*72 code scam

It appears an old scam has returned, and hundreds fall for it.

Numerous residents have complained to their local San Bernardino County Sheriff's stations about scammers calling and informing them a loved one was hurt while in jail.

The scammers then instructed the victims to call a phone number beginning with *72 to get more information on their family member’s condition.

What many victims don’t realize is that *72 is the telephone quick-code for call forwarding.

For example, suppose the victim's phone number is 909-8765, and the scammer has a cell phone with the number 714-6190. the scammer will instruct the victim to dial *72-714-6190, by doing this it will activates the call-forwarding feature.

This will allow an scammer to place a collect call to the forwarded number and those calls will then be billed to the victim.

The best way to avoid falling for this scams is by disabling the forward calling future or by using common sense!

Authorities advise anyone who receives calls claiming to be from a jail or prison reporting a loved one is incarcerated to first confirm if that family member has actually been jailed. If a victim has already called the *72 number, officials advise them to immediately call their telephone company to report the fraud and to have the call forwarding terminated.