Premium Rate Scam - Beware Of Missed Calls

This article outlines the more common methods of Premium Rate Scams. We have tried to elaborate the commonly used techniques used by scamsters and make people aware. The first example of a scam is related to missed calls on your mobile phones. If you get a missed call on your phone from an unknown number that starts with 0709 prefix there may be something fishy.

This scam is simple yet effective, and you can easily be had. The scamsters dial in a number for a fraction of a minute anticipating you will call back. This is when the game starts. The number is being used to defraud your telephone bill. Once you call in, the register immediately starts ringing. What happens is fairly simple to comprehend: you are dialing into a premium rate number and getting charged for a call that you never intended to make.

Some people have exaggerated the rates however. They have claimed that a person can be charged 50 per minute for a scam call. The regulatory body of Premium Rate Number services, ICSTIS, has clearly stated that the charge for a premium rate number cannot more than 1.50 per minute.

However, even if you are not losing a large sum, you are still losing money. And the scamsters are reaping a windfall. You can easily save yourself from getting duped if you use a little common sense. The remedy is simple: when you get a 0709-number missed call, and you are not certain who it is, do not call back.

If you feel that the call may be from a business associate, call up but the first instance you feel that the person on the other end is trying to take you for a ride hang up immediately. These kind of scams die a quick death because the authorities take stern action or people become aware of them.

Another scam happened in Luton in the United Kingdom. It is even more shocking. Typically a well-dressed distressed lady knocks on your door. She asks for help. She explains that her car has broken down and that she needs to call her husband. Being a Good Samaritan, you decide to help her out. You hand her your phone. She makes the call. The call however is definitely not to her husband but an Interactive Voice Recording system.

The lady in actuality has used your phone to call a prime rate number. She will make money from the call. But until you receive your bill, you will not realize that you have been duped. People have exaggerated the amount you can be billed. Rumor mills put the figure at 50 per minute. But ICSTIS by law puts the limit at 1.50 per minute.

These scams are common place in UK and you should take due care from falling into the hands of one of these fraudsters.