Important phone info

I received this email from my niece yesterday. I don't think she was joking, which I usually get from her.


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. I 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:
Do Not DIAL AREA CODE
809,
284, AND
876
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFOR MATION
PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE
809
This
one is being distributed all over the 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.
They get you to call
by telling you that it is information about a family
member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been
arrested, died, or 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
U.S. , 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.
WHY IT WORKS:
The
809 area code is
located in the Dominican Republic.
The charges afterward 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.
AT&T VERIFIES IT'S TRUE :
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045
SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE:
http://www.snopescom/fraud/telephone/809.asp

Thanks Calicolady-That is good info, and pretty scary as well. I'll be passing this along.

Very good info Calico. The AT&T & Snopes links are a great touch. Good job.

The Snopes link in that oft-circulated e-mail is broken. Here's the correct one: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

Snopes says the information in the e-mail is only partly true.

The AT&T site says this: "the message contains some misinformation, especially the highly exaggerated cost of a phone call to the 809 area code, which is a legitimate area code for the Dominican Republic. Fortunately, this scam is less prevalent in recent years as a result of work done by AT&T to eliminate access to fraudulent pay-per-call operators."

Good to know!