# How should one react to being asked if they sell illegal narcotics? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157 "2014-10-31T19:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![therealyankey27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@therealyankey27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/therealyankey27)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/21 "2014-11-08T20:18:31Z")
Looks like I’m joining the minority as well…that felt weird to say ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/22 "2014-11-08T20:40:41Z")
A one ring hang up is almost certainly a misdial. I would think you’d have to be pretty bored or paranoid to call it back. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/23 "2014-11-09T05:20:14Z")
The best “leave 'em guessing”: “Not _yet_” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/24 "2014-11-09T05:52:45Z")
Play it safe and move your contraband off site for a couple months. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/25 "2014-11-09T13:47:16Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Drugs are a problem EVERYWHERE. > Unless you know the number, don’t pick up. > If they don’t leave a message, it wasn’t important. > > And never call back an unknown number. > The old “billing you if you call a number back” scam is rearing its ugly head again. People are being charged up to $99 for calling back numbers which call them. That’s why I don’t call unknown numbers back unless I have checked them on Google first. > > Next time (if there is one) simply state that the person has the wrong number and hang up. I thought only 900 numbers can charge you for calling them. No one would call such a number back. How do the phone companies justify such billing? I guess it is hopeless to expect congress to ban it. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/26 "2014-11-09T13:51:36Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > The old “billing you if you call a number back” scam is rearing its ugly head again. People are being charged up to $99 for calling back numbers which call them. How can this work? Do you have a link that explains this? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/27 "2014-11-09T13:54:07Z")
Found [this article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550952/Missed-call-unknown-number-Phishing-scam-sees-cell-phone-users-charged-call-numbers-dont-recognise.html). Looks like it is redirecting to 900 numbers, basically. Part of the charge is an international calling fee, which I assume doesn’t go to the scammer, but the rest of any charge there is comes from the per-minute fee on the 900 number the call is redirected to. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/28 "2014-11-10T21:01:09Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Found [this article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550952/Missed-call-unknown-number-Phishing-scam-sees-cell-phone-users-charged-call-numbers-dont-recognise.html). Looks like it is redirecting to 900 numbers, basically. Part of the charge is an international calling fee, which I assume doesn’t go to the scammer, but the rest of any charge there is comes from the per-minute fee on the 900 number the call is redirected to. How does a scammer “redirect” a call to a 900 number? The article seems to indicate that scammers are duping people into calling premium rate numbers, not getting them to call ordinary numbers and somehow “transferring” the call to a premium rate number. Can I start redirecting calls from my mother in law to a 900 number so I don’t have to hear her whine and hopefully teach her a lesson by running up her bill? If not, how can scammers do it when I can’t? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/29 "2014-11-10T21:39:51Z")
“Hardly, Madam. Your son sells them to me.” ---
**Author:** ![susanlinda823](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@susanlinda823](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susanlinda823)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/30 "2014-11-10T21:41:11Z")
Maybe she was trying to get a hookup too. Parents need dealers too 😉 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/31 "2014-11-11T03:14:55Z")
You should do exactly what you did. Reach out to the nearest anonymous message board and ask for help. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/32 "2014-11-11T09:26:48Z")
Does any phone service not provide 900 number blocking by default anymore? Sometimes I’ll call back if it’s local, but less so now that telemarketers have been using local numbers. (Before, they were never local, whether they were spoofed or not.) And, yes, it’s for the reason of saving them a return call. In fact, I never call them back unless they’ve called multiple times. But not if it’s only one or two rings. Heck, I don’t know anyone who would hang up after the third ring. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/33 "2014-11-11T09:33:02Z")
