phone scam

Christmas Day is always a busy time for the folks down at SaskTel as we put extra stress on the phone lines spreading Christmas cheer.  SaskTel is reminding you to be patient with the phone lines during peak calling hours.

Over 765,000 long distance phone calls are expected to be made.

"There are certain hours of the day that are particularly busy on Christmas Day, you may want to avoid the hours of 10am to 2pm and 7pm to 10pm.  It doesn't mean you can't call during those hours, but there's less chance that you're going to run into network congestion if you avoid those hours," said Andy Tate, spokesperson for SaskTel.

"Make sure you take time zones into consideration when calling and that you've got the correct number as well," added Tate.

About 43 percent of Christmas Day calls will take place within Saskatchewan and 150,000 will be made on cell phones with over eight million SMS text messages expected to be sent.

SaskTel employees in Moose Jaw have been in the giving mode over the past year through their TeleCare program.

Over $8,000 has been donated to three local organizations thanks to the program; Hunger in Moose Jaw, the Humane Society and Providence Place.

TeleCare is made up of SaskTel employees who contribute money through payroll deductions.

Across the province over $350,000 was donated in 2011.