WOAH! It's a SCAM!

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boombexus

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Below I have copied a memo that has been circulated through my place of work. It regards a telephone scam that has been hitting residences and business alike, especially hotels.

At first it might seem a bit far fetched, but this information was sent to the Director of Loss Prevention at my work by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Please take a second to educate yourself about this.

Memo is as follows:

DON'T EVER DIAL THE AREA CODE 809!

Different scammers have been calling people and leaving messages, which asks you to call a number begining with area code 809. The reason you are called to respond varies. It can be to receive information about a family member who has been ill, to telll you someone has been arrested, died, to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, ect. ect. 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 without hesitation.

If you call from the U.S. you will apparently be charged $2425.00 per minute, of course the longer you are on the phone the bigger the bill gets. Unforunately employees, residences and business have been receiving phone bill in the high thousands. One local business received a phone bill for $26,230.00. THE SCAM WORKS!

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 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, many homes in the U.S. have 900 number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges, unfortunately this does not work in preventing calls to the 809 area code number. Trying to fight these charges legally after the fact can be a nightmare since, you did make the call. Most telephone companies will not get involved and tell you they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You will in turn, end up dealing with a foreign company that will state "They did nothing wrong."

End of memo.


Well, I hope that none of you out there has had the unfortunate luck to have called the 809 area code.

Has anyone here fallen pray to, or known someone that has been hit by a scam such as this or any other kind of scam?


Peace,

Boom
 
No lie mate. That was my first impression upon seeing the memo in my mail box today at work.

I proceeded to ask the Director of Loss Prevention about it and has said that it is 100% legit. Evidently he has some friends at the FBI that route him this sort of information.

I think that it was the $2425 a minute fee that got me the most. :eek:
 
:lol:

Do you mean if you called the 809 area code, or if you set up a scam like this yourself? :lol:

I'm not really sure, give it a try! :D

In all honesty, I'm not sure, but I really don't see why it wouldn't affect everyone in the world that called the number. I could ask the DLP tomorrow if it would effect those outside the U.S.
 
Originally posted by boombexus
:lol:

Do you mean if you called the 809 area code, or if you set up a scam like this yourself? :lol:
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If I call the number (which I will never ever do!)

I'm not really sure, give it a try! :D
Click to expand...
Never ever gonna happen, mate.

In all honesty, I'm not sure, but I really don't see why it wouldn't affect everyone in the world that called the number. I could ask the DLP tomorrow if it would effect those outside the U.S.
Click to expand...
'K. Probably be on-line Sunday. Post the answer in this thread.
 
I've heard of this before. There's quite a number of area-code scams....suffice to say, be careful what you dial.

Say to yourself, where and how did you get the number?
 
Well, the $2000-per minute thing is a bit of a lie, but...

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/809.htm

...may give you some insight into the matter.

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Origins: Yes, this scam is real, but four important pieces of information to keep in mind are:


Not every phone number in the 809 area code is part of this scam, and calling such a number will not necessarily result in exorbitantly large charges on your phone bill. Most 809 numbers are ordinary, legitimate phone numbers.

This scam has been used with other area codes besides 809.

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.
The scheme preys upon U.S. and Canadian residents unfamiliar with the complexities of the phone system (which is most of us). Most of us expect that when we place to a call a standard area code + exchange + phone number combination (e.g., 213-555-1212), we're calling a person or entity located in the U.S. or Canada -- connections outside of those countries requiring the caller to first enter a country code, then a number generally different in format from the standard we're used to. However, some foreign territories and countries (such as the Dominican Republic or the British Virgin Islands) have also been assigned area codes, and therefore their phone numbers look like the "standard" phone numbers we're used to. Scammers use a variety of schemes to dupe North Americans into calling these numbers by sending messages to pagers, fax machines, e-mail addresses, or answering machines, accompanied by notifications that the recipients need to call or fax them back because:


They have won sweepstakes or lottery prizes they must call to claim.

A family member is desperately ill or injured.

A bill or credit card debt is past due and needs to straightened out immediately to avoid collection action or an endangered credit rating.

They are being offered solicitations to become "mystery shoppers" who will be well compensated for a few hours work per day. (The "applicants" are kept on the phone through a lengthy sign-up procedure that never results in anyone's getting a job.)

They are being considered for employment and must transmit lengthy forms covering quotations on proposed jobs or information about their services and prices.
Once the victim places a call, he is connected to a fax machine, lengthy recorded message, or a pay-per-call service with a hefty up-front fee, all intended to keep him on the line as long as possible while the clock ticks and the charges mount. The scammer's foreign phone company then bills the victim via his local phone company, splitting the monies collected with the scammers and leaving the victim little or no recourse since the foreign phone company operates outside U.S. jurisidiction and is therefore not subject to U.S. laws (especially regulations requiring the operators of pay-per-call services notify callers in advance how much they will be charged for each call and offer them an opportunity to hang up without incurring any charges).

As mentioned above, the amounts of money involved in these scams have been greatly exaggerated, to the point that readers are now warned they may be charged more than $2,400 per minute if they fall for this scam! Actually, a victim might realistically be taken for $25 to $100, but not thousands of dollars. This scheme works a variety of Caribbean area codes, not just the 809 area code mentioned above (which now belongs exclusively to the Dominican Republic, the British Virgin Islands having switched to 284), but 809 seems to work especially well because many people associate it with toll-free 800 numbers and believe they will incur no charges for calling such a number. This scam took off when the government cracked down on domestic 900-number abuses several years ago, but it isn't especially common any more, and most consumer watchdog organizations report they receive far, far more calls from people concerned about the e-mailed warnings than from actual victims.

