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You are here: Home / Fraud Alerts / Phishing / Phishing scam sees cell phone users charged if they call back numbers

Phishing scam sees cell phone users charged if they call back numbers

  • Conmen ring and hang up hoping a victim will call back
  • Victim is charged sky-high international rate to be connected
  • Calls tend to originate from the Caribbean, according to experts
  • Scam is on the rise, according to experts

By
Tom Gardner


PUBLISHED:

09:07 EST, 3 February 2014


|
UPDATED:

11:14 EST, 3 February 2014

Scam: A phishing scam in which conmen leave a missed call and charge high rates when a victim calls back is on the rise (Stock picture)

Criminal gangs may have netted a fortune from a phishing scam which involves unsuspecting victims calling back unknown missed numbers.

In the so-called ‘one-ring phone scam’, a computer operated by a conman will dial a number and leave a missed called.

Victims who try to return the call are then redirected to an international adult entertainment service, ‘chat’ line, or other premium service located outside the country.

Those who fall for the ploy end up
paying a $19.95 international call fee, plus a $9 per minute rate –
sometimes more.

Authorities have now warned the scam may be on the rise as criminals take advantage of people’s curiosity.

It is thought a handful of criminals could be bombarding thousands of phone numbers with the scam using computer programs.

Calls typically originate from outside the United States, according to the Better Business Bureau.

One victim said her caller ID indicated the call originated in Antigua
or Barbuda (area code 268). Other consumers across the country report
calls from the Dominican Republic (809), Jamaica (876), British Virgin
Islands (284) and Grenada (473), the Better Business Bureau reported.

The practice of third parties placing unauthorized charges on wireless accounts is called ‘cramming’.

Profitable: Conmen are using computer programs to bombard unsuspecting victims with missed calls which are charged at sky-high international rates if they are called back (Stock picture)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have reviewed thousands of complaints about the practice, and expect the problem to grow.

Anyone who receives an unfamiliar out-of-state telephone number is advised to ignore it and not to call back.

People are also being urged to check their phone bills and alert their provider if they spot any unusual charges on the bill.


Comments (48)

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The comments below have not been moderated.

tallandstrong1,

middlesbrough,

moments ago

people must be stupid to call back numbers that are NOT a landline number , especialy from a mobile device !

TarHeelBrit,

Ex-Pat, United States,

12 minutes ago

I have all my contacts in the phone, businees and personal if it doesn’t show a name it gets ignored…simple.

chunky,

Cheshire, United Kingdom,

21 minutes ago

Never answer a number i don’t recognise. Just Google it after they hang up

lizzig66,

Melbourne Australia,

37 minutes ago

Im with the majority on here. Unknown numbers are ignored. If you leave a genuine message I will call you back otherwise forget it.

Nuke Diver,

Wallace, United States,

42 minutes ago

Don’t call back! It might be a BILL COLLECTOR ! …

MsMT,

Missoula,

53 minutes ago

If a call comes in from a number I don’t know, I don’t answer. And if the caller doesn’t bother to leave a message, I figure they really don’t want to talk to me anyway. What would compel someone to call back an unknown number? Are we that desperate for attention or addicted to our phones?

UKipper,

SodEU, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

Why would you be so stoopid as to call back a number you do not know? If it is genuine, the caller will try again!

john earthy,

Concord, United States,

1 hour ago

908 is another area code being used in this ‘one ring’ scam.

teamchaos,

island, Aruba,

1 hour ago

Cost me $2000 that 9 dollars a minute sure adds up

Fresnel,

London, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

An article written in the USA for the USA and just copied for a few column inches in the DM. e.g ‘The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have reviewed thousands of complaints about the practice, and expect the problem to grow.

Anyone who receives an unfamiliar out-of-state telephone number is advised to ignore it and not to call back’.
The terms and vocabulary are all USA – not UK

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