When I Received a Phone Call from Zambia (+260)
The other day, I suddenly received a call from an unfamiliar number. The screen displayed “+260". Upon checking, I found out it was the country code for Zambia. Of course, I don’t know anyone in Zambia, so I immediately grew suspicious and thought, “Could this be… ?"
To cut to the chase, this call was likely a type of international telephone scam. Recently, scams of this nature have been on the rise. Upon investigating, I found that the two main tactics used in these scams are:
Billing Fraud for Fictitious Charges
This is a scam where criminal groups use automated voice recordings to claim that “there is an unpaid balance" and instruct the victim to make a payment through a specified method. In some cases, they even send out seemingly authentic invoices.
One-Ring Scam (Ping Call Scam)
True to its name, this method involves letting the phone ring just once and hanging up immediately to trick the recipient into calling back. If you call back, unusually high international call rates are incurred, and a portion of those fees is kicked back to the criminal group.
While both are clever tactics, they share one common element: they exploit “unfamiliar numbers." Therefore, the best countermeasures we can take are simple.
Countermeasures: Do Not Answer or Call Back Unknown International Numbers
・First, it is wise to ignore incoming calls from unfamiliar numbers.
・Be especially cautious of country codes frequently used in scams, such as +260 (Zambia), +91 (India), and +963 (Syria).
・Never call back, as charges may be incurred the moment you do so.
Where Did My Phone Number Leak From?
The question is, how did they get my number in the first place? Honestly, I don’t know the exact cause. However, some possible reasons include:
・Entering my phone number when signing up for online services
・A data breach at a service I used in the past
・Malicious apps harvesting contact information
In any case, we need to be careful about handling our personal information on a daily basis. Basic preventive measures include not registering your phone number with services you don’t fully trust and avoiding the installation of suspicious apps.
Conclusion
This incident made me realize once again that the simple rule of “not answering unfamiliar phone numbers" is extremely important. The methods used in international phone scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but you can prevent becoming a victim by staying calm and handling the situation properly.
Everyone, please be very careful with suspicious phone calls!