Spam calls: Why are people getting calls from international numbers on Whatsapp, know the reason!
Photo Credit: Hindustan times
Missed voice calls are coming from unknown international numbers on WhatsApp for the last several days. It is being said that this is the new Whatsapp scam. However, no fraud is taking place after such missed calls. But then why are you getting missed calls?
To find out, we have analyzed these missed calls from cyber security experts. All missed calls are coming from numbers in Ethiopia (+251), Malaysia (+60), Vietnam (+84), Indonesia (+62), and Kenya (+254). People started receiving these missed calls on WhatsApp from May 1 onwards.
Amit Dubey, a well-known cyber expert and a member of the Research and Development Team on Cyber Security of the Government of India, says that when his team investigated the matter, it was found that such missed calls from foreign numbers were not scams but spam calls.
Photo Credit: Amar Ujala
After the TRAI crackdown on spam calls, now marketing companies are looking for spam calls and SMS on WhatsApp. Because the TRAI order applies to normal calls and SMS, not WhatsApp calls and messages. So this spam call factory is shifting to WhatsApp.
But why and how are spam missed calls coming from foreign numbers? Actually, if spam miss calls are received from Indian numbers then caller identity will come to the fore and it will be known which marketing company is doing all this.
Photo Credit: Popular Science
Therefore, spam missed calls are being made from phone numbers of countries where it is very easy to buy and activate SIMs with fake names and addresses. According to some experts, it may also happen that this spam is being done sitting in India through internet calling from numbers of different countries.
To protect users in India from any kind of spam or scam, WhatsApp has launched the 'Stay Safe with WhatsApp' initiative this month. Apart from this, WhatsApp has also started a 'Safety in India' resource hub in India, so that people can identify and report such spam calls.