Scam

[IcyPoison]

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" area 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 British Virgin Islands (The Bahamas).
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 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. 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 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 Field Service Manager
(920)687-904

[Camri]

Wow. That's insane.

I think the phone companies will write that off your bill if you get tangled up in something like that unknowingly. Especially if it's a known scam.

I hope so anyway. Imagine opening a $24,000.00 bill. :o

[StrayRogue]

Scary. Wish I'd thought of it.

[Wezas]

This scam has been around forever. Most calls to the domincan republic are for less then $3 a minute, however some numbers are pay-per-call services.

http://www.att.com/fraud/home.html#three

[Neildo]

Heh, that's what I was gonna say. That's impossible to have a $2400 per minute phone charge. Sure, it could be jacked up to something like $10 per minute, but not $2400. You could call every single country in the world and talk for a minute and have less of a charge than $2400. Hell, for that price, you may as well go fly out there for a week rather than talk on the phone for one minute. :P

Yeah, it's a scam that will cost you a lot of unneccessary money, but it's a bit exaggerated. I wouldn't be surprised if someone received a bill for $2400 or more, but not for one minute, heh.

- N

[Bestatte]

First of all, the e-mail presented at the top of this thread is a scam of its own. The 809 scam IS a valid scam, but the e-mail is a spam mail loaded with errors and designed to cause unsuspecting dupes to send chain mails out to everyone and their brother.

For the REAL notice put out by AT&T, which dispells most of the mistakes (such as the $2400 per minute crap), here's the link to the official AT&T website's scam documentation, and specifically the 809 documentation:

http://www.att.com/fraud/home.html

www.scambusters.com refers to a possible $25 per minute charge, and suspects that it's possible - though very unlikely - that some victims might be charged as high as $100 per minute.

Folks, do yourselves a favor, and everyone else. When you get a group e-mail, or an e-mail forwarded that warns of something concerning a company or a scam, check the source before passing it on.