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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