MONTPELIER, Vt. -
A new effort to deter international phone scammers who have targeted Vermonters.
Residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have been targeted by phone scams based in Jamaica. Some Vermont victims reported losing up to $18,000, and the state attorney general's office says it gets about 200 calls a year of phone scams involving Jamaica.
Their office, police, Fairpoint Communications, and the AARP started a "Beware of Area Code 876 Campaign" to raise awareness, especially among seniors.
Now Western Union has temporarily closed money transfer stations in a Jamaican hotbed of phone scamming operations, saying it is conducting a review of security measures in that region.
