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809 Area Code Premium Scam
Don't get tricked into making a very expensive international phone call
You will receive a message on your answering machine or your pager, which asks you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason you're asked to call varies. It
can be to receive information about a family member who has been ill, to tell you someone has been arrested, died, to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, and the
one I have received several times asks me to call as I am the lucky recipient of an award that will be presented to me at the White House by the President of the United
States, 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. This
scam is not limited to the 809 area either as there are more and more area codes being added in the Caribbean area all the time.
If you call from the US, you will apparently be charged up to $25.00 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. Urban legends state much more, but in reality it is closer to $25.00 per minute.
The 809 area code is located in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. The 809 area code can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900 numbers in the US. Since 809 is not in
the US, it is not covered by U.S. regulations of 900 numbers, which require that you be notified and warned of charges and rates involved when you call a "pay-per-call"
number.
There is also no requirement that the company provide a time period during which you may terminate the call without being charged. Further, whereas many U.S. homes that
have 900 number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges, it does not work in preventing calls to the 809 area code or any other
Don't respond to Emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call an "809" Phone Number. That is the simplest strategy to guard against this fraud.
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