The Latest Scams Circulating the Consumer World. Be warned. Be informed.
September 2006
Area Code Scams
A family member of mine forwarded an e-mail warning me to never call the 809 area code. The e-mail stated that by calling a number with this area code, victims would be charged $2,400 per minute, resulting in a large, non-negotiable international bill that neither the local nor long-distance phone company would write- off. While the scam is real, the information was exaggerated. Read on to find out how this scam can affect you.
The 809 area code scam has been around for about five years; and while it snares its fare share of victims, the scam raises more eyebrows and prompts inquiries than anything else.
If you have ever dialed an international number, you know that 011 precedes the phone number. But did you know that there are locations outside the U.S. whose telephone numbers may look like domestic long- distance calls, but are actually international calls? The 809 area code falls into this category, along with the 284 and 876 area codes. What do they have in common? They are all located close to the United States in the Caribbean!
809: Dominican Republic
284: British Virgin Islands
876: Jamaica
P.S. Dialing from the US to Canada does not require 011 but does count as an international call.
How the Scam Works:
The scam arrives in a variety of forms all of which stress a sense of urgency and require you to call and seek out more information. You may receive:
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An advertisement for a service that directs you to call a specific number
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An urgent e-mail message
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An urgent message on your answering machine about a relative who has died, been arrested or injured.
When consumers fall prey and call the number, the scam artist attempts to keep the caller on the line for as long as possible to increase the caller's long distance calling charges.
The international rates to the Caribbean are around $4.00 per minute and can add up fast while you are on hold or navigating through a phone menu.
Play It Safe
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Browse to Directory Assistance on the lower, right-hand side. Find an Area Code A list of all the available area codes by state are listed. Select all (Crtl-A) and then search (Ctrl-F) for the area code you are looking for. When I searched for the area codes 809, 284, and 876, I couldnt find anything, which tells me that they are not area codes within the United States.
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Control access to your telephone so unauthorized callers do not use your phone to call these services. A block on calls to 900 services will not stop calls to 011 or 809 numbers.
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If you're sure you won't need to make international calls, call your long-distance carrier and ask them to put an international block on your telephone line.
Source:http://www.consumer.att.com/consumertips/areacode.html
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