88213213340

I've been called todau at 14.00 and they didn't say anuthing, but I dind't have any credit on my phone. So they didn't make any money. :)

the person just hang up when I answered

Got 3 missed calls from this number. Now I've found out what number it is!!
It's a number if people are using Skype or a prepaid card to call people like friends and family in foreign countries. So there shouldn't be no worries.
It was actually my wife calling from Japan -- she bought a prepaid card, dialing a local number, then pin code from the card and it reconnect via this number.

I too got a call from this number five minutes ago in Denmark, but I did not answer. Thank you all for the warning!

Was called by this number a few minutes ... they hung up...

My Advice: Don't answer.. probably some mechanical thing checking valid phonenumbers..

I was called by this nr, because I was expectying a call from USA same time,
I called back, and got an answering machine. What/who is this???? How did they get my nr???

Just called me here in denmark.
Nice with this page, nobody really knows what´s going on.
They just hanged up, when I answered the phone!
And I´m not calling back..

Blev ringet op Lørdag den 16 august lige omkring kl. 9 og jeg tog den, men det var som om de4t var en fax maskine eller et eller andet læste så det her og ringede til mit teleselskab 3 mobil og hun vidste ingenting om det hun sagde bare skummelt.

Its very interesting, and I wonder if it is just one person or criminal organisation or if more "scammers" are able to use this number and use the same trick.

I wonder how much money they make with this, seeing how many people get called. I'm guessing a good 30 to 40% calls back, just out of curiosity.

A primer on the 00 88213 business

“88213” is “virtual” country code that functions much like “44” UK or “33” for France.  What makes such virtual country codes attractive for “creative entrepreneurs” is that many telephone operators in many countries charge their subscribers a high fee per minute to route calls to those virtual country codes.  In Ireland for instance,  from 9th July 2007 all calls from Vodafone mobiles to +88213 numbers are charged at the correct rate of €6.91 per minute (http://www.vodafone.ie/planscosts/prepay/other/).

Of course, the telephone operator does not keep all that money.  According to the international carrier agreement it has with the foreign operator it routes the call to, it must send that operator a portion of the take.  That starts a payment chain from the initial caller, through various telephone operators to some terminating point that can be anywhere in the world.

To make money, all you have to do is get one of those numbers (e.g. 00 88213 213340) assigned to you and get someone along the payment chain to recognize that it is the fruit of your hard work that created those calls, justifying the payments you will receive.  To make people call you, several schemes have been used in the past.  For instance,  the now mostly obsolete internet dialer that disconnects the unsuspecting subscribers’ local dial-up call to his ISP and reconnects via 00 88213, the e-mail that confirms your product order with a 00 88213 number you should  call in case you have a question (of course you do, you never ordered anything!).

The latest scheme that we are now witnessing is even simpler.  Use a computerized interface to the telephone network.  Call only mobile numbers to make sure the “fake” caller id you provide e.g. (+ 88213 213340) is displayed, disconnect immediately as the call is established to avoid any charges.  Then you wait for call backs, routing your money making calls to a computerized telephone queuing systems.  Voila!

Of course you need one of those callback numbers and some expertise.  But to make your life easier, some “specialized” companies are there to help.  On the internet, you can find at least two such outfits (but there are probably more).  

Premium TLC Inc. (http://www.premiumtlc.com/) will pay you at least 0.36 euro per minute.  Their number is 00 88213 213064, close enough to 00 88213 213340.  You are unlikely to discuss your needs with them in person because they are located in Belize, with a phone number in Los Angeles, a fax number in New York and they are owned mostly by Nova Era Holdings S.A. registered in the Seychelles.

Another company is Net-Promotion, Inc (www.promotion-inc.com) of Lynden, Wa, USA and other places in Italy and France as indicated by Louis Vuitton’s lawsuit in 2000. They advertise their Emsat Satellite codes 00 88213 88xxxx  and 00 88213 33 xxxx used in the past with dialers, but their updated list now includes 00 88213 138001, 00 88213 217100, 00 88213 330001, 00 88213 550001, 00 88213 550005, 00 88213 550151,  00 88213 551001. Lost of numbers to choose from when 00 88213 213340 will become too well known!

Those companies state that they can let you use 00 88213 numbers because they are “authorized dealers” of Emsat system.  Emsat is a registered trademark of Telespazio S.p.A. of Rome, Italy.  Telespazio actually asked and obtained from the Internationl Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 1998  the “88213” virtual country code to serve the European Mobile Satellite network (EMSAT), with professional mobile satellite applications.  

On the ITU official website, you can look up an interesting document of Telespazio (http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/number/t/tpz/86918.html) written in December 2004.  Here are a few excerpts:

"Telespazio S.p.A. wishes to inform all concerned parties that numbers under the code +882 13 are to be used only for the identification of Emsat satellite network subscribers belonging to the Emsat System Network, for the provision of satellite communication services. Such numbers are not to be used for any other application differing from the services offered within the Emsat Network utilization. In particular, the use of Emsat numbering for services associated with ‘web diallers’ is not permitted.

Note: Virtual “Area codes” (AC) are allocated either on a per country basis or on a per market sector basis.
 International dialling format:    +882 13 + Area Code + XXXX

The present Emsat Numbering Plan represents the requested/reserved area codes. It is understood that Telespazio S.p.A. reserves full rights as regards their allocation, in relation to both the current contractual relationship with the relevant Service Provider and the appropriate use of the Services."

That last statement is clear.  In the end, Telespazio S.p.A. is in charge of the full 00 88213 numbering plan, including which numbers “authorized dealers” are permitted to use and pay Telespazio for their use. And that includes 00 88213 213340!

I have been called by this number several times, in August 2008.
i live in Norway.
I do not answer calls i do not know who it comes from.

Robin

called early in the morning

As i was walking in Helsingør, Denmark, my phone rang with this number in the display, and i answered the phone and the line was cut off.
I am not calling back before, checking the number on the internet.

In Denmark the number has been blocked due to fraud.

!!DO NOT CALL THAT NUMBER; YOUR PHONE WILL BE CHARGED BIG TIME!!

Calling back this number will cost you EUR 10 pr min, which is the scam...

Had this missed call in Norway. They hung up right away. 12:07 CET today. Nobody knows?

missed call today, called back. hung right up.
i called my phonecompany, but they didn't knew anything.
norway.

Missed called norway 12.24

got called 12.23 in norway..

Missed call 12:43 - Norway

I'm glad I googled the number before calling back..