Greg's Corner

Use this subtle trick to spot the most clever of scam artists

So you finally found the hot ticket item that you’ve been searching for. Everything appears to be on the level so you get ready to call the seller then you notice something peculiar. Before their phone number they’ve typed a + symbol. Probably just a typo right? Don’t be so sure.

In areas outside of the US the + symbol before a phone number usually indicates that you’ll be dialing what’s known as a country code. For example the US country code is +1 while the UK is +44. Since a great number of online scammers come from overseas they sometimes have a habit of putting the + symbol before US phone numbers even though we don’t use them here.

Another less subtle way to notice an overseas scammer is if they ask you to contact them a messaging app. For example you may see an ad where the seller asks you to contact them through WhatsApp. Whatsapp is very popular overseas since a lot of countries don’t have cell phone plans that include unlimited texting so they use these apps instead.

And as always one of the best tips in dealing with online transactions is to only deal locally and with cash.