Police issue caution on telephone scam

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell police are warning the public of a phone scam targeting Flathead County that could cost unsuspecting residents thousands of dollars.

Detective Scott Warnell said residents who have responded, unaware that it was a fraud, have had as much as $24,000 charged against their phone bills.

He said the scam works this way:

Someone will call and, if the phone is answered, will hang up.

If the answering machine kicks on, the caller will leave a message saying, "Sorry I missed you. Please get back to us quickly. I have important information for you" about family, lottery winnings or some other topic.

The person will want the resident to return the calls at a phone number with an area code of 809, 284 or 876.

Do not call this number, Warnell cautioned.

Those who call will have about $2,000 a minute charged to their phone bills, he said.

It then becomes very difficult to get the charges taken off your records because the phone calls were made voluntarily.

Scams regularly pass through the area in a number of forms.

A recent e-mail scam that Kalispell detective Sgt. Brian Fulford looked into capitalized on the publicity surrounding Anna Nicole Smith's death, promising riches from a secret bank account. E-mail recipients were asked to provide personal information, including their bank account numbers.

Police reminded people to use caution any time they receive unexpected information either by phone, mail or e-mail.

If residents have uneasy feelings about it, or if something seems too good to be true, they should not do what they are being asked to do. It probably is a scam, Warnell said.