According to an article published May 29th, a mobile subscriber from Dubai reportedly got caught in a fraudulent scheme after receiving multiple calls from the same international number. Those calls were repeatedly disconnected and, by mistake, the mobile subscriber actually called back. At the same time, this subscriber was receiving several text messages to call other numbers, as well as invitation links to prize competitions promising thousands of dollars in money.
But what is Wangiri Fraud and how can it be so harmful?
For the ones that don’t know Wangiri (literally "One (ring) and cut", from Japan where it was originated), is a fraudulent scheme in which auto dialers are used to make several short-duration calls - mainly to mobile devices - leaving a missed call number, which is either premium rate or contains advertising messages in the hope that the victim calls back. On top of that, fraudsters who generate the missed calls hope that their expensive international numbers will be called back, so that they can profit.
So, what can be done to address this issue?
WeDo Technologies Fraud Management solution provides a mechanism to proactively monitor a Communication Service Providers’ network and detect Wangiri attacks. It then is able to shut down any new international numbers and number ranges that appear to be fraudulent, protecting from further fraud happening.
Moreover, our product comes with an in-built list of Fraudulent Premium Rate Numbers, as well as machine-learning mechanisms that enable the identification of patterns for numbers which may not be listed yet, at the time of the attack. This issue affects customers of mobile and fixed line operators around the globe and we’re currently working with a number of different operators to restrain Wangiri fraud levels.
For more information or should you have any question, please feel free to Contact Us.
Cover image credit: https://www.orami.co.id/magazine/waspada-wangiri-penipuan-lewat-missed-call-dari-luar-negeri-yang-sedang-marak/