TELEPHONES E-mail issues scam warning

The international call e-mail is based on a true story.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
Chances are if you have a computer, you've received some type of scam e-mail.
The most popular ones continue to promise money or products for forwarding e-mails, the ability to share in huge sums of money tied up in Nigerian banks or the chance to earn thousands of dollars each week working from home.
Now, another popular e-mail warning is making the rounds, this time asking people to be wary of e-mails, phone calls or pages asking them to dial a telephone number with the 809 area code.
"Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls," the e-mail reads.
The message further warns that the 809 area code is not in the United States, but instead in the British Virgin Islands, and can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900-numbers in the United States. In essence, the message says that once you call back, you have become part of an international calling scam that could cost you thousands of dollars.
Here's the difference
Though it seems like any other e-mail that perpetuates an urban legend or promises a get-rich-quick scheme, the difference between the international call e-mail and others is that it's based on a true story.
"This particular scam hasn't been a real issue for us for a few years, but it still pops up now and then," said John Bonomo, of the public relations office for Verizon in New York.
The scam works when people call back the number, thinking it must be in the United States because of the 809 area code. Traditionally, overseas calls use the 011 international access code.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 38,000 were taken in by the scam in 1997; most received reimbursements for the calls, which amounted to more than $2.74 million in charges.
Bonomo said since the area codes of the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean and other overseas locations do not fall under the same regulations as United States telephone companies, they can use any area code to establish a pay-per-call site and charge any amount they want.
"All these scams used to be here today and gone tomorrow," he said. "But with the Internet, the bad guys can reach more people using one button to send an e-mail to 8,000 people."
Bonomo said Verizon and other telephone companies, as well as law enforcement agencies, try to keep tabs on such scams and stay one step ahead.
When a scam is identified, Bonomo said, most phone companies will issue press releases or informational statements in customers' bills making them aware of the scam and what steps to take to prevent being taken in.
slshaulis@vindy.com