Reduce annoying Wangiri scam calls from international telephone numbers

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Tired of rushing to answer your mobile phone only to find you have a missed call
from an unfamiliar international telephone number? International scam calls known
as Wangiri are making their way to local mobile phone numbers at all hours, causing
you inconvenience. So, what exactly are these Wangiri scam calls? They are calls
made from different numbers which are dropped after the phone rings only for a few
times to entice you to call back. By returning the call, you are generally charged
international calling rates. In this way, scammers might receive cash from these
calls. To help you safeguard your interests when receiving these annoying scam
calls, read over these tips from the MCA.

#Tip 1: Do not call back or answer

If you find a missed call from an unidentified international number do not call back as
you will get charged. No charges apply when you answer such calls while in Malta
or while roaming in a country within the EU or EEA namely Iceland, Liechtenstein
and Norway. Answering or returning these calls may also encourage the scammers
to call you again. If you call back unintentionally, make sure to end the call as soon
as possible and you should under no circumstances disclose personal information
over the phone.

#Tip 2: Save international numbers of people you know in your contact list

Are you calling back unfamiliar international numbers just in case it’s family or friends
abroad? Avoid extra charges and save the numbers of family and friends with
international numbers on your phone’s contact list. This will avoid you from
answering scam international calls or from returning the missed calls.

#Tip 3: Block the number

Phone blocking features provide you with an easy way to stop future incoming calls
from numbers which you have already blocked on your phone. On an iPhone
device, simply click the ‘i’ near the caller number and click ‘Block Caller’. On an
Android one, open the phone app, select the number you want to block, hit ‘more’
and click ‘add to auto-reject list’ or ‘block numbers’ (method might slightly differ
according to Android phone model). The scammers tend to change the numbers
used to make Wangiri scam calls frequently and therefore call blocking will not
necessarily stop all incoming scam calls.

#Tip 4: Contact your service provider

If you are getting any of these fastidious international calls, make sure you contact
your mobile service provider. By doing so, your service provider can block outgoing
calls to these numbers. This will prevent you from returning these calls accidentally
and incurring unnecessary charges.

If you’re still being woken up at night with 2am Wangiri scam calls put your phone on
silent. For more information visit https://www.mca.org.mt/articles/wangiri-scam-calls.

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