I received this in an email, which you may have already seen....but I'm forwarding it just to make everyone aware, in case you haven't:

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. ButWe 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 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.

Please 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.

Just wanna make sure people know about this so no one gets taken advantage of

AT&T VERIFIES IT'S TRUE :

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045

SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE:

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

 

This is why I like to google numbers in question. There are alot of sites set up where people comment on numbers they receive calls from.

 

Anywho.com and reverse search or area code look up dem mophos...

 

I also google phone numbers I don't recognize. Thanks for ther heads up!

 

This is actually a complete hoax.

It really costs about $.25/minute to call the 809 area code; about what people typically expect to pay for a long distance call. Full details/sources can be found at www.wherecall.com/809.htm.

 

wtf?! ^^^^

 

hey JD, let me borrow your phone to see if this is true......haha

- b

 

Do you even check your links or sources?

Snopes claims it's a partial truth. There are scams like this going around, but you'll more likely be billed $25 to $100 (less than $3 per minute at most according to AT&T), not thousands of dollars.

This is from AT&T's website that you linked:

* Contact the carrier with whom the charge originated, whose name and toll-free telephone number should be printed on the same bill page as the charge in question. Often, the problem can be resolved with a single phone call.
* If the carrier with whom the charge originated does not agree to resolve the problem, contact AT&T. AT&T will work with you and the carrier to help remove fraudulent charges from the phone bill.




But it is a scam none the less... thanks for the heads up.