Calls from random countries (Scam?)

[Davdi]

Over the last couple of days I've had calls from Myanmar, Indonesia, Cuba and Finland. Obviously I didn't answer and added them to my blocked calls blacklist.
It's plain that they're part of a scam, but I'm puzzled as to what it might be. Unless it's the old 'I'm stuck in this country and need money for hospital treatment/pay a fine/I've been robbed' - delete as appropriate.

 

[Unforgiven]

I seem to remember something where scammers would call spoofing a foreign number trying to get people to call back. If you did it was like calling a 900 number.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Yep lots of number spoofing going on these days, plus the numbers will change every time so blocking them is useless.
On the flip side of the foreign numbers is the ones that look like they are from your own area code so you're more inclined to answer. That doesn't work with me since I'm anti-social and don't know anybody in my area.

 

[Dannydet]

I just use Youmail, which blocks international calls and same area code plus your first 3 digit calls, which many spammers are using by "spoofing"....
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.youmail.android.vvm

 

[Hadron]

Of course some of us actually do receive international calls, so blanket blocking doesn't work for us.

In the UK "area code plus first 3 digits" wouldn't work with a cellphone because they don't have geographical numbers. A plus side of this is that you always know when you are calling a mobile, which means that any interconnect fees are paid by the caller. As a result the US business of the cellphone owner paying to receive calls (or using their minutes when receiving) never happened this side of the Atlantic. But another consequence of this is that calling with the same dialing code plus first 3 digits would look exceptionally unusual on a cellphone here, and be more likely to arouse suspicions than allay them .

 

[puppykickr]

I hate this problem.

My only solution was to block all calls and texts from numbers that are not in my contacts list.

So, this is an issue when legitimate companies need to get ahold of me.

I solved that issue by using a VoIP number from Dingtone.
They allow you to choose from many different numbers.

I chose one that looks like a scam number- the area code is from another state, the three digit exchange is all the same number, and out of the last four the two on the end are zeros.

So I virtually never get any calls on that number to people that I have not given it to.

An added bonus is that it looks like a business number as well.

 

[Raniyah]

I had the problem sometimes ago and my friends told me not answer them as the could access the phone data once Ive answered. I don't know if they were right or wrong.However, I contacted my network carrier and informed about this asked them to block bothersome numbers

 

[Hadron]

Your friends are wrong: answering a call does not give someone access to the data on the phone.They may try to scam you in other ways, but that's just a myth.