You hear your ringtone and reach for your cell phone, but, before you pick it up, the ringing stops.
How annoying. You check Caller I.D. Area Code 268. You don't know who it could be, but you're curious, so you call the number.
That could be a very expensive mistake.
This one-ring ploy is the latest hot phone scam making the rounds. According to the Better Business Bureau, when you call back, you are likely to be connected to a chat line or an international adult entertainment service. Other sources report being put on hold and listening to recorded music. The bottom line? You can find yourself on the hook for a $19.95 for the international call, and a $9 per minute or more charge, billed as a premium service by your phone carrier.
Placing bogus charges such as these on someone's phone bill is called "Cramming," the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says. "Cramming is the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading or deceptive charges on your telephone bill," according to the FCC website. "Crammers rely on confusing telephone bills in an attempt to trick consumers into paying for services they did not authorize or receive, or that cost more than the consumer was led to believe."
Phone companies often have agreements to bill for outside services, the site says. They might show up on your bill designated as something generic, like "service fee," "service charge," or "other fees," or something slightly more specific but easier to detect, such as "voicemail," "mail server," "calling plan," "psychic" and "membership." They have also shown up on bills as a "monthly fee" or "minimum monthly user fee.
It's not just area code 268, which is Antigua or Barbuda. Call recipients have reported getting the one-ringers from a variety of Caribbean locales, including the Dominican Republic (809), Jamaica (876), British Virgin Islands (284) and Grenada (473).
Anyone who suspects they have been victimized should check their phone bill and report any spurious charges immediately, the BBB says.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
