The Fayetteville Police Department has passed along a notice telling citizens to be on the lookout for the latest telephone scam that is sweeping the country.

Local residents may get a call from someone identifying himself as an AT&T service technician conducting a test on area telephone lines. He will instruct the resident to complete the test by touching nine (9), zero (0), and the pound sign (#), then hanging up.

According to the telephone company, anyone who follows these instructions will be giving the person making the request full access to his or her telephone line, which can then be used by outside callers to place long-distance calls and bill them to the unsuspecting resident's home number.