Missed Russian calls likely a scam
Sheriff’s office warns county about incidents
The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office has received several reports from county residents in regards to receiving “missed calls” from a Russian phone number and warning the community to never give personal or banking information over the phone.
“Please do not be a victim,” said spokesperson Alfonso Zavala. “I don’t know of anyone who has spoken to a caller, but we just wanted let the community know about it.”
Zavala, who even received one of the calls himself, said they are likely some sort of scam, and that the scammers behind it are hoping people call them back out of curiosity.
That is quite possible because these “missed calls” from a Russian phone number calls are very similar to what was known as the one-ring scam or the Japanese name “Wangiri” — where it started. The scam was prevalent in the early 2000s.
When someone returned a missed call in the one-ring scam they were connected to some type of toll service. During the call they would hear music playing or have to listen to some type of automated recording.
Staying online can also led to the caller’s phone bill being racked up with hundreds of dollars worth
of long distance charges. The primary goal of these types of scams, however, was theft.
Returning one of these calls typically activates a type mechanism that enables the scammers to bank phone credit.