s-he wants me to call: premium rate scam alert - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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s-he wants me to call: premium rate scam alert
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Posted by: ham

There are various reports dealing with premium phone rate scams. Men are approached online by various people from various places or walks of life ( or PRETENDING to be ). This scam might coexist with other typical MOB/Nigeria scams. Men are lead down the garden path and given phone numbers to call. These phone numbers might even look inconspicuous; just another long distance call. Men are usually thrilled to jump at the opportunity. Check area codes and tarifs carefully with your provider, tough! There are reports of men being billed hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, for one short call ( you may even only hear a recorded message on the other end). If you find out later, complaining to your provider will sort little to no effect, for YOU placed the call indeed; they only act as a billing agent on behalf of the foreign party.

Posted by: waiting123

Yes, this is an old scam that seems to be getting better. The area codes are for islands in the carribean. They will charge you between $25.00 and $2,400.00 per minute.

The current area codes I know are
809
829

becareful of these codes

Posted by: mistermopar

So what if I have a $20 no fees international phone card that you throw away once the $20 is used up.
Is this away of protecting our selfs from these sort of scams.
Sure I may loss my $20 but that is it.

What do you guys think??

Randy

Posted by: deccie

In Australia these scams evolved one step further.
Instead, they now call you FIRST and drop the call really quickly.
The intent being to get people to call back when they see a missed call.
Obviously works best to a mobile phone.

Posted by: Ronin_FM3

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistermopar

So what if I have a $20 no fees international phone card that you throw away once the $20 is used up.
Is this away of protecting our selfs from these sort of scams.
Sure I may loss my $20 but that is it.

What do you guys think??

Randy

It would seem that you're right, if the card is good for that area. Maybe the card wouldn't connect you, I don't know. But, that's the whole idea with phone cards, so it seems like you'd be right.

Posted by: mistermopar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronin_FM3

It would seem that you're right, if the card is good for that area. Maybe the card wouldn't connect you, I don't know. But, that's the whole idea with phone cards, so it seems like you'd be right.

Of course I'm right..I'm always right.....LOL...joking

Randy

Posted by: Ronin_FM3

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Of course I'm right..I'm always right.....LOL...joking

Randy

Of course you're right; you're here at RMP!

Posted by: Northernlight

My girl in Lugansk gave the this number (80956152645)
of a friends mobile phone to call my lady. Would this be a scammers
phone number you think.

Any information could help me, Thank You!

Kirk

Posted by: ham

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northernlight

My girl in Lugansk gave the this number (80956152645)
of a friends mobile phone to call my lady. Would this be a scammers
phone number you think.

Any information could help me, Thank You!

Kirk

i have no idea...check with your phone service provider.
The only alternatives ( if at all ) are
1 prepaid calling cards
2 internet based VOIP services (placing calls through the internet, sort of netmeeting thing ).
With those you might waste only the amount of credit you have purchased/on your account, if they work with the chosen number.

Posted by: Northernlight

Sorry Ham, the question below, I posted was for Waiting123. It was stated that 809 area code could be a phony and maybe used in a phone scam.

My girl in Lugansk gave the this number (80956152645)
of a friends mobile phone to call my lady. Would this be a scammers
phone number you think.

Any information could help me, Thank You!

Posted by: waiting123

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northernlight

Sorry Ham, the question below, I posted was for Waiting123. It was stated that 809 area code could be a phony and maybe used in a phone scam.

My girl in Lugansk gave the this number (80956152645)
of a friends mobile phone to call my lady. Would this be a scammers
phone number you think.

Any information could help me, Thank You!

Sorry, I missed responding to you! Here is an excerpt from the FCC website

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has become aware of a long distance phone scam that may lead consumers to inadvertently incur high charges on their phone bills.

The Scam Works Something Like This

You get an e-mail, voicemail, or page telling you to call a phone number with an “809”, “284”, “876” (or some other three-digit) area code to collect a prize, find out about a sick relative, engage in sex talk, etc.
You assume you are making a domestic long distance call – as “809”, “284”, “876” (and other three-digit area codes involved in this scam) appear to be typical three-digit U.S. area codes.
When you dial the “809”, “284”, “876” (or other three-digit) area code plus the number, however, you’re actually connected to a phone number outside the United States, often in Canada or the Caribbean, and charged international call rates. (In this case, “809” goes to the Dominican Republic, “284” goes to the British Virgin Islands, and “876” goes to Jamaica.)
You don’t find out about the higher international call rates until you receive your phone bill.

To Minimize the Risk of This Happening to You

Check any area codes before returning calls.
If you do not otherwise make international calls, ask your local phone company to block outgoing international calls on your line.

Filing a Complaint with the FCC

There is no charge to file an informal complaint with the FCC. Your letter should include your name, address, telephone number or numbers involved with your complaint, a telephone number where you can be reached during the business day, and the name of your long distance carrier. Your complaint letter should also provide as much specific information as possible, such as:

an explanation of the circumstances that led to your complaint;
the names of all telephone or other companies involved with your complaint;
the names and telephone numbers of the telephone company employees that you talked to in an effort to resolve your complaint;
the dates that you talked with these employees; and
any other information that would help the FCC to process your complaint.

Your local telephone company also often has records that are essential to the processing of your complaint.

You should mail your complaint to:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554.

Posted by: waiting123

or here is another reference:

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

Posted by: inlove

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northernlight

My girl in Lugansk gave the this number (80956152645)
of a friends mobile phone to call my lady. Would this be a scammers
phone number you think.

Any information could help me, Thank You!

Kirk

It is, probably, a legit number. 8 is a code of Russia when used inside the country. National mobile numbers in Russia start with 09, as far as I know. Although, when calling from overseas you should use 7 instead of 8, and drop the 0. I might be mistaken about the 0, though..

Posted by: sidney

I I were to make the call I would suggest doing as others said and buy a $5 calling card so you've little to lose. I've heard of the scam which has been around for some time now.
Sid

Posted by: waiting123

Quote:

Originally Posted by inlove

sorry inlove you are most likely correct. I did not count the number of digits in the #, just a quick glance. Let me be specific, if it was part of the scamming, it would be formatted as a regular US number (###) ###-####, 10 digits, the area code would be "809"

I would have to agree, this # looks ok.

Posted by: Northernlight

International phone card... I guess would be the safest way to go. I sincerely appreciate all of the help and time everyone put in to assist me. Until I am sure the phone number is legit I will try the phone cards.

Thank You
Kirk

Posted by: Dave_N_Elvira

OK Northern Light

The mobile number is possibly legit. Go here http://www.ldpost.com/countries/ukraine/ to verify this. There is an 809 sequence in a lot of the mobiles their but the number goes 0011+380+9xx

However the phone might be legit but I would walk a very careful path. Lugansk is the scam capital of the FSU. I would suggest a trip to a number of blacklists to see if your lady is on there. Use phone cards or something like skypeout or freecall to dial it. Latter two are probably the best options as using VOIP can leave your phone number completely out of the loop.

Posted by: mistermopar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northernlight

International phone card... I guess would be the safest way to go. I sincerely appreciate all of the help and time everyone put in to assist me. Until I am sure the phone number is legit I will try the phone cards.

Thank You
Kirk

Kirk,I find that the international phone cards are cheeper than using your long distance provider,or at least it is here.
I get my phone cards at Walmart.

Randy

Posted by: Northernlight

Thank You for all the warnings. I think i will try out the phone cards first.
I have looked on a couple of black list sites and have not seen her anywhere. As for red flags; haven't seen any of those either. I have been talking through the e-mail route, since the last week of Nov/06

Kirk