This came in my mail and I thought you might like to know. Apparently happening NOW! "We 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. Have something important to tell you." Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. We didn't respond. Then this week, we 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 <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />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 to all your friends and family so they don't get scammed! MAJOR SCAM: Don't respond to Emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call an "809" area 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 cos ting victims a lots 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 mo re 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, whereas 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 e-mail, or calls, asking you to call an 809 area code number. It's important to prevent becoming a victim of t his 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 (920)687-904" HTH. Ed in Texas.

Thanks for the warning ,I will pass it on to others ! Only thing I would like to ad is ,good luck to any phone bill collecting a $2400 or more charge for this.Who ever is running this scam ,would have to come here and rip the money from my cold dead hands B/4 I would pay a ridiculous charge like this .I remember just recently I used a pay phone outside a motel I was staying at ,I use my calling card to make to call ,when I recieved the bill ,I was charged $8 per minute for the call ,that was perhaps a two hour distance from my home . My anger was at the phone company for allowing its customers to be over charged by other companies ,using my Pacific Bell calling card ,what ever happen to looking out for your customers and putting some kind of restriction on charges or at least requiring pior notice of outragous charges ! Thanks again Ed in Texas Sincerely Nick

Thanks for this information. I am not sure if this means anything, but yesterday my son answered the phone and he said that the phone message was "Thank You, your message has been sent". That was all that was in this call. I thought this was very strange. Well, we don't have a fax machine of any type or any type of message service to be sending anything from out telephone. I am a little concerned only because I don't know much about tecknowlege and if someone can hack a computer, then why can't this be done over telephone or cell phones lines? Maybe I don't need to worry, but the thought does come to my mind with this strange phone call.

See this http://www.scambusters.org/809Scam.html

Takes all kinds I guess. ps: From prev post: "WHY IT WORKS: The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands (The Bahamas). " ------------- B.V.I. is not at all the "Bahamas Islands". My phone book shows the "809" code is for the Dominican Republic, a haven for scammers, and between the B.V.I. and the Islands of the Bahamas.

Hi, Question is, how did they get your email address. I am very leery about leaving my email address at many sites that want it. The ones I do get that is not familiar to me, get zapped, so far, I have been lucky with reference to trojans, worms and any virus that is making the rounds. The ones that have bitten me are the "free" adware software, which gave me two headaches trying to get rid of them. Be safe, if you don't recognize the name or company, delete. frank