Area codes 876 and 658 are the local

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

area codes of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. The first area code, 876, was created during a split from the original

809 __NOTOC__ Year 809 (Roman numerals, DCCCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Siege of Serdica (809), Siege of Serdica: ...

area code.

Permissive dialing In North America, permissive dialing is the ability to make phone calls in an area subject to a newly introduced area code by using both the new and preexisting dialing methods. When an area is given a new area code under a split plan, the area's ...

began 1 May 1997 and ended 1 May 1998. Area code 876 serves the country’s two mobile operators – Cable & Wireless/ Liberty Global (marketed as

FLOW Jamaica FLOW is one of many trade names of the Caribbean former telecommunications Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), now known as Flow used to market cable television, Cable Internet access, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by th ...

) and

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, a ...

. Also served by area code 876 is the country's main

landline A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...

provider, FLOW, as well as other smaller landline players like

. The area code (876) is not a

toll-free A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing pref ...

number and calls from any other area code are billed at international long distance rates. Local calls within Jamaica were seven digits until 29 October 2018. After that, local calls (landline and cellular) now require 10 digits to be dialed. This accommodates the introduction of a new area code (658) as the existing area code (876) nears depletion. Calls to Jamaica from anywhere in the NANP area are 1-658/876 + seven digit

phone number A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or to a wireless electronic telephony device, such as a radio telephone or a mobile telephone, or to other devices f ...

. Jamaica expanded to 10-digit dialling, for local telephone calls on 30 October 2018. This is as a result of Jamaica's new area code assignment of 658.

Relief

On 15 September 2016, the Office of Utility Regulation in Jamaica announced that an all-services overlay, by area code 658, would be implemented in 2018 to provide relief as the 876 code is nearing exhaustion. Permissive 10-digit dialing was in effect from 31 May, becoming mandatory on 30 October 2018, and the new 658 code was activated on 30 November 2018.

Fraud

The 876 area code has been linked to a form of

telephone fraud Phone fraud, or more generally communications fraud, is the use of telecommunications products or services with the intention of illegally acquiring money from, or failing to pay, a telecommunication company or its customers. Many operators hav ...

known as the "one ring scam". The person perpetuating the scam calls the victim via a robodialer or similar means, sometimes at odd hours of the night, then hangs up when the phone is answered with the hope that they will be curious enough to call the number back. When the victim does this, an automatic $19.95 international call fee is charged to their account, as well as $9/min thereafter. Similar scams have been linked to Grenada (

area code 473 Area code 473 is the local telephone area code of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The 473 area code, which spells GRE, was created during a split from the original 809 area code which began permissive dialing on 31 October 1997 and en ...

), Antigua (

268 __NOTOC__ Year 268 ( CCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paternus and Egnatius (or, less frequently, year 1021 ...

), the Dominican Republic ( 809, 829, and 849), and the British Virgin Islands (

284 __NOTOC__ Year 284 ( CCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Numerianus (or, less frequently, year 1037 ...

). The telephone fraud in Jamaica is a primary topic of the episode "Jamaican Lottery Scam" of the television series ''

American Greed ''American Greed'' (also known as ''American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals'' and as ''American Greed: Scams, Schemes and Broken Dreams'') is an American documentary television series on CNBC. The series focuses on cases of Ponzi schemes, ...

''.

References

External links

Quick on lotto scam bill, slow on crime cure - Jamaica Gleaner

North American Numbering Plan Administrator

{{coord, 18.1691, -77.3698, display=title Communications in Jamaica 876

Relief

Fraud

See also

References

External links