Subject: 809 Area Code

We actually received a call last week from 809 area code. The woman said "Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you--get back to us quickly. Have something important to tell you." Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. We didn't respond.

Then this week, we received following e-mail:

Subject: DON'T EVER 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 US. This is pretty scary, especially given way they try to get you to call. Be sure you read this and pass it on to all your friends and family so they don't get scammed! MAJOR SCAM: Don't respond to Emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call an "809" area Phone Number.

This is a very important issue of Scam Busters because it alerts you to a scam that is spreading *extremely* quickly, can easily cost you $2400 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless you are aware of it.

We'd like to thank Verizon for bringing this scam to our attention. This scam has also been identified by National Fraud Information Center and is costing victims a lots of money.

There are lots of different permutations of this scam.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:

You will 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, to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you are told to call 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

The non-US and non-English Web segments have been boosted by a growing trend towards PC penetration and cheaper Internet access in last couple of years. The US share of global population online, once above ninety percent, is now under a quarter, while number of Internet users who do not speak English at all continues to grow.

The Asia-Pacific region remains a key contributor to increase in number of non-English speakers on Web, but Russian Internet, aka Runet, demonstrates accelerated pace of development as well.

The Russian language on Web was represented by 2.7 percent in March 2003, said Global Reach, a consultancy that tracks non-English online populations. The share is quite minor, compared to English with its 35.2 percent. However, growth rate of Runet is far more exciting; Russian Internet audience has tripled over last two years, registering a 40 percent increase annually. The February 2003 Report by SpyLOG indicates that total users who surf Russian portion of Internet have reached about 15 million, 60 percent of whom live in Russia and seven percent in Ukraine. Moscow and St.-Petersburg account for 53 percent of total Internet users in Russia. Similarly, Ukrainian Internet surveys reveal that vast majority (70 percent) of Ukrainian users live in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Donetsk, according to freenet.kiev.ua and mct.kiev.ua as quoted in Kyiv Post Business March 20, 2003.

The Ukrainian user base grows as fast as its Russian counterpart. The total Internet users in Ukraine reached 2.5 million by year-end 2002, a 150 percent increase in a year, said head of Ukrainian State Committee for Communications and Information Technologies. Independent marketers confirm recent trends on Ukrainian Internet, or Uanet for short. For example, eRus.ru quoted GfK-USM, a marketing company, as stating that regular Internet users in Ukraine accounted for 6.4 percent of total population (3.1 million of 48.4 million) in February 2003, and number of users who purchased products or services through Internet was doubled when compared to February 2002.

Internet Access and Prices

Dial-up connection is most common way of accessing Internet in both Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian dial-up users, for example, pay $0.1 to $2.0 an hour for Internet access, depending on an ISP, time of day and availability of callback services. The monthly charge for unmetered access in Kiev currently ranges from about $4 (midnight to 9.00 a.m. with no callback support) to about $40 (24-hour access via callback service). The callback service in Kiev will save you about $0.4/hour, an additional fee charged by Ukrtelecom for connection to local telephone line.