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The next time you get a phone call from a number you don’t recognize, you may want to think twice about answering. On the other end of that suspicious line could very well be a scammer seeking to steal your private information such as your credit card or Social Security numbers. While many people fall victim to these scam calls every day, you can avoid becoming another statistic simply by being cognizant of the area code on an incoming call.
According to SecureMySocial CEO Joseph Steinberg, particular area codes can be an early warning sign that the call is unsafe. Years ago, many scam callers used a 900 area code, but nowadays you want to beware of calls from an 809 number, which “originates” in the Caribbean. Steinberg warned that scammers often also use caller IDs with area code 473. Though it may appear to be a domestic number, this one actually “originates” from the island of Grenada.
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Even answering one of these scam calls can lead to financial consequences. According to the AARP, taking a call from one of these foreign scam numbers could cost you $5 per minute. And once the scammer starts a sales pitch for a timeshare, cruise or other too-good-to-be-true money fiasco, you could be well on your way to racking up one expensive phone call.
In order to protect your privacy, Steinberg’s advice is to never answer or return a call from an unknown number. If someone wants to get a hold of you that badly, he or she can leave a voicemail which you can use to vet for authenticity.
“Remember that it’s unlikely that someone you do not know—who is in distress at a location with which you are not familiar—would dial a random number in another country and ask you to help them,” Steinberg explained. “They would call the police.”
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While most scam phone calls will feature area codes 473, 809 and 900, there are a number of other international ones to keep an eye out for the next time your cell phone rings:
242 — Bahamas
246 — Barbados
268 — Antigua
284 — British Virgin Islands
345 — Cayman Islands
441 — Bermuda
473 — Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique
649 — Turks and Caicos
664 — Montserrat
721 — Sint Maarten
758 — St. Lucia
767 — Dominica
784 — St. Vincent and Grenadines
809, 829 and 849 — Dominican Republic
868 — Trinidad and Tobago
869 — St. Kitts and Nevis
876 — Jamaica
So if you’re like me and your cell phone bill is already expensive enough, keep a watchful eye on any incoming calls from unknown numbers. Otherwise, you may have to stop service altogether when you see your monthly statement.
