Brother, pay close attention! This scam can be expensive at best and fatal at worst. And all you have to do is return a call.

The scammer is usually an “adult” chat line - phone sex - and by law they can’t charge anybody unless that anybody calls them. So they get you to call them. Their dialers - usually bots - dial numbers at random. (I swear some use the Do Not Call Registry as their phone list.) They let your phone ring just twice, then disconnect.

If you’re like me, you’re not a quick enough on the draw to answer in two rings, and my answering service doesn’t kick in until after 4 rings. So you hear only 2 rings. So what?

Well, maybe one person out of a hundred will call that number back. Could have been a client. Could have been news that old Aunt Isabel finally activated her will. Maybe you just want to call back and yell at the caller for their rude phone etiquette. It doesn’t matter. Once you call back, you’re hooked.

Now you have called the phone sex line. Naughty naughty. It shows up on your next phone bill at some exorbitant charge per minute, even if you hung up right away. But they may put you on hold or spin some tale that keeps you on for a couple minutes more. If your wife sees the bill, show her this blog!!!

These calls may appear to be local - that is, not foreign. But many countries - particularly in the Caribbean - don’t use the “011″ international phone prefix. The area code may look vaguely familiar, but it’s best to Google the code before calling back.

Be most wary of 649 (Turks and Caicos), 876 (Jamaica), 284 (British Virgin Islands), 809 (Dominican Republic), 664 (Montserrat), and 758 (St. Lucia).

Best Bet: Never Call Anyone Back.

Scrud Kelley

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