Sweepstakes scams.</a> It follows the same pattern as that used in the lottery and <strong>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve Won A Prize&rdquo;</strong> types of scams, where you need to pay a small fee in advance then they will wire your winnings to your account. Don&rsquo;t fall for it.</p>\r\n<p>It is estimated that <a title=\"https://www.fairpoint.com/files/live/sites/FRP/files/bootstrap/img/Residential/876_Scam_Insert_tcm12-20551.pdf\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"https://www.fairpoint.com/files/live/sites/FRP/files/bootstrap/img/Residential/876_Scam_Insert_tcm12-20551.pdf/">$300 million is lost annually</a> through this scam! The target age group is predominantly senior citizens. But anyone else ignorant of these schemes can fall victim.</p>\r\n<h2>So, how does the Area Code 876 scam work?</h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>You get a call from a number with the <strong>phone prefix 876.</strong></li>\r\n<li>The caller claims that <strong>you have won a prize and to claim it</strong>, you need to pay for:\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Processing fees,</li>\r\n<li>Taxes,</li>\r\n<li>Insurance,</li>\r\n<li>Customs fees, when they claim you have won a car.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</li>\r\n<li>The caller will be persistent and <strong>can turn aggressive</strong> to the point of threatening you with physical harm. Victims have reported that they were told someone would be sent to their home as the scammer knew their address. It is just a threat because area code 876 is of Jamaica!</li>\r\n<li>Suggestions to make payment through wire transfer like Western Union, and recently, through prepaid cards bought locally. The cash amounts demanded range from a few hundred dollars to $4,000.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h2>Area Code 876 Scam Scenarios</h2>\r\n<p>The caller claiming to be from <a title=\"https://www.pch.com/\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"https://www.pch.com//">Publisher Clearing House</a> will claim that you have won a prize usually in millions. The tough thing about this is that Publisher Clearing House is a legitimate sweepstakes company so scammers use their name. Should you say that you did not enter their sweepstakes, they will reply swiftly that a friend of yours may have registered your name, or that took part in a survey and your name was entered automatically.</p>\r\n<p>Another reported scenario involves the scammer claiming that they are calling from Apple Warranty Care. In this case, your warranty will expire soon if you don&rsquo;t renew it immediately. The catch is that you need to pay to renew it.</p>\r\n<p>The other one is getting a call from &ldquo;Jamaican Mega Millions&rdquo; staff who claims that you have won and could also win a car if you pay $4,000 immediately for processing.</p>\r\n<h2>How to Protect Yourself from Area Code 876 Scams</h2>\r\n<p>Here are some helpful tips to help you protect yourself from area code 876 scams.</p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li><strong>Screen unknown calls</strong>. Use <a title=\"https://www.truecaller.com/\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"https://www.truecaller.com//">Truecaller phone app or a similar service to help you identify the already reported scammer phone numbers. DO NOT accept calls from area code 876. You could run a reverse call look-up at <a title=\"http://www.callersmart.com\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"http://www.callersmart.com/">www.callersmart.com to see if there is any suspicious activity related to the phone number.<br /><br /></li>\r\n<li><strong>Report any number with the 876-area code to the FTC</strong> at <a title=\"http://www.ftc.gov\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"http://www.ftc.gov/">www.ftc.gov. Here is a <a title=\"https://www.scamadviser.com/scam-reports/tips-support/4326/how-to-report-a-scam-to-the-federal-trade-commission-ftc\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"scam-reports/tips-support/4326/how-to-report-a-scam-to-the-federal-trade-commission-ftc/">short manual</a> to guide you through.<br /><br /></li>\r\n<li><strong>DO NOT give any personal information over a phone call</strong>. Also, hang up as soon as you are told of winning lotteries you don&rsquo;t play or those which are international. In the US it is illegal according to federal law to play international lotteries.<br /><br /></li>\r\n<li><strong>Never send money through any channel under any circumstance</strong>. Once you do, it cannot be recovered.<br /><br /></li>\r\n<li><strong>Additionally, you can add your phone number to the national do not call list at</strong> <a title=\"http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall\" href=https://www.scamadviser.com/"http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall/">www.ftc.gov/donotcall. This way most telemarketers and phone scammers are somewhat shielded from reaching you.<br /><br /></li>\r\n<li><strong>Inform/educate your elderly relatives about this scam</strong> because they are the most targeted group.