Scam artists con people into calling phones numbers in the 809 area code. 809 is a pay-per-call exchange in the Caribbean and the unwary can run up big charges.

The scam has been around for a number of years. See the links below for confirmation of the scams.

Even though this is a very rare example of a forwarded email warning that turns out to be true, in general, it probably isn't a very good idea to pass along warnings circulating via email.

• Confirmations
  • "Businesses Beware of Internet Scams" from the Better Business Bureau
  • "Consumers Continue to Fall for the Most Common Telephone Scams" from the Better Business Bureau
  • "Special Alert!" from Scambusters.org
  • "900#, 800#, 809# & International Call Scams Index from the National Consumers League
• Other commentaries
  • "809 Area Code Phone Scam" from About.com
  • 809 Phone Scam from the Urban Legends Reference Pages

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