Smart Communications, Inc. has issued a warning to customers about a growing phone scam known as ‘wangiri fraud’—a deceptive practice involving missed calls from international numbers designed to trick recipients into calling back premium-rate lines.
According to lawyer Roy Ibay, VP and head of regulatory affairs at Smart and lead convenor of the Protecta Pilipinas Public-Private Technology & Telecom Alliance, “Once the victim calls the number, they’re charged excessively high per-minute rates,” often while being misled by hold music, fake conversations, or automated messages aimed at keeping them on the line longer.
Originating in Japan, ‘wangiri’ combines the words for “one” and “cut,” referring to the tactic of hanging up after a single ring—just enough to generate curiosity. Fraudsters commonly use auto dialers, spoofed caller IDs, and international premium-rate numbers to bait victims.
“The golden rule is to resist the urge to call unknown numbers,” Ibay stressed. “If it’s a legitimate call, the caller will leave a message. If the number looks suspicious, block it immediately.”
Smart reminds users to check for the Philippines’ country code ‘+63’ in legitimate calls, use call-blocking tools on their devices, and report scam attempts by dialing *888.
