SCAM WARNING - 809 Area Codes

[Keith Wheeler]

MAJOR SCAM:

Don't respond to e-mails, 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 $24,100 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 lot of money.  There are lots of
different permutations of this scam,  but 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 U.S., you will apparently be
charged  $2,425-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 $24,000!

WHY IT WORKS:
The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin
(The Bahamas)  The 809 area code can be used as a
"pay-per-call" number, similar to 900 numbers in
the U.S.  Since 809 is not in the U.S., it is  not
covered by U.S. 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 U.S. phones have 900
number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges, 900
number blocking will not prevent 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 and/or investigate further and just
disregard the message.

Be wary of e-mail 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 Services Manager
mailto:vanhandel@att.com
920 687-9045
877 479-7902
920 687-9182

http://www.snopes.com/info/current.htm
Things are about to get worse, because that
infamous off-shore area code (809) is in the
process of breaking up into smaller chunks, and you'll soon
have to think twice about calling any of the
following
area codes:

242, 246, 264, 268, 284, 345, 441, 473, 664,758,
767, 784, 787, 868, 869, 876, as well as 809.

Better Business Bureau
http://216.46.241.4/alerts/areacode.asp

National Fraud Information Center
http://www.fraud.org/news/1996/apr96/041296.htm

AT&T's fraud information page
 http://www.att.com/fraud/home.html#three