809 Telephone Scam

[Iceaxe]

809 Telephone Scam

I checked this out at snopes.com and its for real.
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

Also beware of..... 284 and 876... In this case, "809" goes to the Dominican Republic, "284" goes to the British Virgin Islands, and "876" goes to Jamaica.

ABOUT AREA CODE 809
We actually received a call last week from the809 area code. The woman said, 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you--get back to us quickly. I 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 DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284AND 876. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON'T 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. They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has-been arrested, died, or 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 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.

[Deathcricket]

True yes, but with these 2 important facts, it's less of a threat IMO.

The amounts of money involved have been greatly exaggerated as this warning has circulated on the Internet over the past several years.

This scam is not very common; the average U.S. resident is unlikely to ever encounter it.

I do know I paid $35 for a 2-3 min call to Jamacia though (I knew where I was calling), so it could be up there. But not in the $2k range. Couldn't you also just dispute the charges? I little bit different thing happened to the wifey and the phone company took care of it with a 5 min phone call.


Have you guys seen this one though? These are the guys who got my wifes phone. Pretty scary this isn't more common.

809 Telephone Scam

I checked this out at snopes.com and its for real.
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

Also beware of..... 284 and 876... In this case, "809" goes to the Dominican Republic, "284" goes to the British Virgin Islands, and "876" goes to Jamaica.

ABOUT AREA CODE 809
We actually received a call last week from the809 area code. The woman said, 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you--get back to us quickly. I 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 DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284AND 876. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON'T 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. They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has-been arrested, died, or 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 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.