NEW YORK — If you receive a call or text from an unfamiliar area code, you may want to read this first.
Inc.com is reporting that the “one ring scam” that shows up periodically has resurfaced. Scammers are using auto-dialers to call cellphone numbers across the country. They let the phone ring once, just enough for a missed call message to pop up, then hang up.
Frank Dorman, who works with consumer fraud and debt collection in the Federal Trade Commission‘s Office of Public Affairs, said in an email Friday that the racket “has been going on for a while.”
The scammers are hoping you’ll call back — and when you do, you’ll be slammed with hefty charges, both per-minute and international. Many reported reaching an automated service with a recording such as, “Hello. You’ve reached the operator, please hold.”
Sometimes the scammers will reportedly play hold music or ads in an attempt to keep victims on the line while the charges add up.
The calls are from phone numbers with three-digit area codes that look like they’re from inside the U.S., but are actually associated with 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.
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 FTC also 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.
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
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
