There are 25 area codes you should not answer unless you expect calls … here’s why

In an article coming out this morning, there are 25 different area codes that use U.S. dialing to get there. Unless you receive calls from these area codes, komando.com’s article titled If you see one of these area codes don’t answer — It’s probably a scam.

There are 4 ways that scammers are using these numbers. They are:

• They call and hang up before anyone answers. They’ll use an autodialer to do this several times, hoping you’ll eventually call back.
• They’ll also call and play a recording of someone in distress and then hang up. Again, they’re banking on you calling back.
• They also employ this trick while pretending to be someone in authority: a collection agency, member of law enforcement or doctor treating a relative.
• In the third version of the scam, a criminal sends a text message similar to the voice recording trick. They’ll write that they need help and need you to text or call back. The message may seem like it was sent to the wrong person by accident, but it went exactly where it needs to go — an unsuspecting victim.

Here are the International area codes that use our numbering system.

• • 242 — Bahamas
• • 441 — Bermuda
• • 784 — St. Vincent and Grenadines
• • 246 — Barbados
• • 473 — Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique
• • 809, 829 and 849 — Dominican Republic
• • 264 — Anguilla
• • 649 — Turks and Caicos
• • 868 — Trinidad and Tobago
• • 268 — Antigua
• • 664 — Montserrat
• • 876 — Jamaica
• • 284 — British Virgin Islands
• • 721 — Sint Maarten
• • 758 — St. Lucia
• • 869 — St. Kitts and Nevis
• • 345 — Cayman Islands
• • 767 — Dominica

Here re the U.S. territories that use the 1 country code to dial them.

• • American Samoa — 684
• Guam — 671
• • Northern Mariana Islands — 670
• • Puerto Rico — 787 and 939
• • U.S. Virgin Islands — 340

The article says that this is not all we have to worry about. I’ve even seen numbers i don’t recognize that come from area codes I expect like 213/310 in Los Angeles, 562 in Long Beach, and other major U.S. area codes that I may get calls from. The end of the article indicates that if you don’t recognize the number, don’t answer. Just yesterday I didn’t recognize a number and was told to answer it. I didn’t. The number didn’t leave a message. I een have gotten calls from my own 818 area code where I live. Now, 818/747 are split, just like 213/310 are. We can’t rely on caller ID in my opinion. Even those in your contact list can be spoofed with one piece of technology. It’s unfortunate that this has become such a problem today, I don’t know what the solution is. Not answering the phone isn’t the answer, either,.

Shaken and Stir has helped to tell the difference between scam and telemarketer, however, I’ve seen calls from names I don’t recognize, only one left a message and then texted me 8 hours later. read more about the stir shaken protocol from Wikipedia and check our podcasts to see where this was covered. It’ll help you so that you don’t get caught in a scam or something you’re not expecting.

Thanks so much for reading!