TELECOMMUNICATIONS companies Telecom Namibia and MTC have advised mobile phone users not to answer or respond to phone calls from unknown international numbers so as to avoid being scammed.
The warnings come after some unsuspecting mobile users this week took to social media after receiving mysterious missed calls from international numbers.
An MTC mobile phone user confirmed to that she received a missed call from a strange number +674 557 8204 on Tuesday, but fortunately she did not return the call, although it raised her curiosity.
In a press statement released today, MTC explained that the missed-call fraud, known as the ‘Wangiri’, is a phone fraud that originated in Japan.
MTC public relations officer Erasmus Nekundi said the fraud does not end with missed calls.The ‘Wangiri’ typically includes an international number calling a victim’s mobile phone, only to hang up after one or two rings.
“This fraud has expanded to include, “You have won a prize” messages sent via SMS, social media and e-mail,” said Nekundi, adding that the public should not call back these numbers, but rather report them to their call centre on 120/130.
According to Telecom Namibia’s spokesperson Oiva Angula, the ‘Wangiri’ numbers appear to be a part of Namibia’s country area code, but are in fact not.
The ‘Wangiri’ is also known as the “one ring and cut” scam – wan means “one” and giri means “hang up” in Japanese.
Angula said if a mobile user returns the call, they will hear an advertisement for a subscription to premium chat lines or Internet services – and they will then be charged a premium for this call. The ‘Wangiri’ is designed to keep callers on the line for as long as possible in order to run up costly long-distance charges.
“The call is made from a computer to many different mobile numbers. What will happen is that the customer receives a missed call from a foreign number and becomes curious, and tries to find out who called. So, when a customer calls back, they are answered by a machine, and will be charged large amounts for the calls they made,” Angula added.
“These numbers are premium-rate overseas phone numbers that charge high rates, on top of your normal long-distance rate.
Once the scammer has you on the line, they will try to make you stay on the call for as long as possible to run up the charges,” said Angula, warning that customers should not call back unknown international numbers.
“Customers are responsible for their own usage,” he warned.
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