A simple search on the Internet will serve to verify how cheap it is today call by telephone. Far away are calls with a stopwatch in hand or “missed calls” to notify friends without having to spend on SMS messages or calls that you had to pay minute by minute, call setup besides. However, there are calls that are not included in the offers, such as international or special rate numbers or additional charge. Avoiding those calls is key to not being surprised by the bill.
In principle, we should not run into these types of numbers. But sometimes we find them if we want contact big companies or providers of services such as counselling, telephone support and, in general, adult activities such as contests, games, raffles, astrology, erotic calls, etc. And in recent years, some of these special rate numbers are contracted by those who want to obtain an economic income cheating on staff.
This kind of deception or fraud works like this. An SMS, an email or a WhatsApp message are the contact channels to communicate that you have won a prize or have won a generous sum of money in a raffle. To get this award you have to call a number to confirm your data. Just click on a link to make the call. The key to deception is that This number is special rate, so you will be paying an extra amount. They will keep you entertained for a few minutes to tick down the clock. The call will have an exorbitant cost, several euros per minute. You’ll find out on the next bill. And you can forget about the prize.
Special rate numbers
If you consult the technical sheet of any offer of fixed or mobile telephony, you will get an idea of what type of numbers we refer to when we talk about special pricing. Let’s take one of Movistar’s mobile rates as an example. Current providers usually offer a number of minutes or hours, or even unlimited calls. To what numbers? To national landlines and mobiles, that is, within your country. These calls also usually include calls within the European Union countries or from countries with agreements such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or the United Kingdom.
But if we look at the small print we will always come across a notice like the one we found on the Movistar page: “Calls addressed to special rate numbers (902, 901, 060, 0XY, 118AB…, among others) and extra charge (905, 80X)”. These special or additional rate numbers can be classified into various types, depending on their type and/or the associated services. On the other hand, there are the usual free numbers that start with 800 Y 900. We shouldn’t worry about those.
Special rate numbers:
- 901 and 902. The cost is divided between you and the owner. Its cost is higher than a normal call, both in call establishment and in cost per minute.
- 905. Contests and sweepstakes. High call cost and cost per minute.
- 803. erotic calls Only for adults. High cost of call and per minute.
- 806. Contests, raffles, games, astrology… High call costs and per minute.
- 807. Professional services. High call costs and per minute.
- 118. Telephone directories. Its cost depends on each company.
Avoid calls from these numbers
The special rate or additional rate numbers must clearly indicate to the user that they have an additional cost, in call establishment and/or in the minute-by-minute call. The same goes for those known as Premium SMS used by contests, games or certain television programs. When advertising, they must include small print. It is often difficult to read but you must indicate the cost of each SMS message.
But in this article we have focused on the scams associated with premium rate numbers. And since it is a scam or deception, they do not usually indicate the cost of the call. Moreover, in most cases, they disguise the number so that you do not identify it as a number that has high costs, more than one euro per minute.
So to avoid accidental calls to these types of numbers, you should follow these tips:
- don’t make calls from a link. Type the number by hand.
- Look for the official numbers of companies on their official pages.
- don’t trust unknown messages. Check its authorship on its official page.
- don’t answer unknown messages and less giving personal or bank details.
- don’t answer lost calls of unknown numbers.
- no one gives anything away for nothing. To win a raffle you must register yourself.
- If the number to call is visible, search it on the internet. Let’s see what previous “victims” say.
Another way to avoid calls to premium rate numbers is to block them directly. Telephone providers in Spain facilitate this task so that so you save yourself a dislike on your phone bill. This option can be activated and deactivated whenever you want, so on the day you have to call a special rate number, you can temporarily deactivate it.
Movistar It facilitates the blocking of this type of calls from your Movistar client area. You have to enter the mobile or fixed line in which to block these numbers and enter line management. There you will see the option “Restrict calls to 118XX numbers…”. Inside you can block calls 905 and 80X, 118XX, premium SMS, etc. When you finish you will see a confirmation message. You can also do this management from the app My Movistar.
O2, owned by Telefónica, also offers this function to avoid calls to special rate numbers. You must go to the app My O2enter the line to manage and then in Line management > Line setup > Special number blocking. As in Movistar, you can block each type of service separately.
Vodafone It has a special rate call block. You will find this option in My Vodafone. you should go to Line Settings > Line Restrictionsselect the line you want to block those calls on, and then tap Restrict calls, SMS and roaming. There you will see the option “Special rate calls”. When finished, click on Save Changes.
Orange allows you to deactivate this type of calls on your WhatsApp channel (653850085). You just have to type “Deactivate calls to special numbers” and you will receive a confirmation message. For it to work you have to request it from the number where you want to block those calls. You can also use the app my orange and go to I set my line.
To avoid calls of this type in other companies, such as MásMóvil, Yoigo, DIGI, etc. You should consult their official help pages or consult their customer service numbers. You will usually find this option in your customer profile, within the procedures associated with your line or mobile number. And remember that you can also block annoying incoming calls from your own mobile phone.