News brief: It’s a scam

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Washington State Office of the Attorney General is alerting the public to tricksters who are luring individuals to unknowingly rack up $9 per minute cell phone calls to adult entertainment hotlines.

Are you curious about a missed phone call from Antigua, Jamaica or some other exotic location, the office asked in a news release. The phone rings once, then disconnects and fraudsters are hoping you’ll call back, according to the office.

Don’t do it. here’s why:

Scammers are placing thousands of random calls to mobile numbers around the country.

Consumers could end up connected to a paid international “hot line”  located outside the country and find themselves charged $19.95 for the international call fee and then an expensive per minute charge.

The advice? Think twice before answering a call, or returning a call, from an unrecognized number.

Reports about such calls indicate some have originated from the following places:

• Antigua or Barbuda (area code 268).
• Dominican Republic (809)
• Jamaica (876)
• British Virgin Islands (284)
• Grenada (473)

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5 Responses to “News brief: It’s a scam”

  1. Mesayst says:

    Seat belts versus death. Helmet versus death. Once dead, you never need to bother with those few seconds to buckle up. Could it be that you don’t mind needing to buckle up, but just don’t like being told you have to. I can support having seat belts even tho my husband was killed instantly in a traffic accident & he was wearing one. The accident was not his fault.

  2. LCR says:

    Got a couple of these calls from Antigua. Always when I wasn’t near the phone though so I never picked up. Just as well.

  3. motorhead says:

    yeah, I hate seatbelt!, it take waay too long to click it on!

  4. Big Lou says:

    They have no right to tell me to wear a seatbelt. We need to change this law.

  5. dont matter says:

    seatbelt tickets are an example of another scam