This one’s pretty interesting, and a little confusing. While I think we all know that scammers pull out all the stops to deprive you of your hard earned cash, recent email warnings about calling some area codes appear to be going a little overboard. Some blogs and emails I’ve seen claim you’ll be charged anywhere from $10 to $100 per minute if you “fall for this.”
Ok, so here’s the skinny of what’s going on:
1. You have a voicemail from a person you don’t know claiming there is some kind of emergency (usually that a relative of yours is injured or has been arrested) and the message says you need to call back immediately.
2. Congratulations! You’ve won some prize! [inner monologue – REALLY?!?]
3. You have an overdue bill that is going for collection unless you return the call within 24 hours.
The message says to immediately call back and leaves a phone number starting with an 809, 284, 649 or 876 area code.
The 809, 284, 649, and 876 area codes are actually for international calls:
809 is the area code for the Dominican Republic.
284 is for British Virgin Islands.
649 Turks and Caicos Islands.
876 is for Jamaica.
Sometimes calls between neighboring countries do not require the “011” international prefix and callers may not realize they are actually dialing an international phone number. Ok, so where’s the scam? So glad you asked!
In most cases, consumers who do return the call will pay international calling rates vs. domestic, not the outrageous charges the email warning’s claim. But, if a scammer is using this to rack up charges, they may try to keep you on the phone for lengthy periods of time or have special rates or fees attached to the call, which they don’t have to inform you about. This means that when the consumer, who thinks they are calling a domestic number, calls the phone number provided, they are charged much higher fees for the call. In a few cases, we heard that the scammer will ask you to send money to “pay the bill” or “pay taxes on your prize” hence fraudulent charges.
So what do you do? According to AT&T and the Better Business Bureau:
• Only return calls to familiar numbers or known callers. You might consider doing a Google search of unfamiliar area codes before calling.
• Also, read your telephone bill carefully. Make sure that you have authorized any additional fees on your bill.
• Like with any other phone scam, the best way to protect yourself is to just hang up or delete the message.
• And, sorry to have to tell you this (if you didn’t already know) you did NOT win a multi-million dollar lottery or sweepstakes of which you never entered to play. If you go after these claims, you may find yourself the next headline news and out a significant amount of money.
And according to most telephone providers, if you believe that you have been scammed:
• Contact the carrier who charged you. The name of the carrier and the telephone number should be printed on your bill. Often, the problem can be resolved with a single phone call.
• If the carrier who charged you does not agree to resolve the problem, contact your carrier. They should be able to help you.
Sources:
AT&T
BBB Scam Busters