Call Kurtis: Say What? Sex Ads Replace Voicemail

Friends and family call a Lodi teenager but instead of getting her voicemail they get advertisements for sex tapes. Kristen Collins has been dealing with this embarrassing problem for more than a year. After asking Verizon to help fix the problem four times, she called Kurtis.

Imagine your friends, family, or even potential employers hearing this on your phone: "Did you hear about the newest celebrity sex tape?" Another ad says, "Find out Hollywood's dirty little secrets, all on the go!"

"I was embarrassed!" Says Collins, "I thought someone was playing a joke on me but I guess not."

Whenever Collins doesn't pick up the phone, callers hear the ads for sex tapes, horoscopes, surveys, even information about God. For a social teen and an up and coming cosmetology student, it can create some pretty awkward situations. "I didn't want to apply to jobs and stuff because if I get called, who's going to want to hire someone who has that on their phone?" says Collins.

Each ad tells you to "press 9" for more. Collins says her grandma did "press 9" once, thinking it would taker her to voicemail. But Grandma and everyone else for that matter can never reach voicemail and leave a message.

Collins took her phone into a Stockton Verizon store. "They thought it was an illegal download that I put on my phone but I bought a new phone since then, so it couldn't have been that," says Collins.

Both Collins and her father, whose name is on the account, kept asking Verizon for help to get rid of those ads but they wouldn't go away. "It's just irritating," says Collins, "They should be able to fix stuff like that."

We called Verizon and about a week later they called, saying the ads are gone. Verizon told Collins' dad her phone number had been forwarded to a different number. But who did it? And how did it happen? A Verizon spokesperson gave us this statement:

"Delivering a world class customer experience is something Verizon Wireless strives for and we work diligently to improve that experience -- every day, at every touch point. While our systems are designed to protect customer privacy, we also use customer feedback to identify and resolve problems. We appreciate CBS 13 for bringing this particular issue to our attention."

-Heidi Flato, Verizon Wireless PR & Employee Communications

When asked further about how calls to Collins were forwarded, we were given this statement:

"I can't speculate on what may or may not have happened to activate the conditional call forwarding (forwarding when the line is busy or no answer) on the device in question…"

-Heidi Flato, Verizon Wireless PR & Employee Communications

The Verizon spokesperson also sent a list of tips about how consumers can keep their cell phones protected and a link explaining how to use the call forwarding feature.

Collins says the date Verizon says the call forwarding began didn't make sense since the problem started before that date.

Even though her year long ordeal is still a mystery, Collins is glad it's behind her. "I haven't got a voicemail in so long. I don't even know what it's like getting a voicemail on a blackberry… never got one!"

Now, instead of hearing this: "want to know who your favorite star just slept with?" Collins' friends and family are finally hearing this: "at the tone please record your message"