If you see missed calls from numbers with international call codes, please ignore and don’t call them back, unless you have a relative living abroad whom you can reach through social media or other channels other than returning the call.
In international calls, telephone numbers are often accompanied by a country code, for example in the countries mentioned in the scam, UK, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand to name just a few, their country codes for calling are: +44, +1 (same as USA), +353, and +64.
Below, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) explains Wangiri Fraud
What is Wangiri fraud?
It entails receiving missed calls from international numbers you don’t recognise on a mobile/fixed-line phone. The fraudsters generating the calls hope that their expensive international numbers will be called back so that they can profit.
The term Wangiri is Japanese for “one (ring) and cut.” And as the name would imply, it’s a genuinely international scam, with victims distributed across the world. Warnings about the scam have appeared in Kenyan, the U.K., Canadian, Irish, and New Zealand media, among others.
One Ring to Rule Them All Wangiri Scam relies upon ones innate curiosity. Many people would instinctively return a missed call, even from a mysterious international number. And the repetitive nature of the scam adds to the intrigue and pressure.
The aim of the scam is to encourage those who get a missed call to ring the number, after which they will be ripped off as the call will be re-routed to premium rate number overseas & will be subsequently billed exorbitant sums for listening to pre-recorded messages.
What should you do if you get a suspected Wangiri call? If you receive calls like this, be assured that you haven’t been specifically targeted. It’s likely that the fraudster has generated a missed call to a whole range of mobile numbers that happens to include yours.
We recommend that you don’t return calls to international numbers that you don’t recognise. Calls to Wangiri numbers will often result in a charge being incurred and encourage the fraudster to generate more missed calls to customers who choose to call back.
If the worst happens and you return the Wangiri call, we encourage you to call your mobile service provider, explain the situation & help them block some of these numbers. Source: Online Advisories, Alerts ,blogs.