</li>\r\n</ol>"}}],"sidebarBlocks":[{"_template":"Small\\Content\\Cta","_identifier":"block-157084","data":{"title":"Report a Scam!","consumer":null,"description":"Have you fallen for a hoax, bought a fake product? Report the site and warn others!","image":"https://files.scamadviser.com/thumbs/tell-your-story-8910e.png_200x200.png","button":"Report a Scam!","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/leave-review"}},{"_template":"Small\\Content\\Taxonomy","_identifier":"block-157123","data":{"title":"Scam Categories","taxonomies":[{"id":7,"name":"Scam Alerts (779)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/scam-alerts"},{"id":6,"name":"Scam Trends (240)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/scam-trends"},{"id":8,"name":"Global Scam Country Guide (44)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/global-scam-country-guide"},{"id":3,"name":"News about Scamadviser (39)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/news-about-scamadviser"},{"id":5,"name":"Reliable Sites (27)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/reliable-sites"},{"id":2,"name":"Research & Reports (26)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/research-reports"},{"id":1,"name":"Tips & Support (24)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/tips-support"},{"id":4,"name":"Advice for Companies (2)","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/advice-for-companies"}]}},{"_template":"Default\\Content\\Heading","_identifier":"block-59407","data":{"text":"Help & Info","size":"large"}},{"_template":"Default\\Content\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157795","data":{"articles":[{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157796","data":{"title":"Tips & Support","link":"","icon":"fa-lightbulb-o","renderAsInertiaLink":false}},{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157824","data":{"title":"Scam Alerts","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/scam-alerts","icon":"fa-exclamation-triangle","renderAsInertiaLink":true}},{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157839","data":{"title":"Learn about Scams","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/scam-trends","icon":"fa-tags","renderAsInertiaLink":true}},{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157854","data":{"title":"Reliable Sites","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/reliable-sites","icon":"fa-check-circle","renderAsInertiaLink":true}},{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157869","data":{"title":"Advice for Companies","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/advice-for-companies","icon":"fa-comment","renderAsInertiaLink":true}},{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-157884","data":{"title":"Research & Reports","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/research-reports","icon":"fa-search","renderAsInertiaLink":true}},{"_template":"Home\\Articles","_identifier":"block-161131","data":{"title":"Global Scam Country Guide","link":"https://www.scamadviser.com/global-scam-country-guide","icon":"fa-globe","renderAsInertiaLink":false}}],"buttonText":"See all","buttonLink":"https://www.scamadviser.com/help-info"}},{"_template":"Default\\Content\\Heading","_identifier":"block-59517","data":{"text":"Popular Stories","size":"large"}},{"_template":"Default\\Content\\Blogs","_identifier":"block-59530","data":{"items":[{"id":13,"title":"How to Recognize a Scam Website","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/how-to-recognize-a-scam-website","excerpt":"As the influence of the internet rises, so does the prevalence of online scams. There are fraudsters making all kinds of claims to trap victims online - from fake investment opportunities to online stores - and the internet allows them to operate from any part of the world with anonymity. The ability to spot online scams is an important skill to have as the virtual world is increasingly becoming a part of every facet of our lives. The below tips will help you identify the signs which can indicate that a website could be a scam.\r\nCommon Sense: Too Good To Be True\r\nWhen looking for goods online, a great deal can be very enticing. A Gucci bag or a new iPhone for half the price? Who wouldn’t want to grab such a deal? Scammers know this too and try to take advantage of the fact.\r\nIf an online deal looks too good to be true, think twice and double-check things. The easiest way to do this is to simply check out the same product at competing websites (that you trust). If the difference in prices is huge, it might be better to double-check the rest of the website.\r\nCheck Out the Social Media Links\r\nSocial media is a core part of ecommerce businesses these days and consumers often expect online shops to have a social media presence. Scammers know this and often insert logos of social media sites on their websites. Scratching beneath the surface often reveals this fu","buttonText":"Read more","renderAsInertiaLink":true},{"id":4,"title":"How Do I Get Money Back From a Scammer?","url":"https://www.scamadviser.com/articles/how-do-i-get-money-back-from-a-scammer","excerpt":"So the worst has come to pass - you realise you parted with your money too fast, and the site you used was a scam - what now? Well first of all, don’t despair!!\r\nIf you think you have been scammed, the first port of call when having an issue is to simply ask for a refund. This is the first and easiest step to determine whether you are dealing with a genuine company or scammers. Sadly, getting your money back from a scammer is not as simple as just asking. \r\nIf you are indeed dealing with scammers, the procedure (and chance) of getting your money back varies depending on the payment method you used.\r\n\r\nPayPal\r\nDebit card/Credit card\r\nBank transfer\r\nWire transfer\r\nGoogle Pay\r\nBitcoin\r\n\r\nPayPal\r\nIf you used PayPal, you have a strong chance of getting your money back if you were scammed. On their website, you can file a dispute within 180 calendar days of your purchase.\r\nConditions to file a dispute:\r\n\r\nThe simplest situation is that you ordered from an online store and it has not arrived. In this case this is what PayPal states: \"If your order never shows up and the seller can't provide proof of shipment or delivery, you'll get a full refund. It's that simple.\"\r\nThe scammer has sent you a completely different item. For example, you ordered a PlayStation 4, but instead received only a Playstation controller. \r\nThe condition of the item was misrepresented on the product page. This could be the ","buttonText":"Read more","renderAsInertiaLink":true}]}}],"meta":{"title":"Area Code 876 Scams: How to Protect Yourself | ScamAdviser","description":"Beware of calls from area code 876 because they are known to be Lottery scammers. Here is how you can protect yourself from 876 Area Code 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