UCAN and its sister organization Privacy Rights learned of a phone number scam that is particularly vicious because in one case the phone number USED TO BE the fraud dept. number for Experian. In the other case, a La Jolla, CA victim who was desperately trying to call the 800# listed by IDT to opt-out of information sharing, ended up with the same exact message and ended up being referred to the exact same number where "International Rates" would apply.

Until very recently disconnected, the number was 800-301-7195.

An individual called our hotline and reported this to me today. She had been given that number so she could place a fraud alert. She called it (and I've done the same to verify her story) and was referred to another number to call. She got a message that says: "The number you have dialed has a new number assistance service. For more information ... dial 1-876-536-5711. ... International rates apply.... Brought to you by Marina Telecom." Nothing is accomplished by dialing the 876 Jamaican number. When given the choice to check one of the toll-free numbers or hold, the caller gets nothing but connected for a giant waste of time -- to be followed by a third-party International call charge on the next phone bill.

Either the 800 numbers were discontinued and remained as references on other websites or the numbers were hacked into by a foreign company. UCAN could find no reference to a search for Marina Telecom.

The key words in that message are "International rates apply." But it's easy to not hear that warning.

When one individual dialed the 876 number, she later found that a fee of $7.14 was applied to her phone bill. Turns out that the area code 876 is a Jamaica area code. A Google search on area code 876 turns up many warnings about this area code being associated with scams. It's easy to hear the area code 876 and think that it's one of the toll-free area codes.

It's instructive to do a google search on the full number (800) 301-7195. It shows that dozens of legitimate web sites, including the ITRC provide that number as the fraud department of Experian. If people call that number and listen to the recorded message, they are likely to then call the 876 number and be charged the international rate of $7+.

Further, when we made multiple calls to the (800) 301-7195 number, sometimes we were directed to dial 10-15-15-800 instead of the (876) 536-5711 number.