I believe the expected response is “Are you a cop? 'Cos you have to tell me if you’re a cop.” ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/34 "2014-11-11T13:56:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Does any phone service not provide 900 number blocking by default anymore? > > Sometimes I’ll call back if it’s local, but less so now that telemarketers have been using local numbers. (Before, they were never local, whether they were spoofed or not.) > > And, yes, it’s for the reason of saving them a return call. In fact, I never call them back unless they’ve called multiple times. > > But not if it’s only one or two rings. Heck, I don’t know anyone who would hang up after the third ring. It’s not a 900 number call, it’s just similar to how 900 numbers work in the US . The whole deal with the scam is the number looks like it has a US area code, but it’s actually an overseas call to the [Caribbean islands](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/tompor/2014/02/09/susan-tompor-did-your-cell-phone-ring-just-once-do-not-call-back/5280047/), going to a phone system that works differently from ours. Blocking 900 numbers won’t help in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/35 "2014-11-11T18:46:48Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > It’s not a 900 number call, it’s just similar to how 900 numbers work in the US . The whole deal with the scam is the number looks like it has a US area code, but it’s actually an overseas call to the [Caribbean islands](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/tompor/2014/02/09/susan-tompor-did-your-cell-phone-ring-just-once-do-not-call-back/5280047/), going to a phone system that works differently from ours. Blocking 900 numbers won’t help in this case. I still don’t get it. The page talks about calling people from a number that looks like it’s an area code in the Detroit region, whereas it is, in fact, the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. As a result, callers who call back are charged an international call from the U.S. to Antigua (something which, by the way, is a result of the North American Numbering Plan whereby several countries share the same system of area codes - couldn’t happen in Europe because there an international call requires you to dial a country code). I get it so far. But still, the caller’s number is not a premium number akin to the 900 prefix; it’s still a perfectly ordinary landline number, just on Antigua. As a result, you wouldn’t be charged a premium fee, you’d just be charged whatever you phone company charges for a call to another country, which presumably is far, far less than the $19.95 for the first minute plus $9 for any subsequent minute that the article talks about. And what’s more, unlike in the case of premium calls under the 900 prefix, the subscriber who operates the number you’ve called doesn’t get a share of the fee that the caller pays, so I don’t see how this scam would work. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/36 "2014-11-11T19:25:49Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I still don’t get it. The page talks about calling people from a number that looks like it’s an area code in the Detroit region, whereas it is, in fact, the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. As a result, callers who call back are charged an international call from the U.S. to Antigua (something which, by the way, is a result of the North American Numbering Plan whereby several countries share the same system of area codes - couldn’t happen in Europe because there an international call requires you to dial a country code). > > I get it so far. But still, the caller’s number is not a premium number akin to the 900 prefix; it’s still a perfectly ordinary landline number, just on Antigua. As a result, you wouldn’t be charged a premium fee, you’d just be charged whatever you phone company charges for a call to another country, which presumably is far, far less than the $19.95 for the first minute plus $9 for any subsequent minute that the article talks about. And what’s more, unlike in the case of premium calls under the 900 prefix, the subscriber who operates the number you’ve called doesn’t get a share of the fee that the caller pays, so I don’t see how this scam would work. But the operator [does get a share of the fee.](http://www.ceg.ai/news5.htm) > [@](#): > > When you dial a foreign number, your local phone company connects you to your long-distance company, which connects you to the phone company in the country you are calling. That company connects you to the number you dialled. Part of what you pay for the call goes to the foreign phone company - and the scammer profits by arranging to share the revenue with the company. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/37 "2014-11-11T19:26:06Z")
Get with it. How do you kiddies survive partying? The answer is always NO followed by “Excuse me officer while I put my clothes back on” ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/38 "2014-11-11T19:38:02Z")
This was assuming someone flushed the stash down the can while you looked for your pants and the cops gave up and just arrested you for looking at them funny. Get off my lawn kids, you can’t even party right. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/39 "2014-11-12T08:38:01Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Depends. Have you stopped selling drugs to her son? This question is totally unfair and ludicrous. There is no proof that \*\*therealyankey27 \*\*has sold drugs to her son. \*\*therealyankey27 \*\*probably gave drugs to her son, to lure him into illicit sexual activity. So, **therealyankey27** , have you stopped giving drugs to her son in order to lure him into illicit sexual activity? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157/40 "2014-11-12T18:21:34Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > But the operator [does get a share of the fee.](http://www.ceg.ai/news5.htm) But that would require the foreign phone company to be an accomplice in the scam, no? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-react-to-being-asked-if-they-sell-illegal-narcotics/703157.md?page=3)