire, contact SBC at 1-800-984-8800 to have calls originating from the Harris County Jail blocked
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