A Dayton woman tells Whistleblower she got a phone call last month promising her $5 million and a Mercedes-Benz. But first she had to wire $330 to someone in Bremerton, Wash.
The woman didn't fall for the scam, but she was curious about the caller's phone number. The area code was 876, and it sounds like a toll-free number. But it's the code for the sunny island nation of Jamaica.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, scammers can also make money by getting their victims to call them back, because they earn a fee for each call. Callers also incur big charges for international dialing.
Other prefixes that sound like domestic area codes are 649 (Turks and Caicos Islands), 809 (Dominican Republic) and 284 (British Virgin Islands).
