International Missed Call Scam
By Sonica Naudé-Steyn

Local residents have reported a surge in what seems to be an international scam which targets cellphone users.
Residents report receiving numerous missed calls from unknown international numbers at all hours of the day and night. Many of these numbers originate from Somalia, New Guinea and various other countries, mostly North African countries. Often phones will only ring once before the call is discontinued.
According to Techwelkin.com, this is a scam which has been around for many years known as the ‘One Ring Scam’. According to this website, the scammers hire international premium rate numbers and then proceed to phone random numbers and disconnecting the call. The idea is that unwitting victims see the missed call and try to phone back. The victim is then charged an exuberant rate for the call which can somehow be claimed by the scammers.
Former victims claim that upon returning the call, many were met with silence while others heard a voice whispering. This was however obviously done in an effort to keep the caller on the line for as long as possible. Residents are urged to be vigilant and not to answer or return unknown international calls. Cellphone users are further urged to employ security and caller identification applications such as ‘Mr Number’ to allow early identification of spammers and scammers and to further block unwanted calls.