Beware of missed calls at midnight
Photo is for illustration purposes only. (Source: Vnexpress)
On many forums such as 5giay, webtretho... phone numbers such as 08.62885940, 08.39529000, 08.62885180, 04.35730547, 04.62823858... were dissected by netizens and suspected to be satellite phone numbers, luring users to call back. Along with that, many people warned not to call back, lest a large amount of money be deducted like the cases previously warned by the press.
To help everyone stay vigilant, members on forums have continuously updated phone numbers that they suspect are scams so that everyone can have a plan to deal with suspicious missed calls.
To find out more, Vietnam+ reporters called the 1081 hotline (belonging to VNPT) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to request a phone number lookup service. However, the operators all said they had no information about the above "mysterious" phone numbers.
Calling the phone numbers 0862885940, 0839529000, 0862885180, we only received an attractive female voice from the operator introducing the friend-making service. After 30 seconds, the conversation automatically ended. Checking the account, the amount deducted was about 700 VND.
Continuing to call the introduced hotline number 1900571565, we found that this was an automated hotline and even though we had only called for about 5 seconds, before we could make any request, the caller's mobile account had been deducted about 5,000 VND.
At phone number 0435730547, we could not make a call and with number 0462823858, the operator automatically read a series of numbers in English, then automatically ended within 5 seconds. The amount deducted from the account was about 200 VND.
In addition to friend referrals, many subscribers also said that when they call back, their phone numbers turn into call centers introducing songs, gift services, etc. These types of missed calls are appearing with increasing frequency.
A technology expert said that this is one of the new advertising tricks of content service providers. Accordingly, using technology, they often make missed calls to "lure" subscribers to call back. At that time, the provider's switchboard will introduce a new service to attract customers. Normally, this call is charged at the same rate as the network operator. However, when calling the switchboard in the advertisement, subscribers can be deducted a large amount of money.
Speaking to Vietnam+ reporters, Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Director of the research department of the Bkav Cyber Security Company, said that normally, when receiving missed calls at midnight, users often call back because they are worried that it is an urgent call. Therefore, advertising units often take advantage of this psychology to attract people to call back.
Regarding the inability to look up information on the above numbers, Mr. Son said that the 1081 switchboard is also a service, and it is very possible that the service has not updated information on newly registered phone numbers.
This expert also said that it is difficult to advise users in this case, because not all missed calls from phone numbers are advertisements. Therefore, users should learn about that phone number, and can add it to the blacklist to block calls, or can use specialized software.
Normally, when reviewing missed calls, it is difficult for users to distinguish which phone numbers are specialized in making "spam" calls (snatching calls). However, according to Mr. Son, the software can do this. Currently, Bkav Security, built by Bkav, has updated the smart filter, allowing analysis of call context and making reasonable blocking decisions.
On the management side, an expert from the Ministry of Information and Communications said that "missed advertising calls" are a new form that is being studied to find a solution. However, he also advised users to be vigilant. In particular, they should not call the advertised switchboard numbers when they do not know the information about that switchboard to avoid having a large amount of money deducted.
A few months ago, mobile users also encountered the situation of missed calls from mobile satellite numbers 881, +882. When making a return call, subscribers will be charged from 99-150,000 VND/minute. After that, Bkav announced that it had blocked these scam calls./.
According to Vietnam+M