Err, let me see if I can clear up as much as I know.
sweet4u618 :
1) Internet Relay Scam: An person "posing" as a deaf person, usually from an international location, uses the internet relay service (iprelay, sprintrelayonline, at&t internet relay, hiprelay, etc.) to purchase some incredible number of goods. The fraud person convinces the seller that they're on the level and provides a credit card number that the seller doesn't know is stolen. The fraud person convinces them to ship somewhere ASAP. Shortly after, the seller finds out the card was stolen and loses all the money for that sale.
JesKlu:
1) Internet relay is SECURE. SSL encryption is ON for all relay providers, I believe. That means it's virtually impossible for anyone on the internet to view your conversation and "steal credit cards" or whatever.
2) Internet relay is CONFIDENTIAL. The operators cannot record any information; it is a FELONY to do so, they WILL go to jail if they are caught. The only exception to this is they can temporarily record an audio tape of a long message and play back so they can catch the whole thing correctly to type out to the deaf user. People who won't use relay because they're afraid the operators will steal their personal information or will tell the world ARE IDIOTS. Drug deals, murders, and other crimes have been spoken about through the relay service.
3) 7-1-1 is not "more secure" than internet relay. Con artists have and are very willing to pay long distance fees if the payoff is good. The thing is, people can trace where phone calls are coming from, whereas it's impossible to trace via the internet. THAT'S why they use internet relay.
4) 7-1-1 just isn't convenient enough anymore. I'm on the internet far more than I'm on the phone. I'd rather take advantage of what I have than to be stuck with a phone line I almost never use.