Phone users in Donegal are reporting continued calls from unknown numbers in foreign countries.
Locals have complained of unsolicited calls from Seychelles and other countries, where calls often come at the same time each day and ring for a short while before they can be answered.
Phone users are warned not to answer or return any unknown calls and to block the numbers. More country codes have been reported in this scam since the alert first arose last week. Phone numbers beginning with codes including +248, +676, +674, +222 and +235 have been referenced as scam calls.
Facebook users from across Donegal and Ireland have said the calls have increased in frequency over the past weeks. The calls are also said to come to users’ Viber apps.
Ireland’s communications regulator ComReg warned that scam calls can take on many forms and consumers should be vigilant.
ComReg advises taking the following precautions:
• Avoid answering calls from numbers that you cannot identify, especially if you are not expecting a call.
• Hang up immediately, on calls where there appears to be no recipient on the other end.
• Be wary of multiple calls being received from the same number.
• Do not call back any number that leaves you a blank voicemail message.
• Do not provide any personal information for example – banking details/PPS number/credit card details/name and address/passport number etc.
Unfortunately there is no way to identify a scam call number, and they can resemble a very normal, familiar, geographical number that we would come across on a daily basis, according to ComReg guidelines.
