Have you ever received a burst of missed calls from strange numbers
in a short span of time? Such missed calls usually last for just one
ring and it is strongly recommended that you DO NOT call these numbers
back. This is an old scam that has resurfaced and we would like to warn
our users against them.
These are international premium-rate numbers (IPRN) and people who
call them are charged hefty rates which are transferred to the attacker.
The trick is known as the ‘Wangiri’ fraud. In Japanese, ‘Wangiri’ means
‘one ring and cut’ and it is believed that this scam originated in
Japan.
What is a premium number?
Premium-rate numbers are typically known as toll numbers and their
origin can be traced to several European countries. Telecom operators
offer a limited number of premium numbers which are acquired by
businesses. Callers are charged premium rates (higher than regular
calling rates) when they dial such numbers and the revenue earned is
then shared between the telecom operator and the owner of the number.
Commercial establishments advertise these numbers for tech support,
voting polls, competitions, directory inquiries, weather forecasts and
more.
How a Wangiri scam works?
Once an attacker has acquired a premium-rate number he gives missed
calls to thousands of cellphone numbers chosen randomly. Inadvertently,
an unsuspecting victim calls the number back. An individual answers the
call and tries to prolong the conversation under some pretext. All this
while, the curious caller gets charged a large amount for the call. The
rates range from Rs. 50 per minute to Rs. 200 per minute.
The latest slew of attacks has arisen from numbers starting with a
+92 code. This code belongs to numbers from Pakistan but it is
impossible to be sure as attackers could have used several masking
techniques. Tracing the country of origin of such calls is a very
difficult process and it can only be accomplished by law enforcement
agencies. It is largely suspected that these calls do not originate in
India. Hence, callers are charged international rates for calling these
international premium-rate numbers.
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