If you are a victim of the scam, file a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission. The FTC also recommends reviewing your cellphone bill carefully and to contact your provider if there are any suspicious charges. If it’s someone you know, they’ll call back. Do a Google search to see where the call is coming from. If you receive an unexpected call or text from an area code you don’t recognize, don’t answer it. Scammer sends a text message indicating that they are in trouble.Scammer waits for the victim to answer and plays a pre-recorded message of someone in an emergency situation and then hangs up.Scammer calls and hangs up before anyone answers.Inc.com reports that there are actually three versions of this scam now: 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.Īccording to the FTC, the area codes include 268, 284, 473, 664, 649, 767, 809, 829, 849 and 876. Sometimes the scammers will reportedly play hold music or ads in an attempt to keep victims on the line while the charges add up. You’ve reached the operator, please hold.” An example of the scam has been given by the CTSI in a statement on its website. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has been warning people about the fraud that involves a scammer posing as someone you know. Many reported reaching an automated service with a recording such as, “Hello. Earlier this month, WhatsApp users were warned about a scam that could see criminals steal thousands from them. The scammers are hoping you’ll call back - and when you do, you’ll be slammed with hefty charges, both per-minute and international. They let the phone ring once, just enough for a missed call message to pop up, then hang up.įrank 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.” Scammers are using auto-dialers to call cellphone numbers across the country. Inc.com is reporting that the “one ring scam” that shows up periodically has resurfaced. NEW YORK - If you receive a call or text from an unfamiliar area code, you may want to read this first. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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