Appears to be legit - 809 Area Codes.....

[hammersley]

Look at the AT&T Sites - appears to be legit!





I received this from a friend this evening who doesn't send out junk stuff.

She said she went to the AT&T website, and it appears to be real. You might

want to remember the information in case it happens to you.



SUBJECT: 809 area code



THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T.

DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809



This one is being distributed all over the US. This is pretty scary,

especially given the way they try to get you to call. Be sure you read this

and pass it on to all your friends and family so they don't get scammed!



MAJOR SCAM:

Don't respond to Emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call an

"809" Phone Number. This is a very important issue of Scam Busters because

it alerts you to a scam that is spreading *extremely* quickly can easily

cost you $2400 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless you are aware of

it. We'd like to thank Verizon for bringing this scam to our attention. This

scam has also been identified by the National Fraud Information Center and

is costing victims a lots of money. There are lots of different

permutations of this scam.



HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:



You will receive a message on your answering machine or your pager, which

asks you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason you're

asked to call varies. It can be to receive information about a family member

who has been ill, to tell you someone has been arrested, died, to let you

know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you are told to call

the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these

days, people unknowingly return these calls.



If you call from the US, you will apparently be charged $2425 per-minute.

Or, you'll get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep

you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately,

when you get your phone bill, you'll often be charged more than $24,100. 00.



WHY IT WORKS:



The 809 area code is located in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. The 809 area code

can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900 numbers in the US.

Since 809 is not in the US, it is not covered by US regulations of 900

numbers, which require that you be notified and warned of charges and rates

involved when you call a "pay-per-call" number.



There is also no requirement that the company provide a time period during

which you may terminate the call without being charged. Further, whereas

many US homes that have 900 number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges,

do not work in preventing calls to the 809 area code. We recommend that no

matter how you get the message, if you are asked to call a number with an

809 area code that you don't recognize just disregard the message. Be wary

of email or calls asking you to call an 809 area code number. It's important

to prevent becoming a victim of this scam, since trying to fight the charges

afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make

the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long

distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you

that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll

end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing

wrong.



Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to

help them become aware of this scam.



Sandi Van Handel

AT&T Field Service Manager

(920) 687-904

Additional information can be obtained from the following AT&T Web Site



< http://www.att.com/fraud/home.html#thre/s/

<http://www.att.com/fraud/home.html#thre/s/> >



Thanks

 

[swexlin]

This is legit. We just went through 809 blocking at my former employer. 809 used to be the code for the most of the Carribbean, including PR and the US Virgin Islands. With the advent of all the new area codes in the last couple years, now 809 is being used by scam artists.

 

[Andy Perreault]

From http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/area809.htm :



Scam Artists Are Working out of Area Code 809, 284, or 876 So Don't Call There-Truth! & Fiction!





Summary of eRumor

The email warns never to call area code 809, 284, or 876 because you could get charged $25 or more per minute for the call. It goes on to describe various ways in which scam artists in the Virgin Islands are tricking people into returning their calls, then charging outrageous rates for making the call. (Complete versions are below. )





The Truth

This is one of those eRumors that was wrong to begin with and has gotten even more confusing as it has circulated. We'll try to unravel it.



The bottom line is that you don't need to completely avoid calling area codes 809, 284, or 876, especially if you know who you are calling. You do need to be suspicious about strange messages you might get that ask you to return a call to the Caribbean.



Here are the details:



1. The original eRumor warned not to ever call area 809 and that if you did, you would be subject to outrageous charges from scam artists in the Virgin Islands. Area 809 is a legitimate area code in the Caribbean, (which at the moment is the area code for the Dominican Republic), and there has never been any danger from making a normal call to there. There have been scam artists, however, that operated out of the Caribbean by leaving messages for people who, when they returned the call, were unknowingly dialing a number that automatically billed them extremely high charges. That was the reason for the warning. Folks were charged anywhere from $10 to $100 per minute and were kept on the line as long as possible. Some of the messages asked for a voice call in return. Some asked for information to be faxed.



2. The original eRumor did quote Scambusters (www.scambusters.com), but they warn that the message picked up some wrong facts along the way and they are not the source for

all of the information.



3. Telephone companies have issued warnings to consumers in the United States about how easy it is to be dialing a Caribbean number without realizing that it's an international call and will cost more than a domestic call. Normally, an international call from the U. S. is preceded by dialing "011. " The Caribbean calls are international, but with domestic looking area codes.



So what has happened is that the warning about the scam artists was turned into an unnecessary warning to never call area 809 and now the caution about being aware of the Caribbean area codes being international calls has been wrapped up with the story about the scam artists and turned into an unnecessary warning to never call 809, 284, or 876.