4 ms·

Is there an american equivalent to this VAT number in the article?

techsupporter 8y ago
A VAT number is (more or less) analogous to a sales tax number in the States (that have a sales tax). If you mean is there an equivalent to a calling-party-pays, premium-rate number, it is +1-900 or +1-area code-976 numbers. I am all but certain that zero businesses or spammers will call it even if you ask them and they’re virtually useless these days because VoIP and mobile carriers don’t generally support making calls to them. The only lines that still work for calling them are regular, regulated, post-paid billing POTS lines. Added: I also just looked and apparently both AT&T and Verizon no longer bill customers for premium-rate charges (pass-through billing) so there are even fewer lines that still support calling those numbers.
SubiculumCode 8y ago
Well 900 numbers I'd guess, used for psychic hotlines and other entertainments. I suppose if I had a 900 number and used that in place of my real number on all the signups (e.g. safeway club), who I know sales their info whatever they claim, that would be funny. I wonder how many of these spam services blacklist 900 numbers?
Jerry2 8y ago
The 1-900 number as other poster mentioned is an obvious "premium rate number" [0] but there are also others which are typically used for scams which are assigned to Caribbean countries. [1] [2] I have no idea how to acquire one of those and how to link it to your SIM card or land-line. >Consumers usually receive a message telling them to call a phone number with an 809, 284, 649, or 876 area code in order to collect a prize, find out information about a sick relative, etc. The caller assumes the number is a typical three-digit U.S. area code; however, the caller is actually connected to a phone number outside the United States, often in Canada or the Caribbean, and charged international call rates. >The 876 area code has been linked to a form of telephone fraud known as the "one ring scam". The person perpetuating the scam calls the victim via a robodialer or similar means, sometimes at odd hours of the night, then hangs up when the phone is answered with the hope that they will be curious enough to call the number back. When the victim does this, an automatic $19.95 international call fee is charged to their account, as well as $9/min thereafter. Similar scams have been linked to Grenada (area code 473), Antigua (268), the Dominican Republic (809, 829, and 849), and the British Virgin Islands (284). [2] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number#United_States_and_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number#... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/809_scam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/809_scam [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_876 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_876
- morganvachon 8y ago
  I get those 473 area code calls all the time. I learned years ago that due to caller ID spoofing I should never, ever call back a strange number because either I’ll get some confused person who didn’t actually call me, or I run the risk of dialing a premium line and getting charged. If it’s an important call, they will leave me a voicemail or call my wife.
- toast0 8y ago
  I'm sure there are voip carriers in those countries that will sell you a DID (inbound number), and then you can forward calls wherever. However, I would expect most businesses to have their phone systems set up not to connect to numbers outside the US. It's not terribly difficult to get your phone company to disable international calls, and it's a good idea, unless you're actually calling internationally on purpose.
  - SubiculumCode 8y ago
    Yes. But think about how often web forms were not sanitized in the past.

A VAT number is (more or less) analogous to a sales tax number in the States (that have a sales tax). If you mean is there an equivalent to a calling-party-pays, premium-rate number, it is +1-900 or +1-area code-976 numbers. I am all but certain that zero businesses or spammers will call it even if you ask them and they’re virtually useless these days because VoIP and mobile carriers don’t generally support making calls to them. The only lines that still work for calling them are regular, regulated, post-paid billing POTS lines. Added: I also just looked and apparently both AT&T and Verizon no longer bill customers for premium-rate charges (pass-through billing) so there are even fewer lines that still support calling those numbers.

SubiculumCode 8y ago

Well 900 numbers I'd guess, used for psychic hotlines and other entertainments. I suppose if I had a 900 number and used that in place of my real number on all the signups (e.g. safeway club), who I know sales their info whatever they claim, that would be funny. I wonder how many of these spam services blacklist 900 numbers?

Jerry2 8y ago

The 1-900 number as other poster mentioned is an obvious "premium rate number" [0] but there are also others which are typically used for scams which are assigned to Caribbean countries. [1] [2] I have no idea how to acquire one of those and how to link it to your SIM card or land-line. >Consumers usually receive a message telling them to call a phone number with an 809, 284, 649, or 876 area code in order to collect a prize, find out information about a sick relative, etc. The caller assumes the number is a typical three-digit U.S. area code; however, the caller is actually connected to a phone number outside the United States, often in Canada or the Caribbean, and charged international call rates. >The 876 area code has been linked to a form of telephone fraud known as the "one ring scam". The person perpetuating the scam calls the victim via a robodialer or similar means, sometimes at odd hours of the night, then hangs up when the phone is answered with the hope that they will be curious enough to call the number back. When the victim does this, an automatic $19.95 international call fee is charged to their account, as well as $9/min thereafter. Similar scams have been linked to Grenada (area code 473), Antigua (268), the Dominican Republic (809, 829, and 849), and the British Virgin Islands (284). [2] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number#United_States_and_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number#... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/809_scam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/809_scam [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_876 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_876

morganvachon 8y ago
I get those 473 area code calls all the time. I learned years ago that due to caller ID spoofing I should never, ever call back a strange number because either I’ll get some confused person who didn’t actually call me, or I run the risk of dialing a premium line and getting charged. If it’s an important call, they will leave me a voicemail or call my wife.
toast0 8y ago
I'm sure there are voip carriers in those countries that will sell you a DID (inbound number), and then you can forward calls wherever. However, I would expect most businesses to have their phone systems set up not to connect to numbers outside the US. It's not terribly difficult to get your phone company to disable international calls, and it's a good idea, unless you're actually calling internationally on purpose.
- SubiculumCode 8y ago
  Yes. But think about how often web forms were not sanitized in the past.