Subject:  Bogus warning!?!?....Never Dial Area Code 809 (fwd)
Date:     Mon, 30 Aug 1999 140853 -0500 (CDT)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" 
To:       emfguru 
--------------------------------------------------

.....I have no way of knowing anything more about this than what you see
below.....  It can not hurt to send it, just in case....

Roy Beavers (EMFguru)......
rbeavers@llion.org.......
.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
EMF-L web-site can be found at: 
EMF-L archives can be found at: 
..................PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFITS..................

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 01:58:54 -0400
From: azul@flash.net
To: "Roy L. Beavers" 
Subject: Never Dial Area Code 809

I received this today. Has anyone heard of this? Suzanne

Don't Respond To Emails, Phone Calls, Or Pages Which Tell You to Call An

"809" Phone Number. This is a very important issue of Internet
ScamBusters because it alerts you to a scam that is; - spreading
"extremely" quickly
-
can easily cost you $100 or more, and - 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 is 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 24hrs 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.

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 to 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'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 or more! 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 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 US
regulations of 900 numbers, which require that you be notified and
warned ofcharges 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 updealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing
wrong.

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


Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com