Area Code Fraud Scam-Telephone Charges

[mrbowler]

DO NOT EVER DIAL AREA CODE (809).

This scam is being distributed all over the U.S. It is pretty scary
-especially
given the way they try to get you to call.

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 $24,000 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless you are
aware of it.

We'd like to thank Verizon (a cellular company here in Rochester)
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 U.S., you will apparently be charged $2,425 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 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,
whereas many U.S. 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 and/or
investigate further and just disregard the message.

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.

Things are about to get worse, because that infamous off-shore area
code (809) is in the process of breaking up into smaller chunks, and
you'll soon have to think twice about calling any of the following area
codes: 242, 246, 264, 268, 284, 345, 441, 473, 664, 758, 767, 784,
787, 868, 869,876 as well as 809.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues
to help them become aware of this scam.

AT&T's fraud information page: [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[SkyeJaz]

This just gives me all the more reason not to have a long distance carrier. I haven't had one in over 2 years and have only used calling cards I either purchase or get for free online!! When will these phone companies learn?????

[KAZMAN]

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

Partly true and partly false..


======================
Scam Artists Are Working out of Area Code 809, So Don't Call There-Truth! & Fiction!


Summary of Erumor
The email warns never to call area code 809 because you could get charged $25 per minute for the call. It goes on to describe various ways in which scam artists in the Virgin Islands are tricking people into returning their calls, then charging outrageous rates for making the call. (Complete version is below)


The Truth
Parts of this are true, and parts are not. The most commonly circulated email claims to be from an issue of Scambusters from [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] but the folks at Scambusters warn that the message has picked up some erroneous information along the way that was not in their initial warning.

A newer version says the nationwide warning has been issued by the Verizon telephone company and that you could get charged as much as $24,000 in the scam.

1. All the prefixes in area code 809 are in the Caribbean country of the Dominican Republic, not the Virgin Islands.

2. You don't need to completely avoid calling area 809, especially if you know who you are calling. AT&T says there are international long distance charges for calling 809 numbers, but not excessive charges for normal calls.

3. The problem is that there have been scam artists in area 809 who trick people into returning calls to phone numbers that are set up to charge a fee, and that's where the risk of the higher charges becomes a problem.

4. The bottom line, according to AT&T, is that if you get an usual message via email, pager, or voice mail to return a call to an unfamiliar area code about an overdue bill or that you've won a contest, be wary. Check the area code first to see if you are making an international call. Most calls to other countries require "011" to be dialed first, but not calls to the Caribbean which has area codes such as 809, 284 and 876. It's easy to think they are just unfamiliar U.S. area codes.

[KAZMAN]

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

Reprinted from Internet ScamBusters Issue #34
September 16, 1999

We recently discovered that an issue of Internet ScamBusters - written in 1996 - has resurfaced and is being sent around the Net as spam. This email is about the 809 area code scam, and the "revised" version contains some important mistakes. It is being sent around as if it comes from Internet ScamBusters.

In this issue, we'll correct the mistakes and give you an update on how this scam has changed - and not changed - in the past three years.

We thought this is important for you for two reasons. First, the 809 scam is still thriving, so it's still important to protect yourself. Second, this kind of problem - where an email or e-zine you write is changed and then sent around as spam with you as the supposed author - could happen to you as well, and we'll present some ideas about what to do if this does happen to you.

If you're wondering how we found out about this problem, we discovered it in two ways. First, we simply received a copy of one of the emails from a customer. Second, we visit [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] every couple of weeks to see what is being said about us and Internet ScamBusters in the newsgroups. We discovered that there has been a lively thread about this topic in the alt.folklore.urban newsgroup. It has also been discussed in the rec.arts.sf.fandom, alt.books.david-weber, rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, and several other newsgroups.

Before we get to the mistakes and changes people made to our issue of Internet ScamBusters, here is a brief review of the 809 scam:

The "809" scam has many permutations but they all involve a message to you (either by email, phone or pager) that you immediately call or fax a number in the "809" area code or some other area code in the Caribbean. Examples of why you should call or fax the phone number include avoiding litigation, receiving information about someone who has been arrested or died, winning a wonderful prize, or getting a job.

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, since you simply dial 1-809-xxx-xxxx to make the call. No international codes are required.

The problem comes from the fact that some phone numbers in the "809" area code are "pay-per-call" numbers (such as 900 numbers in the US) - but there are no legal requirements that callers be informed that they are being charged extra in the Caribbean. When you return one of these "pay-per-call" 809 calls, the scamsters try to keep you on the phone as long as possible, and you may be charged very high rates for the call, reportedly up to $25 per minute.

It is difficult to get credit for these charges if you do get scammed since you did make the call, and resolving the problem involves getting credit from international phone companies.

Since there are now many area codes in the Caribbean, this scam is no longer confined to just the 809 area code.

You can see the original issues about the 809 scam at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] and [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

OK, enough introduction. Now let's look at the mistakes in the new emails and posts about this topic:

Mistake: The beginning of the email says: "DO NOT EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809."

Comment: This is not our recommendation and we never wrote this. Most phone numbers in the 809 area code are legitimate.

Mistake: "Please forward this entire issue of Internet ScamBusters! to all your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam so they don't get ripped off."

Comment: We never asked people to send the issue to everyone they know. This type of request is typical of spam, which we are very against. (We have asked subscribers to invite friends who would be interested to subscribe if they like Internet ScamBusters, but that's VERY different from everyone you know.) Please don't forward the bogus email message to anyone if you receive it. Just hit the delete key.

Mistake: The 809 area code is new.

Comment: The 809 area code is not new, and we never stated it was. It has been around for many years.

Mistake: Some spam versions of this email say that charges can be as high as $10,000.

Comment: This, of course, is very unlikely. We suggest charges might be as high as $100. $10,000 would mean the scamsters succeeded in keeping people on the phone for many, many hours.

Mistake: The new emailed version also includes a mistake in our first issue, which we corrected the second issue. We had mistakenly written: "The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands (the Bahamas)."

Comment: Obviously, the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas are not the same country.

Update on the 809 Scam

There are a number of changes that have occurred involving the 809 scam since we wrote about this in Internet ScamBusters three years ago.

Area codes have changed in many of the countries. Now, 809 is just for the Dominican Republic. For example, 242 is the area code for the Bahamas, 284 is for the British Virgin Islands, and 787 is for Puerto Rico. You can find all the new area codes at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] Or you can go to AT&T and look up any area code in the world.

You can also find area code maps of various regions in .pdf format at the North American Numbering Plan Administration site.

We have not been able to verify if charges are still as high as $25 per minute. It may be that the price today is significantly lower.

We spoke with Mr. Chavez at AT&T on September 12, 1999. He said that there have not been any changes lately regarding Caribbean area codes or scams that he is aware of. We have learned that AT&T did put out a bulletin that this scam continues to thrive. You can read their alert here..

We'd also heard there are now new related scams using the prefixes 500 and 700. These prefixes can be used for adult entertainment and for pay per call numbers. Some of these numbers are in the country Vanuatu. Mr. Chavez confirmed this.

You can learn more about this scam at:

Better Business Bureau (1997)
National Fraud Information Center