Posted November 9, 200717 yr This person actually received a call last week > from the 809 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, she 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. > 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 British Virgin > Islands (The Bahamas). > 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 > > > AT&T Field Service Manager > > Additional information on these area codes can be > found from ATT
November 9, 200717 yr now that's some crap right there,but people have been doing that for a long time.
November 9, 200717 yr http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp Kinda true, but these forwarded email "warnings" are actually worse than the real scam. I love this part: > WHY IT WORKS: > > The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin > Islands (The Bahamas). > 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. Are they trying to say the Bahamas are part of the British Virgin Islands? They should at least try to get their geography right The 809 area code is in the Dominican Republic, as the British Virgin Islands switched to another area code several years ago. The point is, if someone calls you and says "You've won a lottery, call me back at this # to collect" it's most likely a scam. People should know this already, and then we wouldn't need these "Handy E-Mail Alerts!" that don't really help anyone anyway.
November 9, 200717 yr Author hmmmm you mean IM the only nOOb around thats never heard of this? If some girl called me and left me a message that said she knew me and for me to call her back ........I would as I used to travel some........ I was kinda shocked as I know about the 1 900 #s but nothing about this !! :twitcy:
November 9, 200717 yr AHA! That must of been the call i got a few days ago on my cell phone, the caller id said unknown and I answered it because I was in the middle of trying to call someone, and the first thing they asked was for my name, and then said I won a contest, which is funny since I never entered one. So right away I told him I wasn't interested and didn't want to hear from them again, he got kinda mad and hung up. So far I haven't heard anything from them since. But I bet it was one of those kinds of companies. It's pretty scary to see the scams people pull nowadays, my dad got a thing in the mail saying he won 10,000 dollars with a kinda of 2,000 down payment check he deposited in his account and held it to make sure it clears (most people just go and spend it) and it's a good thing he didn't it got canceled a week later. So it's true you really have to look out for these things now more than ever. And even worse the people acting as charities collecting money. We had a person go around the Upper Peninsula acting as a charity for the sheriff's department, they collected over 100,000 and got away last I heard.
November 9, 200717 yr hmmmm you mean IM the only nOOb around thats never heard of this? If some girl called me and left me a message that said she knew me and for me to call her back ........I would as I used to travel some........ I was kinda shocked as I know about the 1 900 #s but nothing about this !! :twitcy: Lots of people haven't heard of these scams. Generally, with easy internet access, I try to look up things/numbers/people before calling any random goober that leaves a voice mail on my home phone. I usually don't answer my phone even when I am sitting right next to it, unless I recognize the number or caller ID name And if something seems strange, search for it on www.snopes.com it's a great place to find out if someone is trying to scam you.
November 9, 200717 yr This is why being lazy pays off Never call back for anything, never send in rebates, never look at the bills on the first day..
November 9, 200717 yr This person actually received a call last week > from the 809 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, she 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. > 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 British Virgin > Islands (The Bahamas). > 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 > > > AT&T Field Service Manager > > Additional information on these area codes can be > found from ATT It'd be awesome, if right at the end of that e-mail, it said: "For more information, please contact us at 809-........." haha
November 9, 200717 yr I'm so sick of ppl running these scams stealing money from those who make an honest living.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.