There is a major scam sweeping the United States right now. If you have been getting strange calls from unknown area codes READ THIS BEFORE ANSWERING THEM.
Inc.com and WGN are reporting that the “one ring scam” has resurfaced.
This is how it works. Scammers use auto-dialers to call cellphone numbers across the U.S. They let the phone ring once, just enough for a missed call message to pop up, then hang up.
Frank Dorman, from the consumer fraud and debt collection in the Federal Trade Commission‘s Office of Public Affairs, said the scam “has been going on for a while.”
The scammers hope you’ll call back — because if you do, you’ll get hit with hefty charges, both per-minute and international.
Many victims reported reaching an automated message service with recordings saying, “Hello. You’ve reached the operator, please hold.”
And you are getting charged the whole time you wait. The scammers will often play hold music or ads to try to keep victims on the phone as the charges add up.
The reason the scam works is because the calls are from phone numbers with three-digit area codes that look like they’re from inside the U.S. But are actually from international phone numbers — often in the Caribbean.
According to the FTC, the area codes include 268, 284, 473, 664, 649, 767, 809, 829, 849 and 876.
Here are the current international area codes within the +1 country code:
242 — Bahamas
441 — Bermuda
784 — St. Vincent and Grenadines
246 — Barbados
473 — Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique
809, 829, and 849 — Dominican Republic
264 — Anguilla
649 — Turks and Caicos
868 — Trinidad and Tobago
268 — Antigua
664 — Montserrat
876 — Jamaica
284 — British Virgin Islands
721 — Sint Maarten
758 — St. Lucia
869 — St. Kitts and Nevis
345 — Cayman Islands
767 — Dominica
Here are the U.S. Territories’ area codes (listed by territory):
American Samoa — 684
Guam — 671
Northern Mariana Islands — 670
Puerto Rico — 787 and 939
U.S. Virgin Islands — 340
Here are the Canadian area codes (listed by province):
Alberta — 403, 587, and 780
Alberta — 403, 587, and 780
British Columbia — 236, 250, 604, and 778
Manitoba — 204 and 431
New Brunswick — 506
Newfoundland — 709 (879 is being added in 2018)
Northwest Territories — 867
Nova Scotia — 902
Nunavut — 867
Ontario — 226, 249, 289, 343, 365, 416, 437, 519, 613, 647, 705, 807, and 905
Quebec — 418, 438, 450, 514, 579, 581, 819, and 873
Saskatchewan — 306 and 639
Yukon — 867
Nationwide — 600 (and possibly 622, 633, 644, 655, 677, and 688)
U.S.-Canada Numbers to Beware:
Area code — 900
Inc.com reports that there are actually three versions of this scam now:
“Scammer calls and hangs up before anyone answers.
Scammer waits for the victim to answer and plays a pre-recorded message of someone in an emergency situation and then hangs up.
Scammer sends a text message indicating that they are in trouble.”
“If you receive an unexpected call or text from an area code you don’t recognize, don’t answer it. Do a Google search to see where the call is coming from. If it’s someone you know, they’ll call back.”
The Federal Trade Commission recommends “reviewing your cellphone bill carefully and to contact your provider if there are any suspicious charges. If you are a victim of the scam, file a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission.” H/T