Debt collectors often face a dilemma when it comes to voicemails — leaving them can open up potential legal and compliance issues, while not leaving them can mean that individuals will not return calls from numbers they do not recognize. Now, scammers are giving collectors one more reason to consider leaving voicemails.
“Wangiri” which is Japanese for “one ring and done” is a scam where perpetrators are making robocalls to individuals, letting the phone ring once, and then hanging up, hoping that the individuals will see a missed call and call back, wondering who was calling them. When returning the missed call, individuals might not notice that the call originated from overseas — Mauritania is the latest location that scammers seem to be using to originate calls from — and are subjected to tolls and scammers are pocketing the costs of the call.
A number of regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission, have issued warnings about the scam.
Anyone else get a bunch of random calls at odd hours today? Unless you have family in Mauritania 🇲🇷 or other exotic locations, it’s best to ignore these unsolicited calls. DO NOT call back. Scammers hope you'll call back so they can pocket the cost of the expensive phone call. pic.twitter.com/Sz0FMdXlro
Collection agencies have wrestled for years with the issue of leaving voicemails for consumers. There are a couple of voicemail messages that have been deemed by the legal system not to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but those rulings could be overturned by a judge at any time.