Rogers warns 'one ring scam' now targeting cellphones across Canada

Feb 14 2018, 2:05 am

If you happen to receive a call from an unfamiliar overseas number, do not answer.

A scam that results in hefty fees is sweeping the country, and it involves fraudsters calling Canadians from overseas locations like Albania, Macedonia, several countries in Africa, or the Seychelles before they hang up quickly.

Those curious enough to return the call will then be charged per minute, with some reports claiming victims have been charged up to $400 per minute. So the longer the victim stays on the line, the heftier their charges will be.

The scam first made headway in Calgary earlier this month, and there have since been incidents occurring across the country, with many victims claiming to receive multiple calls from the same number.

Yup. Received a number of these calls already myself 📱@Rogershttps://t.co/mi6jxGP9wi

— Kelsey Klassen (@kelseyklassen) February 8, 2018

Earlier today, Rogers warned its customers of the scam on Twitter and said it may be a part of a worldwide scam that is known as Wangiri fraud. Wangiri is a Japanese word that literally means ‘one ring and cut’.

Rogers then advised its customers if they receive an unknown international number that disconnects immediately not to call the number back.

The ‘one ring scam’ comes as Toronto is currently dealing with a new landline-based phone scam, when victims are convinced to transfer money into a fraudster’s account. So far, victims have already been conned out of a combined $5.1 million.

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