Rogers warns 'one ring scam' now targeting cellphones across Canada
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.
Anyone else been getting a lot of calls from Africa lately? This is one of many calls I’ve gotten in the last two weeks, that I refuse to answer. #BeFraudAware pic.twitter.com/wn7yuIczS6
— Cst Lee Marten (@Canuckula) February 8, 2018
Yup. Received a number of these calls already myself 📱@Rogershttps://t.co/mi6jxGP9wi
— Kelsey Klassen (@kelseyklassen) February 8, 2018
I got two calls from Estonia this morning. Thankfully I don’t answer the phone for any number I don’t recognize because I hate people 😂.
— Amy Wamy Bo-Bamy (@sayyestosporks) February 13, 2018
My calls were from Macedonia. They tried twice.
— Robbie Clarke (@stillrobbie) February 13, 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.
To our customers – if you receive a call from an unknown international number that disconnects immediately, it could be part of a worldwide scam known as Wangiri fraud. Please do not call the number back.
— RogersHelps (@RogersHelps) February 13, 2018
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.