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The "809" scam has
many permutations but they all involve a message
to you (either by e-mail, phone or pager) that
you immediately call a number in the
"809" area code to avoid some bad
consequence (such as litigation, or to receive
information about someone who has been arrested
or died) or to gain some good benefit (such as
winning a wonderful prize).
The "809" area code is in the
Caribbean, yet most people are not aware that
they are making an international call when they
dial the "809" area code.
"809" calls can be
"pay-per-call" numbers (such as 900
numbers in the US) - and there are no legal
requirements that callers be informed that they
are being charged extra. When you return a
"pay-per-call" 809 call, they try to
keep you on the phone as long as possible, and
you are charged very high rates for the call,
reportedly up to $25 per minute.
New information: Until recently, the
"809" area code covered the entire
Caribbean. However, that's changed. There are
now a series of new area codes for different
countries in the Caribbean. That means there are
now additional area codes which victims can
unknowingly call with the same results as the
original "809" scam. The
"268" area code is already reportedly
being used by scam artists. And you can be sure
that the scammers won't take long to start using
these new codes in a big way.
According to representatives at AT&T, here
are the new area codes and their effective
dates:
Country
Code
Bahamas 242
Barbados 246
Antigua 268
Cayman Islands 345
Monsterrat 664
St. Lucia 758
Puerto Rico 787
St. Kitts/Nevis 869
Jamaica 876
Bermuda 441
N. Commonwealth 670
Trinidad &Dominica 767
Tobago 868
Several countries are
keeping the 809 area code, such as the Dominican
Republic, Grenada, Virgin Islands, Martinique,
St. John (although St. John may change to 268),
St. Thomas, and St. Vincent.
And there's more. AT&T supplied us with a
long list of "pay-per-call" numbers.
The numbers on this list may include adult sex
lines, resume lines, and other
"pay-per-call" numbers.
(Please note: this list does not include all of
the "pay-per-call" numbers in the
Caribbean - and there may be numbers included
below that are not "pay-per-call"
numbers. Our purpose here is to warn readers of
the scope of this problem.)
Antigua /
St. John
268-404-4000 to 404-6999
809-404-7411
Dominican Republic
809-404-4000 to 404-6999
809-412-0785 to 412-0787
809-412-0960 to 412-0964
809-414-1000 to 414-1499
809-470-0000 to 414-1949
809-474-0001 to 474-9996
809-476-0105 to 476-0112
809-476-0131 to 476-0135
809-476-0314 to 476-0319
809-476-1001 to 476-1020
809-476-1200 to 476-1229
809-476-1350 to 476-1399
809-476-1400 to 476-1446
809-476-1600 to 476-1629
809-476-1765 to 476-1796
809-476-1930 to 476-1999
809-537-0300 to 537-0899
809-540-5000 to 540-5199
809-563-0000 to 563-0199
809-563-0300 to 563-0699
809-563-9000 to 563-9199
809-563-9300 to 563-9899
St. Vincent
809-456-0000 to 456-9999
809-457-0000 to 457-9999
809-458-0000 to 458-9999
809-485-0000 to 485-9999
809-490-0000 to 490-9999
809-493-0000 to 493-9999
Summary: Be very careful
returning phone numbers to area codes you don't
recognize, especially when you receive calls,
emails or pages with urgent messages that you
call these numbers. Call your long distance
phone company's operator to find out where the
area code is located (or look it up on the net),
and only call numbers that make sense to you.
Two additional
"pay-per-call" number scams:
SCAM: Some 800 numbers
reportedly roll over to "809" and
other foreign "pay-per-call" numbers
with little or no warning.
A representative at AT&T
warned us of a common scam she encounters.
Here's how it works: You see an ad on the
Internet or in a newspaper for an overseas job
opportunity as a "secret shopper" or a
"mystery shopper." You call the listed
800 number to either learn more or to apply for
the job. You are left on hold for 15 to 20
minutes. You are either warned that the call is
being rolled over to a toll call, or you're not
warned. However, even when people are warned,
they don't realize that the roll over is to an
international, "pay-per-call" number.
When you are finally connected, you're told all
the positions have been filled. When you receive
your phone bill, you have a very large charge.
SCAM: "809" and
other "pay-per-call" numbers can be
used to cheat businesses who offer fax back
services.
Many companies offer a
computerized fax-back service where the company
faxes requested documents to a phone number
entered by the caller. The caller can get the
fax-back service to call back their
"pay-per-call" number. When the
business calls this "pay-per-call" fax
number to send the documents, they are charged
the very inflated rates. You should consider
protecting your business from this scam by
blocking area codes such as those listed above.
Permutation #1: Internet
Based Phone Scam Via Email
You receive an email,
typically with a subject line of
"*ALERT*" or "Unpaid
account." The message, which is being
spammed across the Net, says:
I am writing to give you a
final 24 hrs to settle your outstanding account.
If I have not received the settlement in full, I
will commence legal proceedings without further
delay. If you would like to discuss this matter
to avoid court action, call Mike Murray at
Global Communications at +1 809 496 2700 (this
number would then be the toll call).
Permutation #2: Phone Or
Pager Scam
You 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 or died, to let you know you have
won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you're
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 $25 per-minute! Sometimes the person who
answers the phone will speak broken English and
pretend not to understand you. Other times,
you'll just 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 $100.00.
Here's why it works: The 809 area code is
located in the Caribbean. 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 US
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 US
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,
investigate further and/or disregard the
message. Be *very* wary of email 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 our 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.
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