🚀 go-pugleaf

The following is a message to alert you to a telephone scam currently in 
operation.  The scam works basically like this:

You get home and notice that the message light is blinking on  your 
answering machine.  You listen to the message, which has  several 
wrinkles, but the best one is the caller asks you to call a number 
beginning with area code 809 to receive information about a family
member 
who has been ill.  (They may also tell you someone has been arrested, 
died, you have won a wonderful prize, etc.)  In any event, concerned or 
curious, you make the call. Sometimes the phone will be answered by a 
person who claims to speak broken English. (The
idea is to keep you on the line to build up charges.)  Or, sometimes you 
will just get a long  recorded message.  The bottom lines is, when your 
phone bill comes, you see this incredible charge, often times more than  
$100.00 dollars!

Crooks are using the 809 numbers as "pay-per-calls" and to get around 
the US Regulations and 900 number blocking. Every time  you call the 
number, they get a greatly inflated rebate from the foreign phone 
company.  Since the 809 numbers are in the  Caribbean, they aren't
bound by US 900# regulations that  require them to warn you of the 
charge and rate involved, and  also to provide a time period during
which 
you may terminate  the call without being charged.

The newest twist to this scam is to page people using the 809 numbers.  
With the new area code changes, people unknowingly are returning these 
calls. When the bill comes, there are  HUGE charges for the calls.  My 
suggestion is that no matter how you get the message, if you are asked
to 
call a number with an 809 area code that you  don't recognize,  DON'T 
RETURN THE CALL!  It's bad enough that  the criminal is invading your 
privacy, don't let them invade your wallet as well!

Scams of this type are extremely hard to prosecute and since  you did 
actually make the call, neither your local phone company or your long 
distance carrier will want to get  involved.  They'll tell you that they 
are simply providing the billing for the foreign company.  You
end up trying to  deal (over the phone) with a foreign company that 
feels they have done no wrong.  It can turn into a real nightmare! 

Please forward this msg to friends and let people be aware of it!

-- 
==================================================
 James Gifford * gifford@ns.net
==================================================