Why You Should Avoid Callers From the 849 Area Code

Have you received a call from the 849 area code and you’re not sure who it is? Today we’ll try to shed some light on this specific type of caller, which is someone you should avoid.

849 is the Dominican Republic.  

Unless you have some connection to the Dominican Republic, you should avoid talking to anyone who calls from numbers beginning with 849. In some cases they are telemarketers, but most often they are con artists.

There are a couple of different scams that may involve calls from the 849 area code. 849 is technically a country code, although it looks like a US-formatted area code.

Other area codes which have also been associated with this type of scam include 809, 284, 649, and 876.

Confidence Scam

We were alerted by a reader to the 849 area code in early 2013. The sales pitch of this particular number discussed seniors, medicare, and diabetes. These callers are apparently attempting to learn your social security number, and thus your identity. They may say that you’re eligible to receive free diabetes supplies through medicare, and will ask for your social security number to file a claim for your “free” equipment. It’s a complete scam with the sole purpose of stealing your identity.

Do not talk to these people, and if you answer, do not give them any personal information.

Further Considerations

• Pressing 2 to be removed from their list will actually send you to a live operator who may not be very cooperative.
• Because these are foreign callers, they will not respect the U.S. Do Not Call Registry.
• There are many 849 currently hounding U.S. consumers
• You are better off ignoring these calls.
• Avoid calling the number back because it is an international call and could be a one-ring scam (see below).

One-Ring Scam

In 2014, a scam which included the 849 area code was announced by the BBB and FTC. The one-ring scam involves a phone call from the 849 area code (and others) which rings once and then hangs up. Those consumers who call back out of curiosity are hit with a charge such as $19.95 along with hefty per-minute fees. See our full write-up about the one ring scam.

Your Turn
If you’ve been called by an 849 phone number, we’d like to hear from you. Let us know what they said and when they called.

Updated July 25, 2015
Originally published January 2013