- Australians are being warned not to return international calls due to a scam
- The government advises you should not even call these numbers back
- The scam makes money when you call back and are charged premium rates
Australians are being warned to check their caller ID as a new phone scam threatens to charge you premium rates to return their call.
In the ‘wangiri’ scam an international number will call you and people are being told specifically not to answer calls from this number: +88199730120.
In the scam the caller will hang up the phone before you have a chance to answer it.
Has this number called you? The government has warned not to call back international numbers you don’t recognise
You will then have a missed call on your phone but the Federal government advises that you should not call back.
Their goal is to keep you on the phone as long as possible so that you are charged premium rates.
Wangiri is a Japanese term that means ‘one ring and cut’.
The calls come from places such as West African, Cuba and Slovenia.
They have even hit places outside of major cities such as the Illawarra.
The Federal government has released some tips to help people falling prey to these scammers.
You should also block numbers that call you repeatedly and warn your family and friends
The phone calls keep you on the phone as long as you can so you are charged premium rates
They advise that you should not call the number back if you don’t recognise it and if they call you repeatedly to block the number.
The government suggests blocking international calls from children’s phones to stop them becoming victims as well.
Another tip is to deal with interactions from unknown people via phone, tax or internet as a scam.
Lastly they say you should spread the word.