Canadians have reported losses of $383 million in 2021 alone to telecommunication fraud, costing victims exponentially more money than ever before.¹ As spam calling and texting has become a growing concern, it's important to be aware of the prevalent scams both in the US and Canada. Increased awareness helps protect ourselves and loved ones against fraud. One of the most prevalent of these telecommunications scams is called Wangiri.

Wangiri is a Japanese term that translates to one ring and cut, referring to a phone call that rings just one time before disconnecting. Typically, these calls will occur at nighttime or working hours in order to intentionally go unanswered and be displayed as a missed call in the call log. The intention is to have victims call the number back, which is then re-routed to an IPRN, International Premium Rate Number, or another number that charges excessively high fees.² Oftentimes, victims receive multiple calls from the same premium-rate number, or even text messages, to influence them to call the number back.³ This is known as the first leg of the Wangiri attack.

The second leg occurs once the victim actually calls the number back. The motivation of the scammer then becomes to keep the caller on the line for as long as possible. To this end, they typically use a recording centered around a lottery win, gambling, or other adult-themed content to entice the victim to stay on the line.⁴ The longer the call is, the more expensive the fees are, most of which are paid to the scammer.

Signs of a Wangiri Call

Here are a few telltale signs to look out for:

1. The phone will ring for only a short amount of time before disconnecting.
2. The call occurs at nighttime or working hours.
3. The number has an unusual international country code.

Takeaways and Tips to Protect Yourself

Keep the following in mind to keep yourself safe against Wangiri fraud:

1. If you notice you have a missed call from a number unfamiliar to you, do not call back. As tempting as it may be to want to know whose call you missed, it's important to remember that legitimate callers trying to reach you will often leave a voicemail.
2. If you are receiving a lot of these calls, report it to your phone provider.
3. If you have already been charged for calling one of these numbers back, you can report the crime to the police.⁵

References

^{1 https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
2 https://www.enghousenetworks.com/enghouse-resources/blog/infographics/detect-protect-against-wangiri-callback-fraud
3 https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/wangiri_final_2.pdf
4 https://abhandshake.com/wangiri
5 https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/wangiri_final_2.pdf}