The $2,425 per Minute Phone Call
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 n umber beginning with 809. We didn’t respond.. Then this week, we received the following e-mail:
Do Not DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284, and 876
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. 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 U.S., 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.
WHY IT WORKS:
The 809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic. The charges afterward 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.
AT&T VERIFIES IT’S TRUE:
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045
SNOPES VERIFIES IT’S TRUE:
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp
Good case for software test plans
Apple Co-Founder: My Prius Has a Problem, Too – Wheels Blog
By RICHARD S. CHANGSo far, the Prius is not on the list of models that Toyota is recalling for sticking accelerators, though one high-profile owner of a 2010 Prius — Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple — says he has had acceleration issues, too.
“Toyota has this accelerator problem we’ve all heard about,” Mr. Wozniak said last week at Discover Forum 2010 in San Francisco, reported CNET.com (via Autoblog). “Well, I have many models of Prius that got recalled, but I have a new model that didn’t get recalled. This new model has an accelerator that goes wild, but only under certain conditions of cruise control. And I can repeat it over and over and over again — safely.”
He added: “This is software. It’s not a bad accelerator pedal. It’s very scary, but luckily for me, I can hit the brakes.”
According to The Los Angeles Times’s Technology blog, Mr. Wozniak said that the problems started several months ago. He was using the cruise control in his Prius to increase his speed when the car accelerated to close to 100 miles per hour on its own. Tapping the brakes managed to slow the car down, but the episode was disconcerting enough for him to contact Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
You might think that when the Woz speaks, people listen, but he said he didn’t receive a response from either party. So on Tuesday, Mr. Wozniak went on a media blitz.
“I think it’s mostly software in my case that caused it,” Mr. Wozniak told ABC News on Tuesday. “I can’t cause it every time on every trip, but I’m sure it will happen again.”
What does this mean? It’s hard to say. Mr. Wozniak said Toyota engineers would examine his Prius for a week to diagnose the problem, though his issue seems quite different from other complaints of sudden unintended acceleration, which Toyota attributes either to sticking gas pedals or to accelerators’ getting hung up on floor mats.
If this were an episode of “House,” you could throw “Prius” and “cruise control” onto the dry erase board, along with “floor mat,” “pedals” and “electronic throttle control.”
Meanwhile, The Times’s Hiroko Tabuchi is reporting that the Prius is the focus of another investigation in Japan, where there have been 14 complaints of brake trouble and the government has ordered Toyota to look into the issue for a possible brake defect.
An earlier version of this post erroneously included Transportation as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s name.
Why 3D art and video mediums will never die
Completely amazing thought and creativity put into this piece. I love this.
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