Beware of Wangiri Scam: Kenyans Urged to Avoid Unknown International Calls
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has issued a warning regarding the alleged return of the notorious ‘Wangiri’ phone scam.
According to the authority, the scam works as follows: one receives a call from an unidentified international number, but the phone only rings once before hanging up; when the receiver calls the number back, their airtime is depleted.
The fraud model was first reported in Kenya in 2018 following an alert from telecommunications giant Safaricom; however, CA – via its National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC) – claims that it is returning.
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“The scheme is intended to trick innocent and unwary mobile phone users into returning ‘urgent’ international calls that are inadvertently redirected to premium numbers that drain their credit,” said CA Director General Ezra Chiloba in a statement released to newsrooms on Friday.
“Users are required to listen to a recorded message during calls to keep the caller connected. The longer a caller remains on the line, the more money con artists make.
Chiloba continued, “In such a scenario, post-paid subscribers are likely unaware because they receive their bills at the end of the month.” The pre-paid subscribers’ maximum loss is equal to their loaded credit.”
CA further stated that Kenyans who have recently fallen victim to the fraud scheme have been receiving calls from illegally purchased numbers with Peruvian (+51) and New Zealand (+64) prefixes.
“The authority warns the public not to call back any international numbers they do not recognize,” Chiloba explained.
“If you are a victim, report the number to your service provider so they can block it. This prevents additional users from falling victim.”
The origin of the ‘Wangiri’ scam is Japan, where ‘wan’ means ‘one ring and cut’ and ‘giri’ means ‘hang up.’
Beware of Wangiri Scam: Kenyans Urged to Avoid Unknown International Calls
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