VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 17:13:43 02/10/03 Mon
Author: schwabra@juno.com
Author Host/IP: dialup-63.210.224.247.Dial1.Cincinnati1.Level3.net / 63.210.224.247
Subject: Major scam

MAJOR SCAM:
Don't respond to Emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to
call an "809" Phone Number. This is a very important issue of Scam
Busters because it alerts you to a scam that is spreading *extremely*
quickly can easily cost you $2400 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless
you are aware of it.

We'd like to thank Verizon for bringing this scam to our attention. 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.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:

You will 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, 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 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 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, where as many U.S. homes that have 900 number blocking to
avoid these kinds of charges, do not work in preventing 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 just disregard
the message.

Be 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
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.

Sandi Van Handel
AT&T Field Service Manager
: 10/15/2002

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-6
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.