Dear all,
You may find the following information useful.
Be Aware! Phone Calls, E-Mails, downloading information from the
Internet, all may result in a scam that is spreading extremely quickly
which could cost you in the end. There are a lot of different
permutations of scamming, but here is how it works:
PHONE OR PAGER SCAM:
You receive a message on your answering machine or your pager which asks
you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason you're
asked to call varies; it can be to receive information about a family
member who has been ill, 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 given an 809 number to call right away. 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 $25.00
per minute! Sometimes the person who answers the phone will speak broken
English and pretend not to understand you. Other times, you will just
get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on
the line for as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately,
when you get your phone bill, you will often be charged more than $100.00
for that particular call.
The 809 area code is located in the Bahamas. This area code can be used
as a "pay-per-call" number similar to 900 numbers in the United States.
Since 809 is not in the US, it is not covered by US Regulations of 900
numbers, which requires that you be notified and warned of charges and
rates involved when you call a
"pay-per-call" number. Further, whereas many US phones have 900 number
blocking, this blocking system will not work on an 809 area code.
INTERNET BASED PHONE SCAM VIA E-MAIL:
You receive an E-Mail, typically with a subject line of "Alert" or
"Unpaid Account". This message which is being scammed across the net
says: "I am writing to give you a final 24 hours to settle your
outstanding account. If I have not received the settlement in full, I
will commence legal proceedings without further delay", then it will give
you a contact person with an 809 number.
No matter how you receive the message, if you are asked to call a number
with the 809 area code that you do not recognize, investigate further
and/or disregard the message. Be VERY WARY of E-Mail or phone calls
asking you to make calls to an 809 area code.
Regards,
Sadegh Rahmati
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Centre for Rapid Prototyping in Manufacturing
Department of Manufacturing Engineering
The University of Nottingham
Nottingham, UK, NG7 2RD
Tel; +44 115 9514033 Fax: +44 115 9514000
Email; epxsr@epn1.nott.ac.uk
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