Crime & Safety
Don't Fall For This Telephone Scam, Police Chief Warns
Telephone service providers issued the warning
Sometimes it's good to ignore *69.
An international telephone charge scam is making the rounds, where the caller only rings once, then hangs up. If the victim calls back, they are they are directed to an expensive international chat line or an adult entertainment site, Lacey Police Chief David A. Paprota said.
"It is the return call by the victim which results in the international charges on the phone bill," according to the warning. "International long distance charges apply as well. Victims may not realize they are dialing an international number since the outbound call does not require an international dialing pattern.
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Residents are cautioned about calling "unknown" phone numbers that appear to be long distance, as the phone company will apparently hold the victim responsible for all calls made from the victim's phone.
The most common "area codes" used in the scams are as follows:
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242 - Bahamas
441 - Bermuda
784 - St. Vincent & Grenadines
246 - Barbados
473 - Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique
809, 829, 849 - Dominican Republic
264 - Anguilla
649 - Turks and Caicos
868 - Trinidad and Tobago
268 - Antigua
664 - Montserrat
876 - Jamaica
284 - British Virgin Islands
758 - St Lucia
869 - St. Kitts & Nevis
345 - Cayman Islands
767 - Dominica
Again, the telephone calls come in with no message being left on the victim's phone. The calls are placed with the intention of the victim unknowingly calling back a for fee chat-line or adult entertainment line. The return call then obligates the victim to pay a very expensive charge to the victim's phone service.
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