Toy Tow Truck Advertises Phone Sex

August 10, 2011

Philip Caulfield reports for the New York Daily News, 9 Aug 2011:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/09/2011-08-09_hot_wheels_phone_number_printed_on_3yearolds_toy_truck_leads_to_phone_sex_line.html?r=news/national

Toy car maker Mattel drove into some hot water after a Georgia family discovered a phone number printed on their toddler's Matchbox truck was a phone-sex line.

Jan Barnett, of Marietta, Ga., told WXIA television she was floored when she dialed 1-800-FAST-TOW - taken from her 3-year-old grandson's toy tow truck -- and heard a smoky-voiced temptress offering instant access to "hot horny girls."

"It was a sex line," Barnett said.

Barnett said she and the boy's angry mom are pretty sure their truck-loving tyke didn't dial the number.

Older kids, though, could have used the toy for some R-rated fun, she said.

"If it had been an older child, you know, they could have known to call the number," Barnett told the station. "What if they came and said, 'Hey, mommy, I can talk to hot girls.' "

Mattel apologized for the incident in a statement to WXIA.

"Mattel's products are designed with children and their best interests in mind. Many of Mattel's employees are parents themselves and we understand the importance of child safety - it is our number one priority," the statement said.

Mattel said the truck was manufactured in 2000 and, at the time, the number didn't belong to anyone. The company stopped printing fake phone numbers on its toys a few years ago.