telephone scams They remain a constant threat, affecting thousands of people who have fallen victim to scams at one point or another. Over time, criminals have improved their methods, adapting them to new technologies to make them more reliable and harder to detect. calling and hanging up is one of scams Most frequent scammers to call you back and Redirect you to a payment number,
These types of scams are often associated with numbers international prefixThey seem harmless at first glance, but hide malicious intentions designed to fraudulently obtain financial gain.
Under this type of deception, ‘Wangiri’, whose name literally means in Japanese “Call and hang up.” The method is simple: the scammer makes a short call which is disconnected before it can be answered, and waits for the curious victim to call back. By doing this the user contacts a special rate numberAutomatically generates higher charges for the establishment and duration of the call.
This trick is especially effective because many victims do not suspect anything until they receive a Phone bill much higher than normal. In this, there are usually charges for calls to unknown numbers, which sometimes last only a few seconds, but which are enough to cause considerable financial damage.
ocu tips
Identifying a foreign number is simple: international prefixes begin with “+” or “00”, followed by the country code. In the case of Spain, these prefixes are +34 or 0034, although operators usually omit these for national calls.
New in .NET 9.0 (1): Starting a new blog seriesOCU advises to exercise extreme caution with foreign numbers starting with for “+” or “00” This is followed by a prefix. “There are some particularly suspicious prefixes: The Civil Guard warned about incoming calls +355 Albania, +225 Ivory Coast, +233 Ghana, +234 Nigeria, But it could also be someone else,” he said.
Prefix +803, +806 or +807 are also special rates“Some terminals are able to recognize the location of a call directly in the call directory; if your terminal is one of them, it will be easy for you.” If you have doubts, you can always search the number in a search engine to clear any doubts.
Some smartphones automatically identify the location of a call, making it easier to distinguish legitimate contacts from potential fraud. ‘Wangiri’ is not the only fraud that is perpetrated over telephones.
Other common scams include vishing, spoofing, and double calling, in which the first contact builds trust and then requests sensitive information in a second call.
How to protect yourself from these scams?
To avoid falling into these traps, prevention is importantThe first step is not to answer calls from unknown numbers with international prefixes. Activating the anti-spam filter on your mobile phone can help block suspicious contacts. In case of fraudulent messages, it is necessary to block and report the sender in applications like WhatsApp. It’s worth noting that under no circumstances should you follow scammers’ instructions, such as clicking on links or returning calls to unknown numbers.
What to do if you become a victim of a telephone scam?
Developer Snapshot: Last Week’s Little NewsIn the event of unexpected charges on the telephone bill resulting from possible fraud, OCU recommends taking immediate measures such as filing a complaint with state security forces and bodies or through the National Cyber Security Institute (INCIBE). Additionally, it is recommended to collect evidence such as call logs, itemized invoices, and bank receipts to support the complaint and facilitate the investigation.