Alerts have been been posted at the site of the National Fraud Information Center alerting businessmen especially to "faxback" solicitations employing the "809" callback trick (such as one sprung on a newspaper that received a call from entities representing a purported hotel developer in the Dominican Republic asking for advertising rate quotes and claiming that "start-up pressures prevent us at this time from using the mails" to request rate cards).

The Better Business Bureau strongly recommends that no matter how consumers are approached, if they are asked to respond to an "809" area code call, they should investigate further or simply disregard the message. (There is, of course, nothing wrong with talking to people who live in this area code if you happen to know them. All cautions regarding the 809 code apply only to solicitations to contact folks unknown to you.) If you have to call an a number in an area code that's unfamiliar to you, you can use an Area Decoder to check it out first.
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Thanks a bunch, pupik, I was just about to do that. Snopes is probably my near-favorite site on the web...
 
Great avatar, neon_duke...Wish I had a bumper sticker like that on my Neon.
 
Yeah, I heard about this from my mom about a year and a half ago. There was another one where when you dial this other area code, it gives the reciver the ability to make phone calls using your line therefore you end up paying for it.
 
THANKS FOR THE INFO.

BTW

1 NEVER CALL BACK NOBODY IF I DON'T KNOW WHO IS.

2 NEVER GIVE ANY INFO TO NOBODY BY THE PHONE OR THE NET.

3 NEVER TRUST NOBODY WHO SAY KNOW ME OR KNOW SOME ONE IN MY FAMILY BY THE PHONE.

4 IF SOMEBODY CALL YOU AND TELL YOU "CAN YOU PUT ME TO FRED,ANNYE,JHONY "OR ANY NAME ,AND WHEN YOU SAY YOU GOT THE WRONG # AND HE SAY THANKS BLAH BLAH BLAH,WHAT YOUR NAME SIR,NEVER GIVE IT NO MATTER HOW GENTLE YOU THINK HE OR SHE WAS WITH YOU.
 
Originally posted by pupik
Well, the $2000-per minute thing is a bit of a lie, but...

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/809.htm

...may give you some insight into the matter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Origins: Yes, this scam is real, but four important pieces of information to keep in mind are:


Not every phone number in the 809 area code is part of this scam, and calling such a number will not necessarily result in exorbitantly large charges on your phone bill. Most 809 numbers are ordinary, legitimate phone numbers.

This scam has been used with other area codes besides 809.

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.
The scheme preys upon U.S. and Canadian residents unfamiliar with the complexities of the phone system (which is most of us). Most of us expect that when we place to a call a standard area code + exchange + phone number combination (e.g., 213-555-1212), we're calling a person or entity located in the U.S. or Canada -- connections outside of those countries requiring the caller to first enter a country code, then a number generally different in format from the standard we're used to. However, some foreign territories and countries (such as the Dominican Republic or the British Virgin Islands) have also been assigned area codes, and therefore their phone numbers look like the "standard" phone numbers we're used to. Scammers use a variety of schemes to dupe North Americans into calling these numbers by sending messages to pagers, fax machines, e-mail addresses, or answering machines, accompanied by notifications that the recipients need to call or fax them back because:


They have won sweepstakes or lottery prizes they must call to claim.

A family member is desperately ill or injured.

A bill or credit card debt is past due and needs to straightened out immediately to avoid collection action or an endangered credit rating.

They are being offered solicitations to become "mystery shoppers" who will be well compensated for a few hours work per day. (The "applicants" are kept on the phone through a lengthy sign-up procedure that never results in anyone's getting a job.)

They are being considered for employment and must transmit lengthy forms covering quotations on proposed jobs or information about their services and prices.
Once the victim places a call, he is connected to a fax machine, lengthy recorded message, or a pay-per-call service with a hefty up-front fee, all intended to keep him on the line as long as possible while the clock ticks and the charges mount. The scammer's foreign phone company then bills the victim via his local phone company, splitting the monies collected with the scammers and leaving the victim little or no recourse since the foreign phone company operates outside U.S. jurisidiction and is therefore not subject to U.S. laws (especially regulations requiring the operators of pay-per-call services notify callers in advance how much they will be charged for each call and offer them an opportunity to hang up without incurring any charges).

As mentioned above, the amounts of money involved in these scams have been greatly exaggerated, to the point that readers are now warned they may be charged more than $2,400 per minute if they fall for this scam! Actually, a victim might realistically be taken for $25 to $100, but not thousands of dollars. This scheme works a variety of Caribbean area codes, not just the 809 area code mentioned above (which now belongs exclusively to the Dominican Republic, the British Virgin Islands having switched to 284), but 809 seems to work especially well because many people associate it with toll-free 800 numbers and believe they will incur no charges for calling such a number. This scam took off when the government cracked down on domestic 900-number abuses several years ago, but it isn't especially common any more, and most consumer watchdog organizations report they receive far, far more calls from people concerned about the e-mailed warnings than from actual victims.

Alerts have been been posted at the site of the National Fraud Information Center alerting businessmen especially to "faxback" solicitations employing the "809" callback trick (such as one sprung on a newspaper that received a call from entities representing a purported hotel developer in the Dominican Republic asking for advertising rate quotes and claiming that "start-up pressures prevent us at this time from using the mails" to request rate cards).

The Better Business Bureau strongly recommends that no matter how consumers are approached, if they are asked to respond to an "809" area code call, they should investigate further or simply disregard the message. (There is, of course, nothing wrong with talking to people who live in this area code if you happen to know them. All cautions regarding the 809 code apply only to solicitations to contact folks unknown to you.) If you have to call an a number in an area code that's unfamiliar to you, you can use an Area Decoder to check it out first.
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I am NOT reading all that! Simple solution - just don't dial 809.
 

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