Complaint Review: Area Code 809 Or 809.com - Unknown Nationwide

This is a hoax, plain and simple.

Nobody ever paid anywhere near $25/minute.

For full details, go to http://www.wherecall.com/809.htm .
                            -Scott

Richard, I know exactly what you are talking about. Just the other day, a co-worker forwarded me an email with pics of a crocodile being loaded into the back of a truck. The text of the email was this: "Now this is a Crocodile! This crocodile was found in New Orleans swimming down the street. 21 FT long, 4,500 lbs, around 80 years old minimum. Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans because he was too old to catch animals. This crocodile was killed by the army last Sunday at 3:00 pm, currently he is in the freezer at the Azur hotel. The contents of it's stomach will be analyzed this Friday at 2:30pm." Later I discovered that the picture was from 2003, from somewhere in Asia (can't remember from where offhand). So this was a total hoax started by someone with a vivid imagination. Needless to say, that did not get passed on. Not to mention that you won't find crocodiles in Louisiana! That was my first clue.

If I see something that is worth passing on, I always did what you suggested. But, before I send them out, I always do little research to make sure that it is not an urban legend. I get them from friends and sometimes the information is incorrect or just a tale. And yes, that can cause embarrassments It is a fact that spammers do use good information (or just sounds good) just to get people to forward the information around. Eventually the email comes back to the original author. Then the author will gather all the email addresses (more likely to be good addresses anyways) and sale them. Sort of like harvesting for profit. I am sure most of you have seen the $250.00 cookie recipe email? It still circulates on the net. Even though the story is a myth and I bet there are a lot of good addresses on that email. The original recipe can be found at the original store's website. Oh the recipe is Yummy. ;) Just my two cents

Thank you Richard. Finaly some one who is non-combative about this subject, just that it has ripped people off. Once again Thank you Rich for stating it plainly!

Either way you will be charged. I had the 809 number show up on my caller ID when I missed the call. I did a reverse number look up on the net only to discover, it is similar to the 900 numbers. If you get a strange number on your caller ID or received a mysterious call on your voice messaging machine/service, look it up before calling. Hopefully soon we can make the phone company can block those numbers like the 900 numbers. But, we must speak up and make it happen before too many people get screwed.

Jason all your doing is trying to stick up for these company ripping people off. your a "great" American. Did your stick up for the Saudi's who flew 747's into the WTC? or stick up for how "well" the government handled hurricane Katrina? Jason, the reason that I posted this was not to "spam" anything. If you believe this is incorrect take it up with Verison or AT&T, they are the ones providing the information. And if you don't like what I have to say then don't read! MY POINT IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF!! No matter if its a dollar, $10, $50, or even $25,000 the fact is that gas is at historically high prices ,and is rising again, and people need to try to save all the cash they can. It kind of sounds like money is not a problem for you to lose, so why even come to this site? your trying to "debunk" some one whose trying to help people save there money from criminals? Are you a Communist? Do YOU work for a company that has affiliation with some of these companies? Not every one in the world has that extra money ,any amt., to spend on some crappy company who misleads people into a scheme to make money. I think that you should think about other people in the world before voicing an opinion that is very bias!

Here's what I do regarding all those emails that say at the bottom, "Now forward to all your friends so that they are aware". First, I tell all my friends and family NOT to directly forward any of those emails. Unfortunately, some still get through. When I do get them, and I think the information MIGHT be worth passing on, I copy the body of the text, and put it in a new email. That way, you thwart the sapmmers who are secretly collecting all those email addresses each time you hit "forward". And, I agree with Jason. The first 10 Google responses say it all.

Do a yahoo search on "809 scam". The FIRST result is from scambusters.org. They are the original authors of the quasi-factual article you posted above. Reading that page details how their original article was hijacked into Netlore, Faxlore, or the more common term... SPAM! Search result number two shows from "Urban Legend Reference Pages" ... Urban Legend... 'nuff said. Although, they do agree with me that it is a real scam, but very little usage and little money that generally would be lost. Search result number three... The original Scambusters article. #4? Write up on it from fraudbureau.com. Max charge $25 per minute. Again, 16 hours to be ripped off for over $20,000. #5 is from the FCC. They make no mention of the numbers being along the lines of 900 numbers... Just that they LOOK like normal domestic numbers, but you actually get billed international rates. International rates are nowhere near $20,000. #6 is from About.com via Phoenix, Arizona. Same deal, states cost can be UP TO $25/min. #7 is from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. (No kidding... Never knew there was one of those)... Same as all the above. Up to $25/min. #8 - From the virus busters at University of michigan... Real scam, but agree with the $100 figure. #9 - From About.com's urban legend site. Agrees with $100. While you may not realize it. You are a spammer. I agree that the other area codes are on some list. They're legitimate area codes. You seem to think that everyone in all those countries is running a scam. They're not. There are certain blocks of numbers within those area codes that are pay-per-call or pay-per-minute exchanges. The rest are legitimate. However, my point was debunking what YOU posted here. What you posted was minimally truthful. So, how does it feel when a "southerner" provides far more factual and reliable data? Along with plenty of sources from legitimate agencies to back him up? Your brain's got the shell on it.

Jason should try to read the whole message before responding other wise he has his foot in his mouth. 284 IS ON THE LIST!!!!!

This info was provided to me BY Verison Wireless and AT&T. and this also happened to a close friend of mine and saw the phone bill. I'm more inclined to believe a corp. trying to protect its customers, and my own eyes, than what some "southerner" who no one knows has said. People who you do not know call all the time sometimes its important sometimes its not. The point is YOU NEVER KNOW!!!! So its better to know about the scam than to just not call anyone back. As far as that goes the INTELLIGENT thing to do is just to NEVER call any Number that is out side of the U.S. that you are un-familiar with. It dose not matter the specifics of where the call is directed to, just the fact that its out of the U.S. and one of the area codes 809,284, or 876 and CANNOT be disputed with you phone company. In the future try not to stick up for RIP OFF companies that set up out side this country to RIP OFF 1000's of dollars from unsuspecting AMERICANS. Be very careful in taking advice from rebuttals on this site such as the one above you never know who is working for these companies trying to DOWNPLAY the FOULPLAY!!

http://urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.scambusters.org/809Scam.html You should run these through Google before believing it. Some of this info. given is exagerrated.

Is the scam real? Yes. But there's alot of incorrect "factual" information in the reposted letter above. First, the 809 area code is the Dominican Republic, not the British Virgin Islands nor the Bahamas. The area code for BVI is 284, and the Bahamas is 242. Second is that the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas are NOT the same thing. The highest recorded "per-minute" cost of a call has been $25. To be charged $24,100, you would have to stay on the line for 964 minutes, or roughly 16 hours. If you are tricked into this.. You can dispute the charges with your phone company. While it's a pain in the butt, they can remove the charges. Especially if you make a further complaint with the FCC/FTC. The simplest way to avoid? Don't call people you don't know.