CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In 35 years, Blume Supply has never had a theft like this -- thousands of minutes in international calls made from its main business line, and owner Steve Blume knew nothing about it.

“We do not call out of the country,” he said.

Blume said he found out he was the victim of scammers when he saw this month’s phone bill. It shows nearly 200 calls to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic at a cost of more than $2,500.

Someone apparently called Blume Supply's 800 number after hours, then hacked their way into an outgoing line and sold that access to international callers.

The Better Business Bureau's spokesman Tom Bartholomy said the process is called “phacking,” for phone hacking.

“(The scammers) literally promote they have those minutes available. You buy them from them, and they give you an access code -- the phone number to call, access code, and boom -- you're through,” Bartholomy said.

He said there's little businesses can do to detect they're being phacked until they see their phone bills, leaving businesses across Charlotte vulnerable.

Blume Supply said it's being told by its phone carrier that it still has to pay for all these calls, even though scammers made them.

For now, the only solution Steve Blume has found is to disconnect the 800 number the company's had for decades for customers.

“If they don't know who we are, they're going to think we went out of business,” he said.”That is damaging, very damaging.”

Home lines and cell phones aren't vulnerable to this particular kind of hacking, but scammers can get access to those lines by calling, pretending to be from the phone company and asking you to punch in an access code. So be wary if you ever get that kind of call.

Police said they're investigating this case, but because often times the scammers are out of state it's tough to prosecute.