Don’t get smished – phone scams

SMISHING
Gift card Smishing is when someone receives an
unsolicited text message directing them to a dummy
website where they have allegedly won a $1,000 gift card to
Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.
Instead of a gift card, scam watchdogs say the site asks for
your personal information and that of your closest friends.
By responding to the text, you’re also confirming your cell
number is real, which scammers then compile into a list and
sell on the black market to other scammers.
To protect yourself, ignore the text message and
immediately contact your provider, which can block the
scammer from sending you text messages. Scambook, an
online complaint resolution platform, says the scam will
likely peak between Black Friday and Christmas.
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Area Codes 284, 649, 809, 876
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
recently learned that an old long distance phone scam that
leads consumers to incur high charges on their phone bills
may now affect wireless consumers. Wireless consumers
are now receiving similar calls from phone numbers with
three-digit area codes that appear to be domestic, but are
actually associated with international pay-per-call phone
numbers. While wireless companies are working to block
suspicious numbers on their networks, some consumers
may become victims of this scam. The scam works
something like this:
• Your wireless phone rings once or twice and then
disconnects the call. When the number appears in your
wireless phone log as a missed call, it appears to be a
typical domestic telephone number starting with a “649”
area code; or you get an email or voicemail (on your
residential wired telephone) telling you to call a phone
number with an “809”, “284”, “876” or some other threedigit
international area code.
• When you return the call, you assume you are making a
domestic long distance call – as “649,” “809,” “284,” “876”
and other area codes involved in this scam, appear to be
typical three-digit U.S. area codes.
• When you dial the three-digit area code plus the number,
however, you are connected to a phone number outside
the United States, often in Canada or the Caribbean, and
are charged expensive international call rates, and may
be charged for pay-per-call services as well. (In this case,
“649” goes to the Turks and Caicos, “809” goes to the
Dominican Republic, “284” goes to the British Virgin
Islands, and “876” goes to Jamaica.)
You don’t find out about the higher international call rates
until you receive your phone bill. To minimize the risk of
this happening to you, if you do not regularly make
international calls, ask your local or wireless phone
company to block outgoing international calls on your line.