List of Scammer Phone Numbers 2024

Telephones have long been integral to everyday life, and scammers couldn’t help but take advantage of them. Although making random calls is as old as the world, sometimes the calls come from numbers with all kinds of area codes you may not have even heard of before. As a result, automated phone calls have become one of the most annoying things of the 21st century. Unfortunately, these calls can do far more harm than interrupt your dinner. Dangerous phone calls can throw you into real dangers that can harm your wallet or even your reputation.

These days, scammers use sophisticated spoofing techniques and persistence to scam unsuspecting victims out of hundreds of dollars, all using just their phones. According to reports, 53% of people say they received more dangerous phone calls in 2023 than in 2022. In addition, technology has made it relatively easy and cheap for scammers to make many automated calls in seconds. So new robotic calling services can make up to 5,000 simultaneous calls per second for just a dollar. Next, we’ll look at what kinds of phone scams exist and how to avoid them.

Traffic Pumping

Have you ever tried to make a call but got a message that the call was outside your plan and you would be charged extra? This is a sign that you are about to be “traffic pumped”. The reason is this: under federal law, rural carriers are allowed to charge wireless and long-distance carriers higher fees for access to calls to local subscribers. In addition, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), some rural carriers partner with chat rooms, adult entertainment numbers, and the like. This is done to artificially increase the volume of calls in rural operators’ home area codes.

Due to inflated call volumes, rural carriers can bill wireless and long-distance companies enormous amounts and give kickbacks to chat lines. Therein lies the pumping up of traffic. Unfortunately, this higher cost affects you directly. Hence, the operator warns you to pay more at the beginning of an off-plan call. To avoid unwanted charges, you must hang up before connecting with the subscriber. In this case, you won’t be charged anything. Area codes involved in pumping traffic are usually located in sparsely populated rural areas of several Midwestern states. These two codes are notorious for pumping traffic:

• 712: western Iowa
• 218: northern Minnesota

The One-Ring Scam

This is a common scam, relying heavily on our natural curiosity. The robot calls your cell phone and then hangs up before you have time to answer. This may happen several times, but the robot hangs up even if you answer the phone. You will likely hear a recorded message if you decide to call back. In the meantime, you will be charged a high international fee, ranging from $15 to $30 per minute.

The criminal gets a portion of those charges and then moves on to other victims, using special automated dialers that can make millions of calls daily. To protect your wallet from these dangerous phone calls, you should pay attention to codes 473, 809, and 900. We also recommend checking missed calls against international area codes beginning with +1. Here’s a list:

To avoid unpleasant consequences from dangerous phone calls, you’re better off waiting for your voicemail. This will help you determine if the call is legitimate before you call back. You can also Google the phone number. If the number is fraudulent, others will likely post warnings about.

Ring and run

There are different variations of this scam, but the common thread is that the scammer tries to create a sense of urgency. The caller may pretend to be a representative of an agency or organization that can help you out of a desperate situation. For example, they may pretend to be bail bondsmen, collection agents, law enforcement officers, or hospital staff. Once the scammer is convinced they have your attention, they may suddenly hang up or ask you to call them back. These actions may be to get you to call a phone number with a premium rate.

Scammers sometimes trick you into directly giving them personal information, such as your bank account or credit card number. Regardless of the target, these scams instill a sense of urgency and immediate action. Another type of “grandparent scam” uses a similar strategy. For example, the scammer pretends to be a grandson caught by the police and needs money for bail. Crooks who got their hands on dangerous phone calls are often naught on any morality or honor.

How to stop dangerous phone calls?

As we can see, scam numbers come in various forms. Fortunately, modern technology is helping to rid consumers of more than 36 billion automated calls made in 2023, according to the YouMail Robot Index. In addition, most major wireless carriers provide automatic call-blocking features to their customers. Here are some tips that help you avoid phone scams:

• Do not answer calls from numbers you do not know and do not call back.
• Before calling unknown numbers, ensure the area code is not international.
• You can ask your service provider to block outgoing international calls on your line if you do not use this feature.
• Always be careful, even if the number seems genuine.

What to do if you fall victim to dangerous phone calls?

First, you can try to resolve the issue with your provider if you receive a bill for a call made due to this fraud; however, if the problem cannot be resolved directly, file a complaint with the FCC if you are a victim of international phone fraud, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. However, if you are bothered by robocalls, there are free or paid third-party apps that you can download to your smartphone to block fraudulent phone numbers.