WARNING: Do Not Call US Area Code "900"

Scams
1

Hi peeps, some more advice:

In the United States, area code 900 is a "fee-for-service" also known as a "pay per call" area code. Back in the 80s/90s most people associated these with phone sex lines. If you called it, it would be the same as calling a long distance number or calling without any free minutes on your cell phone plan and paying a VERY hefty amount, sometimes as high as $2.00 or more per minute, to be on the phone.

I have caught an instance on FindWhoCallsYou where an Indian scammer placed a phony report about a Microsoft scam and the phone number is in the 900 area code. This can be one of two scenarios:

  • 1. The scammer spoofed the cid, the number isn’t real and can be ignored

  • 2. This number is real and the scammer is trying to get scambaiters to call it. If you do call it, the Indian gets paid.

    • Plenty of people like myself called 900 numbers (there were a lot of services besides phone sex, like video DJ requests or Nintendo game cheat walk-thrus you paid to listen to) and got into big trouble with their parents when they got their phone bills. You could also buy products using 900 numbers and using your phone bill as a cheap way of becoming a bill-me-later credit card since you would eventually pay the bill.

    In your case it will be your VOIP provider demanding payment if you don't have the credits, if your VOIP carrier will even allow you to make calls to 900.

    Do not ever call the 900 area code.

    2

    You might be wondering: “If scammers can make people call them on 900 numbers, wouldn’t a bunch of scammers be doing this?”

    Older people know what 900 numbers are and surprisingly good at avoiding calling them because during the 80s and 90s at the peak of 900-service, the sting of being billed $15+ for a single call to a 900 number made a lot of Americans find Jesus overnight (funny enough there were also a lot of churches with 1-900 prayer hotlines in the 1980s, billing the crap out of people).

    However, most younger people have no idea what area code 900 is. Pay-per-service still exists and if a scammer actually does have a 900 premium toll-forward setup they would be happy for you to call them as much and as often as you'd like, since they get paid every call.