We originally posted a warning about a phone scam from area code 473 on our Facebook page yesterday. After receiving many responses from many of you, this looks like it is a nationwide scam and many of our readers are getting these calls.
We wanted to post more information in a blog post and report fully on it more so that you can avoid being a victim of this scam because it could cost you a lot of money. In addition, we saw an article on what to do if you are a victim of this scam.
First, what is this?
It is a call to your cell phone from area code 473. This is the code for Grenada and if you answer or call it back, there is a good chance you will be charged a hefty fee on your cell phone bill. Supposedly a fee in the hundreds or thousands.
So first things first, don’t answer or call back if you receive a call from this area code.
So what happens if you did answer or call back?
Well, you will want to check your cell phone bill and see if you do have any charges. You then need to call your cell phone company immediately, whether you see charges or not, to alert them. You may be able to work with your cell phone company. They can also place a block on that area code so that you don’t receive a call from that area code again.
So far the only cell phone company that has said anything from what we could find is Verizon who said, “customers should call customer care right away if they’ve called this number back, and they will work with customers on an individual basis to resolve possible charges.”
In addition, we initially posted this on our Facebook page as it is being heavily reported in our area. So we were not sure if this was a nationwide or local scam. It appears to have hit Utah the hardest, but according to many comments on our Facebook page, this is a nationwide scam.
You can see the reports on these sites:
Have you received a call from this number?
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