While the internet provides us with a lot of good things and improvements, unfortunately it also opens doors to more extravagant and clever scams and ways of catching people out.
The Wangiri scam is a new scam which has surfaced over the years and become very frequent. It is very recurrent and you may have been an attempted victim without even realising:
Scammers will call you and hang up after one ring so you receive a missed call. Out of curiosity or even concern you call back. When you call back, the call will either be silent, put you on hold with music, a recording to listen to, or even attempt to trick you into believing you’ve won something. The longer you are connected on the line, the more money they can steal off you. This number is usually international and linked to a premium-rate number which charges you very high fees for every minute you stay on the line.
The numbers are almost always international, such as: +216 (Tunisia), +234 (Nigeria), +355 (Albania), +882 / +883 (international networks). However, you can’t always trust the country code, as scammers can imitate them. You are not a random, unlucky victim; scammers will call thousands of numbers at once.If any unknown numbers call you (they won’t usually leave a message), don’t call back. Some phones have scam blockers but even then, they are not foolproof.
Similar scams include, SMS messages ‘pick up your package’ or ‘your package has arrived’ and emails from ‘banks’ asking for password changes or saying you owe money or to check your balance. Many people fall victims of more personal scams, in which scammers impersonate family members in need of help or money.
The key is to always avoid picking up calls from unknown numbers, never click on links and when a supposed big company emails you, always double check or call up before sending any money. It is important to create awareness as people, young and old, fall for these as unfortunately, scams are becoming cleverer and easier to fall for. We chatted about the Wangiri scam on this week’s show:
