And such rubbish all day long: who and why calls from unknown numbers and hangs up

What to do if you receive a call from an unknown number

If the number is hidden or unknown, it is not safe to rush to answer or call back

The subscriber's number can be quickly checked by search engines, paying attention to the reviews of special services with telephone databases of unwanted contacts

Answering such a call, the subscriber risks becoming a victim of deception by one of the many fraudulent schemes. Sometimes the caller appears to be a loved one who urgently needs money.Other scammers act as a representative of the bank's security service, offering to cancel a non-existent payment by dictating the password from the personal account of the Internet bank.

If a person decides to call back to a number that is not defined as useful, it should be borne in mind that an outgoing call can be debited. Fraudsters do not even bother talking - after receiving a call, an answering machine turns on, slandering a text of very different content. The longer the subscriber listens to the audio recording, the more expensive such a chime will cost.

Useful Applications

Thanks to special applications, it is possible to instantly recognize whether an incoming call is related to a fraud attempt. If doubts are confirmed, you should add suspicious numbers to the “black list” of your smartphone, or connect the call blocker service. You can find related applications for installation on a smartphone in the Google Play store.

“Don't pick up the phone”

For devices on the Android platform, a special program "Do not pick up the phone" is provided, which allows you to cut off all unwanted contacts. The essence of the service is to analyze the incoming call and reconcile with the local and common base. Each call is double checked - by checking the book of personal contacts on the smartphone and the Internet database. In order to have up-to-date information about the numbers, the database is updated from time to time.

A suspicious contact will not even disturb the owner of the smartphone, as the system will automatically block the call.

“Security Master”

To find out who is calling from an unknown number, install the Security Master application for Android or iOS smartphones.

As soon as an incoming call appears on the screen, the application checks the number against the data of online databases.The system will automatically determine whether the caller belongs to the banking sector, or represents the interests of collectors.

After identifying the source of the call, the smartphone owner will be able to blacklist the unknown phone to get rid of anxiety forever.

Is it true that you shouldn't say "yes" when someone calls you from an unknown number?

With the development of technology, a new version of fraud has appeared - just talk to a stranger and answer in the affirmative, confirming your personal data. Modern scammers have fairly complete information about the subscriber, and may try to take a digital fingerprint of the voice. After the introduction of voice identification by a number of banks, criminals have the opportunity to withdraw money and conduct transactions on behalf of the client using biometrics. In order to verify the identity and gain access to the funds in the victim's account, scammers need to have a digital snapshot of several phrases. This can easily be done through a call from a hidden number, leaving no trace of your crime.

Most often, criminals, hoping for an affirmative answer, ask:

1. Do you agree?
2. Try a free service?
3. Will we connect the service in test mode?
4. Do you want to take part in the action?

In order not to fall for the bait of scammers, you should not answer “yes” or “confirm” to any questions asked by strangers calling from unknown numbers. Each time, answering in the affirmative, even if asked to confirm the full name, a person increases the chances of criminals.

Using blacklists from operators

The easiest way to reduce the number of unwanted calls is offered by the cellular operators themselves. The "Blacklist" function is provided in most mobile devices.If the owner of the smartphone does not want to be disturbed by calls from specific numbers, they are added to the list of unwanted ones.

Mobile operators offer to set up the service through the Personal Account on the company's website.

In addition to the service included in the list of settings on the smartphone, they use free applications from Google Play that allow you to turn off notifications about an incoming call from an unwanted number.

Fraud Prevention

In order not to give your own money to intruders, it is recommended that you never call back unfamiliar numbers. If curiosity is so great that you definitely want to know the caller, you can use special portals on the Internet that provide information about unknown numbers. You must enter a suspicious number and click the search button. Detailed information will be displayed shortly on the screen. This indicates the region of registration of the SIM card, feedback from subscribers, or the alleged belonging of the number to a specific person. It is also not recommended to let strangers on the street call from your phone. Unfortunately, they often turn out to be scammers.

In the situations described, it is recommended to report the problem to law enforcement agencies and the mobile operator. It is possible that the police will not consider such cases, since the subscriber dials a paid number on his own. However, the mobile operator must take the necessary measures, for example, to block an unscrupulous paid number.

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What to do when receiving calls

Receiving calls followed by hanging up is usually the result of fraudulent or promotional activities.Encouraging such actions, calling back and not notifying higher authorities about the fact of violation, the subscriber only helps the deceivers to develop and act more cleverly. If you receive calls that are followed by a drop or silence from the party on the other end, you should respond to them as follows:

• Do not call back in any case, even if the call went through several times.
• Look for a specific number on directory sites. As a rule, if the number is noticed for such actions, information can be found on the Internet.
• Add the phone from which they call and blacklist. This will not stop advertisers and scammers, but no one will be able to bother more specifically from this number.
• Download the application or use special services to identify the subscriber by phone number.
• Contact your mobile operator to activate the "black list" service. Operators have thought through the protection of their subscribers from unwanted calls and are always ready to meet halfway in this matter. In order to secure your number from calls followed by a drop, you will need to submit an application.

We use special software to protect against fraudsters

Often, the situation with calls and subsequent dropping out of control. Fraudsters call even at night and in the morning. Adding to the blacklist every number that calls from does not solve the problem. But you should not radically correct the situation by throwing out a SIM card and acquiring a new one. Moreover, this will not help, scammers, calling and dropping, come up with new loopholes and ways of deception every day.To combat such a blatant violation of subordination, there is a special software.

Applications have been developed to block unwanted calls, such as the successful and popular "Call Blocker", "Don't Pick Up" and "Vlad Lee".

Yandex application

Yandex application acts rather than as a blocker of unwanted calls, but as an automatic caller ID. The call comes in and the screen shows who is calling. This is convenient, because in this situation the user himself decides whether to pick up the phone or reject the call.

• Yandex collects up-to-date information on numbers using Internet directories and user reviews, which allows the application to see the full picture for each of the numbers registered in Russia.
• With the help of Yandex, you can track unwanted calls and add them to the blacklist.
• In the Yandex application, you can evaluate a subscriber by phone number. For example, if the user of the application has information that a specific number calls and hangs up, but the information about the caller's phone is not specified, you can put labels and fill out the profile yourself. This will help other users not to fall for the bait of scammers.

Using blacklists from operators

Telecom operators provide a special "black list" service. By enabling the option, the subscriber can avoid unwanted calls from numbers, followed by dropping. To do this, you need to contact the office of the telecom operator and fill out an application, as well as indicate the numbers from which the user was disturbed by scammers or advertisers.

The operator will blacklist the numbers, and the subscriber will never receive incoming calls from them again.In the office, you can also file a complaint against a specific number if there have been cases of calls followed by silence on the phone or dropping. If desired, you can demand the screening of contacts similar in activity. A special algorithm and an extensive database will allow the operator to track unwanted numbers, from which the subscriber will also subsequently be protected.

"Punch" number or earn money?

These spam calls can have multiple purposes. The main one is “punching”, as far as the number is “alive”. There is a version that cell operators themselves check the subscriber's activity with the help of special programs, and if the number is not used for a long time, it is resold to a new client.

Another option is to sell data. In this way, the caller (often a bot) checks the activity of the subscriber before selling the base to someone. From time to time, announcements about the sale of personal data of subscribers of mobile operators, bank customers, etc. pop up on the darknet.

Do not be surprised if in a few hours or days you get a call again from some call center to impose a product or service. This may be an offer to take a "favorable" loan, connect home Internet, undergo a medical examination (often "free").

The most common appeal, which has already become a meme, is from the “Sberbank security service”. Of course, the callers have nothing to do with Russia's largest bank. The scammers are trying firsthand to gain access to your bank account.

Do not be surprised if in a few hours or days you get a call again from some call center to impose a product or service. Photo by Maxim Platonov

In addition, with your return call, you can help someone earn money in a not entirely honest way or cover part of the costs of communication services. And for a few seconds of stubborn silence on the other end of the wire, you can lose several hundred or thousand rubles.

- If such a call comes from a foreign number, then there is a risk for the subscriber to pay for a call back to the owner of the number. If the number is Russian, then we are talking, as a rule, about companies that are trying to minimize the cost of making mass calls when advertising their services. In this case, the subscriber, having called back to the number, will hear a message from the answering machine in response, - the press service of Megafon PJSC explained to Realnoe Vremya.

They write on the Internet that with such a return call you can run into a paid service, which will noticeably “lose weight” your balance. Only a paid number cannot make any set of numbers. In Russia, such numbers begin with 8-803 ... or 8-809 ... When you call, you should be warned that the call will be paid for the caller. Moreover, connecting such a number is a costly and bureaucratic pleasure: it requires passing checks by a legal entity. Therefore, the effectiveness of this form of fraud is very low.

Campaign "Shake the subscriber"

Some people are beginning to suspect mobile operators of the “Stun the Subscriber” campaign (as an option, “Finish the Client”) so that the user gives up and activates a paid service that protects him from spam calls. Often, after another such call, a message comes up: “We know who called you. This is a mass call. Want to identify unknown numbers? Turn on the service "I know who is calling" for 2.5 rubles / day ... ".

However, the operators themselves refute such speculation. At the same time, they do not deny that they send SMS with such content.

- If the system recognizes a mass call, the client can automatically receive an offer to connect additional services in order to protect themselves from such calls. However, it is only the subscriber himself who can decide whether to use the recommendation or not, - they answer in Megafon.

A similar service that screens out unwanted calls is also available from MTS - “Block spam calls”. You have to pay for peace of mind, so the service will cost money.

Some people are beginning to suspect mobile operators of the “Stun the Subscriber” campaign (as an option, “Finish the Client”) so that the user gives up and activates a paid service that protects him from spam calls. Photo by Maxim Platonov

Why do they call me and hang up

There are a lot of reasons for such behavior of the caller. The most banal thing may be that the person made a mistake and realized it until you picked up the phone. Or he did call, but changed his mind and dropped the call. There are enough real reasons, but in most cases it is scammers or advertisers who call ordinary people.

For example, one of the reasons for this behavior may be the identification of “live” numbers. That is, the system randomly and automatically scatters calls. After that, gullible people call back and their number is recorded in the database. After that, already living people begin to call him. The advantages of this method for the caller is that it takes significantly less time to reach the right person directly.They simply do not waste time dialing numbers from a list and waiting for an answer (or no answer).

Why not call back?

Unfortunately, the risk of encountering scammers cannot be completely eliminated. Many incoming calls are still related to solving important issues - work, health, education, utilities. Even close people and friends sometimes change numbers, which makes it impossible to identify the caller

Fearing that they will miss an important message, people begin to call back, hearing silence in response. If we exclude such a reason as a technical failure, most likely, money will be written off from the mobile balance

Technological capabilities now allow you to withdraw money from the phone immediately after dialing, when there are still beeps. It is extremely difficult to prove the fact of fraud in such situations, because the person himself decided to call without coercion.

Write-off scheme

Parting with money in telephone fraud is very simple. The withdrawal scheme looks like this:

• Preliminary preparation. They conclude an agreement with the telecom operator on a paid number, which implies automatic debiting of funds from anyone who decides to call.
• Fraudsters, having got a paid number, start calling, dropping after 3-5 seconds, or wait until the handset is picked up and end the call.
• The victim, trying to find out the reason for the call, calls back, and the operator writes off the funds in accordance with the signed agreement on paid services.
• Having earned his commission, the mobile operator transfers the balance. The funds are credited to the fraudster's account minus the operator's commission.

How to take responsibility and get your money back

Fighting telephone fraud is difficult, since it is almost impossible to prove the fact of fraud. The talents of the criminal world arrange the situation in such a way that the victim herself tells all the necessary information, opening access to a bank account. In the case of debiting funds for calling back to a paid number, the situation is almost hopeless, because legally everything is clean - no one forced the person to call back.

If the money was debited without warning, you should try to return the money, following the proposed algorithm:

1. Get details with conversations for the last period (week) at the office of a mobile operator.
2. Make a claim on the letterhead of the company or independently.
3. In a claim addressed to the company's management, they describe the situation and demand a refund.
4. A copy of the printout will be a confirmation of the claims.

The operator is obliged to accept the application for consideration and provide an official response within 45 days. As a rule, confirmed cases of fraud end with a refund within 14 days. The victim himself, the owner of the SIM card, who has entered into a contract for the provision of mobile communications, must submit an application.

Unfamiliar numbers - pick up the phone or not

In the name of security, every unknown number should be checked. If you cannot determine where the call is coming from, do not rush to call back. A preliminary check through special mobile services and punching through sites will save you from unpleasant proceedings due to the loss of funds.

Every time you call back in an unknown direction, evaluate the risks. No one will guarantee that the call will be free.

When answering a call from an unfamiliar number, be vigilant, avoiding clear affirmative answers and giving any information about yourself and your loved ones.

How to deal with scammers on the phone

The correct answer to this question is a resounding “No way”. No need to deal with scammers! They often call and introduce themselves as bank employees. Like, money is being taken away from you and something urgently needs to be done about it. If they say something like this or that money has been taken from your card, do not believe it and hang up. If you are worried, call the bank yourself at the number that is indicated on the back of the card or on the bank's website.

You need to understand that no one will be able to withdraw money so that you do not receive SMS. If the bank suspects something is wrong, it will block the account itself. Believe me, artificial intelligence and algorithms for detecting suspicious activity work very well. Money cannot be withdrawn until you unblock the account. To do this, you will need to come to the office with a passport or be verified in another reliable way.

Personally, I really received a call from the bank only once and this did not raise any doubts for a number of reasons. I was in South Korea and while paying by card (about $100) I accidentally entered the wrong PIN. As soon as I inserted the card a second time, and literally 20 seconds later they called me and said that they were trying to pay for a purchase with such and such an amount from my card at the Korean airport. "Did you do that? Are you confirming the operation? the voice asked after introducing himself and giving all the facts about my purchase. I said that I confirm, and the bank immediately unblocked my card.

This once again proves that the account is automatically blocked for any strange activity, and no one will be able to withdraw money from it after blocking. I understand that most will not fall for such a deception, but I have at least two friends who suffered from this and believed the callers. Just tell this story to your parents and grandparents. Those who are easier than young people to deceive, confusing them with technical terms.

The smartphone has become not only a convenient means of communication, but also a potential source of problems with scammers.

Why do they call and hang up from different numbers

Cases when they call and hang up from different numbers have become more frequent over the past 2-3 years. This is due to the tightening of laws regarding SMS mailings and advertising calls. Users complained that they had to receive PR messages and marketers came up with a new way to interest the client. If a subscriber receives a phone call from an unknown number, and then hangs up, he will want to call back. This usually happens due to waiting for an incoming call from another subscriber, ignorance or simple curiosity. The consequences of this action may be as follows:

• The subscriber will have to listen to an advertising message from an advertising bot.
• This will be the number of some organization and the call center specialist will answer the subscriber.
• Fraudsters, through simple manipulations, will write off money for a conversation from a personal account.

But it happens that the number is dialed by mistake and on the other end of the wire there will be a subscriber not involved in fraud. But be that as it may, you should not call back to an unfamiliar number after an interrupted conversation, in order to avoid spending on communication services.If the subscriber on the other end needs to call, he will definitely repeat the dialing.

There is another way to cheat. In this case, the call is dropped before the ringtone starts playing on the device. Thus, the subscriber does not understand that he was deceived and sees only a missed call, which needs to be called back. Then the same thing awaits him as when calling with a drop. But this format of deception causes less suspicion.

Why is it done

There are several reasons why they call from unknown numbers and hang up the call:

1. Features of call centers. It is not uncommon for automated programs to call multiple people to determine which people are in range. This person is then contacted by a call center employee.
2. Database update. In some cases, calls from unknown numbers are made to compile a list of subscribers. The purpose of collecting this information varies.
3. Psychological pressure. Employees of collection agencies and a number of other debt collection companies often call subscribers at inconvenient times and cut off the connection. Such a campaign, used at an inconvenient time, puts psychological pressure on a person.

Often the disconnection is due to the actions of scammers. Such people enter into an agreement with the operator to subscribe to a paid number, the cost of a minute of a call to which reaches thousands of rubles. This method of deception, although old, is still used today.

It is also impossible to exclude the possibility that the person cut off the connection before the subscriber had time to answer - he simply noticed that he made a mistake and dialed the wrong number.

How to avoid scam calls

In order not to become a victim of scammers or even avoid calls and messages from them, the owner of the phone should heed the following recommendations:

· As soon as during the conversation the user has suspicions that it is not a bank employee who is calling him, but an intruder, you need to hang up the phone. And only then call back to the financial institution (the hotline numbers are easy to find on its website and even on a bank card) and check the availability of a call.

· If money is asked on behalf of friends or relatives, you should contact them - and clarify the information. However, such requests turn out to be fraud in almost 100% of cases.

· It is undesirable to leave your numbers on the sites for announcements, in questionnaires and when registering on sites. If you cannot do without it, it is better to have a separate SIM card, which will be used only when necessary (for example, for the period of car sale). Considering that most smartphones are equipped with a slot for two SIM cards, getting a second number is not a problem.

· If the card data (even if only the number) somehow ended up with the attackers, it should be blocked just in case. It is recommended that you do the same if you receive a message about debiting funds for a purchase that the cardholder did not actually make.

· If the scammer still called you, and you “declassified” him, add his number to the blacklist. So he definitely won’t be able to call you back - at least from the same phone.

Also, do not install applications from unknown sources on your smartphone and computer, follow dubious links and gain “superuser” rights. All this makes the gadget vulnerable to viruses and increases the likelihood of data falling into the wrong hands.

Get a separate SIM card for temporary registration on sites

All profiles that include a phone number should be securely protected with complex passwords. And even better - with the help of two-factor authentication, in which you can access the bank only after entering an additional code from SMS.