The scammers always amaze me at how clever they can be at
separating normal, honest people from their money. Who would
have thought that simply calling a simple phone number could
cost a hundred dollars or more in fraudulent phone charges?
This scam works this way. You receive an email, letter, or
some other communication which seeks to convince you to call
a number in the 809 area code. The message is always urgent
(that's a common theme of virtually all scams - they have to
happen NOW) and appears important or critical.
You may receive a spam email which says something like, "You
have 24 hours to settle your outstanding debt before it is
sent to collections. Call me now at 809-xxx-xxxx to preserve
your credit." Call the number and you will be billed as much
as $25 per minute!
Some people receive a postcard which states, "You have won!
Call 809-xxx-xxxx to get your prize." Call the number and you
will get your prize all right - a $150 charge on your phone
bill!
I've heard of someone that received an ICQ message saying
their relative was in the hospital with a terminal illness.
The poor person called the "809" number only to be put on
hold for a very long time - over an hour, then get hung up.
He called over and over, frantic and distraught - and got a
phone bill of over a thousand dollars!
A very clever variant to this scam is a company that receives
a FAX or phone call requesting of all things a fax. Of course,
the fax number is in the 809 area code. The company will fax
some information back, and get charged over a hundred dollars
for the privilege!
Here's how this works. The 809 area code is similar in concept
to 900 numbers. You get charged either per call or by the
minute. The problem is that the 809 area code is in a foreign
country (the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean) and thus is
not covered by United States law.
In the United States, all 900 numbers must state in their
advertisements and at the start of the call the cost of the
call. You also have a small period of time (usually the first
minute) to hang up without being charged.
The 809 area code has no such restrictions. And since you made
the call voluntarily, it's very difficult to get the phone
company to reverse the charges. In fact, in many cases you
will find yourself arguing with a foreign phone company which
argues that you did make the call and they did nothing wrong
and thus you need to pay.
The way to fight this scam is to simply refuse to call any
unknown phone numbers in the 809 area code. In the company
that I work in my day job, we have completely blocked ALL
calls to the 809 area code. We had to do this after getting
nailed for many thousands of dollars of fraudulent calls.
It is also important to understand that 900 number blocking
does not apply to the 809 area code. You have to depend upon
your own knowledge of the scam and simply resist the
temptation to call the number.
