1-900 NUMBERS

Any time you call a 1-900 number, be aware that:

- you are paying for the call — often at a minimum charge of about $35;

- area codes 1-900, 1-976 and 1-809 have a similar minimum charge;

- the promoter gets a portion of the money from each incoming call;

- pay-per-charge numbers are used by legitimate businesses to charge their customers for information services; however, such businesses tell you about the fee upfront;

- the names and telephone numbers of people who’ve lost money are often sold by one scam artist to another;

If you are concerned, you can order a call-blocking service from your telephone company that restricts your phone from making certain types of calls.

1-900 numbers are not toll-free numbers.  Toll-free numbers allow consumers to contact government and business offices without paying a long-distance charge and they begin with area codes 1-800, 1-888 and 1-877.

Source:  Government of Ontario