- Phone, E-Mail, & Pager Messages
May Signal Costly Scams
Beware the "urgent" message you hear on your
answering machine, the e-mail message about a "prize," or the long-distance
message on your pager. Any of them could turn out to be an expensive
telephone trap.
From coast to coast, American consumers are
getting stung by "emergency" and cryptic telephone, e-mail and pager
messages urging them to call an "809" number for information about injured
or sick relatives, "prize opportunities" or "debt collectors." The messages
tell recipients to call a long-distance number for more information. In many
cases, the return-call number is an international pay-per-call line, with a
three digit exchange that looks like an American or Canadian area code.
Concerned or curious consumers who take the
bait and place the return call usually are kept on the line, listening to
long-winded messages. As the clock ticks, the charges build, and scam
artists are counting the rebates they'll receive from foreign telephone
companies. For every minute you stay on the line, the scam artist who offers
the "information" collects a bigger share in the profits.
It's not always easy to distinguish an
international dialing code from a North American area code. Most
international numbers can be reached only by dialing 011, the international
access code. However, some places outside the United States or Canada, such
as the Caribbean, can be reached simply by dialing a number beginning with
three digits that resemble a North American area code. Many scam artists
take advantage of this situation -- and of unsuspecting consumers -- by
urging them to call numbers that begin with area codes 809, 758, or 664
without revealing that these calls result in international long distance
charges that could be costly. Because each country establishes its own
telephone rates, there is no limit to the per-minute charge for these calls.
The Federal Trade Commission reminds
consumers to be suspicious of unidentified telephone, e-mail, or pager
messages that claim to offer information about a sick or injured relative, a
debt, bad credit, or prize offer. In addition, the FTC cautions consumers to
be wary of messages from unfamiliar sources with a return telephone number
using 809, 758, or 664 area codes, or the 011 international access code.
Finally, the agency suggests that consumers question television or print ads
that offer products or investment opportunities through telephone numbers
that start with these area codes or the 011 international code.
Area Code |
Location |
|
|
264
268
242
246
441
284
245
767
473
876
664
869
758
784
868
809
|
Anguilla
Antigua and
Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British
Virgin Islands
Cayman
Islands
Dominica
Grenada
Jamaica
Montserrat
St. Kitts
and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent/
Grenadines
Trinidad and
Tobago
Dominican
Republic
|
|
The FTC works for the consumer to
prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the
marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and
avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get free information
on consumer issues, visit
www.ftc.gov or
call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a
secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law
enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
|
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION |
FOR THE CONSUMER |
1-877-FTC-HELP |
www.ftc.gov |
|
December 1996 |