Beware! Phone scammers on the loose in Kenya
The one-ring phone scam has hit the country.
Thousands of Kenyans admit to receiving calls from numbers with foreign country codes.
A user posed a question on Kilimani Mums Facebook group “Nani mwingine amepata missed call from +417…?”
Her post got over 2,000 comments from users who admitted to getting one-ring phone calls from the numbers +41742241777, +41742773645, +41742785008 and +41742241483 among others.
Those who received the calls said there was no one talking on the other end and that the calls were being disconnected immediately.
Users who called back after finding the missed calls said they were redirected to machines promoting some lottery.
The one-ring scam is common in many countries.
According to an article on Techwilkin; “The scammer will hire an international premium rate number (IPRN) from a local phone company. After this, the scammer will give you one ring and then disconnect the call. You will think that you missed an important call (that too a call from foreign country! it must be important! –that’s how a lot of people think). So, you will call back on the same number and your call will be taken.”
The growing number of spammers is getting Kenyan users concerned, with some asking for ways to prevent the calls from going through.
Users are advised to use call blocking apps or Trucaller to identify and block such scammers.