Police Warn Cambodians about International Missed Call Scam
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 10:34 am
The Ministry of Interior's team of IT department would like to explain that a large number of Cambodians have received telephone calls from unknown numbers abroad and that this is part of a scam.
3:07 pm February 23, 2020 103
Phnom Penh: On the afternoon of February 23, 2020, the National Police Website received information from the Ministry of Interior's Information Technology Working Group on Citizens' Issues concerning a Missed Call Abroad Scam.
Currently, we observe that a large number of Cambodians have received telephone calls from overseas countries such as Malawi,Nigeria, Pakistan or Russia. At the same time, people seem to be wondering about these missed calls and are asking some of the following questions:
- Who made the call on their cell phone number?
- What is the purpose of those who are doing this?
- Is this phone number fraudulent ?
In order to answer the above questions, the IT team would like to briefly explain the following:
Calls using strange numbers you may not know is a Money Scam called "Callback Scam" or "One-Ring Scam". Callback Scam is a technique that debits victims' phone accounts using a service called International Premium Rate Number (IPRN). Organized criminal networks buy IPRN telephone services from international service providers to destinations around the world, including those from the Kingdom of Cambodia.
How can you lose money on your mobile account?
- Criminals dial in the victims' phone numbers from Malawi (+265), Africa (+27), Nigeria (+234), Pakistan (+92) or Russia (+7).
- After dialing in, they will disconnect the phone line that shows Missed Call on the victim's phone.
- When a victim makes a phone call, the service charge is expensive and automatically deducted from the victim's phone account.
Criminals will receive commission from mobile service providers.
What can you do to prevent scams (Callback or One-Ring Scam)?
When receiving an international call from a telephone number that you are not familiar with:
- Save the phone number and try contacting it via WhatsApp, Telegram, or SMS.
- Avoid returning the phone call as the number may be IPRN.
- Use mobile phone software to search for source code like TrueCaller.
- Report to your mobile service provider.
- Block suspicious phone numbers using existing software on your mobile phone.
Source: Cambodian Police website.
3:07 pm February 23, 2020 103
Phnom Penh: On the afternoon of February 23, 2020, the National Police Website received information from the Ministry of Interior's Information Technology Working Group on Citizens' Issues concerning a Missed Call Abroad Scam.
Currently, we observe that a large number of Cambodians have received telephone calls from overseas countries such as Malawi,Nigeria, Pakistan or Russia. At the same time, people seem to be wondering about these missed calls and are asking some of the following questions:
- Who made the call on their cell phone number?
- What is the purpose of those who are doing this?
- Is this phone number fraudulent ?
In order to answer the above questions, the IT team would like to briefly explain the following:
Calls using strange numbers you may not know is a Money Scam called "Callback Scam" or "One-Ring Scam". Callback Scam is a technique that debits victims' phone accounts using a service called International Premium Rate Number (IPRN). Organized criminal networks buy IPRN telephone services from international service providers to destinations around the world, including those from the Kingdom of Cambodia.
How can you lose money on your mobile account?
- Criminals dial in the victims' phone numbers from Malawi (+265), Africa (+27), Nigeria (+234), Pakistan (+92) or Russia (+7).
- After dialing in, they will disconnect the phone line that shows Missed Call on the victim's phone.
- When a victim makes a phone call, the service charge is expensive and automatically deducted from the victim's phone account.
Criminals will receive commission from mobile service providers.
What can you do to prevent scams (Callback or One-Ring Scam)?
When receiving an international call from a telephone number that you are not familiar with:
- Save the phone number and try contacting it via WhatsApp, Telegram, or SMS.
- Avoid returning the phone call as the number may be IPRN.
- Use mobile phone software to search for source code like TrueCaller.
- Report to your mobile service provider.
- Block suspicious phone numbers using existing software on your mobile phone.
Source: Cambodian Police website.