I just received a forwarding email form a friend of mine. I will post it here.


"809 Area Code
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 did not respond. Then this week, we received the following e-mail:

Do Not DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284, AND 876 from the U.S. or Canada.

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 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. or Canada, you will apparently be charged a minimum
of
$2425 per-minute.

And you'll also 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 :AT&T |809 Area Code and Other Long Distance Phone Scams
SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE: snopes.com: 809 Area Code Scam

Lynda Roberts
Crime Prevention Specialist
City of Miami Police Department
Community Relations Section
400 N.W. 2nd Avenue #201
Miami, FL 33128
(305) 603-6095or (305) 603-6090
(305) 579-6110 - Fax
Lynda.Roberts@Miami-Police.org "

Amazing! I would not have thought anyone could charge that much. I am pretty sure there is a max per minute here in England.

If you read the Snopes writeup, you will find many exaggerations in this "warning" that continues to be circulated.

Don't take my word for it, read it for yourselves:
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

This is an ooooold one. The calls are more expensive because it is an international call and whatever those rates are what typically is charged, not two grand a minute. 809 use to cover a lot of the Carib but now is one of the area codes in the DR.

The DR depends on US tourism heavily so it is hard to believe they would let it go for long.

No word yet on whether it is safe to call 867-5309.

I guess. I enjoyed the DR when I was there, sat around drinking Presidente beer and chatting up the tourist ladies. I don't know why I'm here, wait, I know it is cuz of my freakin' wife, I should be back in the Carib area.

I was in a rock band when that was on the charts. We called the number, which in our area code was a non-working number, and recorded the announcement saying so. At the end of the song we played the announcement then kicked into our next song. It amused us at least.

You are right. It is a hoax from someone else, not AT&T. I see the charge is really $25 per minute instead of $2425.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/area-code-809-scam.html

There was a guy who called that number for every area code in the US, asking for Jenny

About 99% of the e-mail I get that says "This has been verified at Snopes!" or words to that effect is inaccurate, per Snopes.

Why anyone would actually go and do anything that these email suggest is just.....dumb. Who would call that number?

Is there a coupon involved?

People even send money to pay the tax on a car for a lottery they never entered. It is hilarious how dumb people can be.

Is this for real?

It was a hoax someone set up over the internet.

You've been reading too much Smullyan.

You think so?

:rotf: THAT was priceless!