A Winnipeg businessman has received a telephone bill for more than $52,000 (Canadian) after unknown miscreants breached his voicemail system and made hundreds of calls to Bulgaria.

Alan Davison, told CBCNews he knew something was amiss when he saw a strange "feature 36" message repeatedly popping up on his phone. He evidently saw nothing wrong with using a four-digit password or configuring the system to allow outbound transfers.

An exact fee of $52,321.14 is due on January 2, but Davison says he shouldn't have to pay the whole amount. Vendor Manitoba Telecom Services should have alerted him as soon as international calls spiked well beyond what was normal, he said. ®

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