(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
876 area code is not toll free, folks
You may be calling Jamaica when you think you're returning a toll-free call
By James Shiffer
June 3, 2011 at 3:03PM
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).
about the writer
James Shiffer
Demuth says she’s honored to break ground but looks forward to the day it’s not an issue.
