check this out

[Mansoor Halimi]

I do not know how True it is but you can call your pone company to find out about this?
 

ABOUT AREA CODE  809 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 beg inning with 809  . 'We didn't respond'. Then this week, we received the following e-mail: Subject: DON'T DIAL AREA CODE   809  ,  284  AND  876  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON'T DIAL AREA COD E   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.    Be sure you 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  US , 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. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you'll often be charged more than $24,100.00    WHY IT WORKS: The  809  area code is located in the  Dominican Republic. The charges afterwards 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 forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam Sandi Van Hand el AT&T Field Serv ice Manager (920)687-904    Additional information on these area codes can be found from ATT at:    http :// www.consumer.att.com/consumerti <http://www.consumer.att.com/consumertips/areacode.html>     http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

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Mansoor Halimi
Appraiser
Y & R Appraisal

[Syed Shahid]

Good catch. AT&T offers the following information with regard to this fraud:

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

I find that Snopes usually does a thorough job of vetting these things but in this case they were inconclusive. The AT& T link above will take you directly to this very real fraud.