by Chris Farrell

Hello - Chris here.

This is just a quick message - to warn you of an old SCAM that is back in America.

It's known as the 809 Phone scam.

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

Please read this and pass it on.

HOW THIS SCAM WORKS:

You receive a message on your answerphone (cell or land-line).

The message will be something sensational like, 'you have won a cash prize, call us now' - or even downright scary, 'please can you call me quickly - there has been an accident'.

You will be left a phone number to call - that will have an area code of 809.

WHY THIS IS A SCAM:

The 809 area code is in the Caribbean, yet most people are not aware that they are making an international call.

809 calls can be 'pay-per-call' numbers (such as 900 numbers in the US) - and there are no legal requirements that callers be informed that they are being charged extra.

When you return a pay-per-call 809 call, they try to keep you on the phone as long as possible, and you are charged very high rates for the call, reportedly up to $25 per minute.

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 let your friends know about this by SHARING this to alert them of this scam.

Here is the official FTC news story about this:

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/809.html

Wikipedia have this to say:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_the_Dominican_Republic

Also if you Google 809 phone scam- -- you will see a ton of warnings about this scam.

I hope this helps save you some unnecessary expenses and stress.