Guest guest Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 > > The following AT & T info was forwarded to us by > Verizon. It is something good for all employees to > know at home as well as at the office. > > Norwood > Director of Purchasing > > > We actually received a call last week from the 809 > area code. > The woman said " Hey, this is . Sorry I missed > you--get back to us quickly. > Have something important to tell you. " Then she > repeated a phone number beginning with 809 . " We > didn't respond " . > > Then this week, we received the following e-mail: > > Subject: DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284 AND 876 > > 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 > NationalFraudInformationCenterand 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 > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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