The Department of Justice says the *72 scam works like this. A scammer who says they are a telephone technician calls you and says they need your help. One scenario is the man will say he's in jail for driving with a suspended license and need you to call their wife so she will pick up their kids. He asks you to dial *72 and then a phone number. That enables a custom feature of call forwarding. The scammer essentially takes control of your phone number and account. It will make all of your incoming calls go to the scammer. You will be billed for all the calls the scammer makes on your account.