Beware area codes from Caribbean hell
Pay attention and you can avoid some very bad things.
For instance, calls from certain area codes you should never answer. These calls are not just spam calls they are the worst of the worst scam calls. Here’s a quick list of some of them:
268 – certain Caribbean countries like Antigua and Barbuda
284 – the British Virgin Islands
473 – Grenada
809 – Dominican Republic
876 – Jamaica
These countries and areas harbor the worst scammers. Many of them are organized gangs of crooks that work together to separate you from your money. The FBI has busted hundreds of scammers from these areas but as soon as one is picked up, another one pops up to take their place.
Look at it this way: Publishers Clearing House and the Irish Sweepstakes won’t be calling you — especially from Jamaica. The scammers are serious, dangerous, ruthless criminals. I have received and recorded two death threats from these groups. No joke!
Unwanted “spam” calls, while not scam calls, have become the bane of many people’s existence. Computers have been hooked up with today’s telephone technology to spawn robo-calls. They intrude on our life every day, at all hours. I don’t know which annoys me more: The phone rings, I answer it, then there’s a long silence and a glib phone jockey attempts to engage me asking insincerely, “How are you today, Robert?” Nowadays I don’t even wait. I hang up as soon as I hear the “robo-call silence.” I suggest you do, too.
Thank goodness for caller ID. If a caller doesn’t want me to know who’s calling, I don’t want to talk with them. I don’t answer — at all.
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If you have a smartphone there are a number of spam blockers you can download. The one I use has almost 10,000 spam callers’ numbers preprogrammed into it. As soon as the program identifies one of the numbers, it dumps the call and it never rings through to my phone. For the one-time cost of 99 cents for the app, that’s not a bad deal. You can also go into your call log on your phone and permanently block any number you wish — a persistent spam caller, a bill collector, scam caller or even a relative calling again to borrow money!
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RENTAL SCAM: Quality rental properties, homes and apartments are scarce here. The latest housing scam is this:
The scammer obtains a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) computer phone number from whatever area code they choose. They then go online to the various websites that advertise properties to rent or lease, and then hijack the listing by copying that information with pictures and post it on another website, like Craigslist, but with the scammer’s contact information.
After seeing a great property offered at a great price, the would-be, unwary renter then contacts the scammer. The scammer offers the property, often emailing more great photos and descriptions of the property to the prospective renter. The scammer also emails a signed rental contract for the renter AND ASKS FOR A DEPOSIT. Danger, Will Robinson! This is where they get you.
The “deposit” is often first and last months’ rent and is usually sent by an untraceable means to the scammer. Later, the would-be renter shows up at the property and finds they have no right to move into the residence. The scammer’s phone number has been disconnected and they are gone with your money and without a trace.
Craigslist is a very dangerous place. Beware when sending anyone money on craigslist. Also beware of accepting any “cashier’s” checks from anyone. Cashier’s checks are quickly going the way of the old traveler’s checks. Using today’s technology, they are too easy to counterfeit. Quick hint: Don’t call the number of the financial institution on the cashier’s check. The forgers give a phony number so when you call the person who answers the phone, they pretend to be a representative of the financial institution. If you want to check the validity of a cashier’s check, find the real telephone number of the bank and call them directly.
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NEW OR OLD iPHONE: I’ve done the side-by-side spec comparison. Instead of buying the iPhone X, I’m buying the iPhone 8 Plus. The 8 doesn’t have some of the whizbang features of the iPhone X but it does have almost identical computer power, and for a lot less money. You can go online to the Apple Store and do your own comparison.
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OLDIES BUT NOT GOODIES: IRS calls: The IRS does not call; they send mail. Government grants: The government doesn’t call you to give you a grant. Microsoft calls: Microsoft does not call you to tell you your computer is infected with a virus. Grandson or daughter in jail in Tijuana: Clearly a scam.
If anyone wants you to buy gift cards or iTunes cards to pay a debt – it’s a scam.
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NEW SCAM — EQUIFAX Phishing: Approximately 143 million people are potentially affected by the Equifax security breach. Equifax WILL NOT be calling you. There is no way a company could call all those who might be compromised. If someone calls you and tells you they represent Equifax — hang up! Equifax can’t even keep up with the demand on their official website, let alone call people individually.
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NEW WEBSITE: I will be launching a new and much better website in the next 3-4 weeks. Much more content, much easier for you to use. The list of merchants I like will be on that website.
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Remember: Call me. I’m in your corner.
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I have many more interesting cases that I’m working on as The CDA Press Consumer Guy. Call me at (208) 699-0506, email me at CDAPressConsumerGuy
@gmail.com or fax me at (866) 362-9266. Also include your full name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups.
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Bill Brooks is the CDA Press Consumer Guy and an active Associate Real Estate Associate Broker for Tomlinson-Sotheby’s International Realty in Coeur d’Alene.