G' Day,
I apologise if this has already been passed on to the Collective. I
got this in my e-mails this morning and thought everyopne might like
to know.
Cheers,
D.
GBG eh14
DON'T CALL AREA 809
Warning about 809 phone numbers from the GTIS Service Desk
Subject: SPECIAL ALERT - DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809
This is pretty scary - especially given how they try to get you to
call.
Be sure you read this & pass it on to all your friends & family so
they
don't get scammed.
SCAM: Don't Respond To Emails, Phone Calls, Or Web Pages Which Tell
You
to Call an "809" Phone Number. This can easily cost you $100 or more,
and it
is difficult to avoid unless you are aware of it. This scam has
also been
identified by the National Fraud Information Center and is costing
victims a lot of money. There are lots of different permutations of
this scam, but
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:
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 on at 1-809-496-2700.
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, died, or to let you know that 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.
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 Dominican
Republic. 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 since
trying to
fight the chargesafterwards can become a real nightmare. That's
because you did
actually make thecall. 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 updealing with a foreign company that argues they have
done nothing
wrong.