The federal government is warning consumers about repeated, late-night phone calls: Unless you know someone in Mauritania, don鈥檛 call the number back.
The new robocall scam targets U.S. phone numbers with middle-of-the-night calls that often involved a single ring each time. 蜜柚直播 is among the states apparently being targeted in the most recent wave of robocalls, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Consumers have reported 鈥淥ne Ring鈥 scam robocalls targeting specific area codes in bursts, often calling multiple times in the middle of the night, the FCC said.
The calls are likely trying to prompt the recipient 鈥 thinking they missed a call 鈥 to call the number back, which often results in per-minute toll charges similar to a 900-number, the FCC said. The scammers typically receive most of the money from those toll charges.
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The feds advice to consumers is 鈥淒on鈥檛 call the numbers back.鈥 The scam charges show up on telephone bills as 鈥減remium services,鈥 the FCC said.
Recent reports said the robocalls often have the 鈥222鈥 country code of the West African nation of Mauritania, and that the overnight calls have also been prevalent in New York state.
Scammers often use international numbers from regions that have three-digit country codes to make it appear like the call is coming from somewhere in the United States, the FCC said. For example, 鈥649鈥 goes to the Turks and Caicos Islands, and 鈥809鈥 is for calling the Dominican Republic.
Sometimes the calls will include a message saying to call a specific number to claim a prize or receive information about a sick relative.
Robocalls, both legal and illegal, are a big problem for consumers, according to federal and state agencies. YouMail, a robocall blocking app available to consumers, reports that so far in 2019, there have been 20 billion robocalls placed nationwide. In 2018, nearly 48 billion robocalls were made in the United States, according to YouMail statistics.
On Monday, a coalition of 42 attorneys general, including 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Mark Brnovich, called on the FCC to take further action to stop the proliferation of illegal robocalls and 鈥渟poofing鈥 鈥 disguising a phone number 鈥 targeting the United States from overseas.
The FCC recommends:
- Don鈥檛 call the suspicious number back, especially if it appears to be a number that originates overseas.
- File a complaint with the FCC if you have received these calls at:
- .
- If you never make international calls, consider checking with your phone company to have it block the ability to make outbound international calls. This will help prevent accidental international toll calls from your number.
- Check your phone bill for charges you don鈥檛 recognize.
