Phone calls from numbers with the prefix +45, assigned to Denmark, are not automatically dangerous, but in most cases for those living in Italy they represent an anomalous contact, which deserves to be given proper attention. This is because if we have no personal, professional or administrative relationship with Denmark, responding to these unwanted calls exposes us to risks that outweigh the potential benefits. In this in-depth analysis we will see what phone calls from numbers with +45 are and why it is better not to answer (at least in the vast majority of cases).
What are the reasons for calls coming from the Danish area code +45?
A Danish number may have legitimate reasons for calling us. If we work with companies based in Denmark or have established business contacts with Danish companies, an international phone call may be part of ordinary administration. The same goes for recruiting: if you have done it application actually Scandinavian, a call with a Danish prefix could hide a concrete job opportunity. The problem arises when you have no ties to Denmark. In that case, the probability that it is telephone spam or, worse, a scam based on the use of foreign prefixes increases significantly. Among the most common schemes is advance payment fraud, in which the person on the other end of the phone promises to receive a large cash prize (for example due to a win of some kind) to be released by paying a smaller sum of money. Clearly there is no winning. It’s just a pretext to trap the most unwary users who are most likely to “drink the Kool-Aid” (ergo, to believe anything and commit suicide, figuratively in this case).
Another type of call that can be quite insidious is represented by false job offers, which exploit the attraction of high salaries to obtain personal data or payments for non-existent courses and practices. And then there are the increasingly widespread romance scams, which instead focus on the gradual construction of an emotional relationship to induce the user to trust the attacker who usually blackmails his victim to extort money. We could stand here and list many other forms that scams starting with a foreign telephone prefix, in this case Danish, can take, but the mechanism used is essentially always the same: the attempt is made to induce the victim to believe that the call is legitimate and potentially advantageous. Regardless of form, the goal is almost always money, directly or indirectly. Even before money, however, scammers are looking for information: financial data, personal data, login credentials, consumption habits and even health information.
How to protect yourself from telephone scams involving numbers with the +45 prefix in Denmark
Given the potential danger hidden behind numbers with the +45 area code in Denmark, let’s see what to do to protect yourself. We illustrate this in the following three points.
- Ignore the call: if you do not already have some kind of relationship with Danish people and/or companies, it is highly likely that the call is for scam purposes.
- Do not open links: if in addition to receiving calls, you are contacted (for example via WhatsApp) by numbers that you have not saved in your address book and which come from +45 area codes, do not reply to messages, do not click on links and do not agree to download attachments of any kind.
- Block persistent numbers: in this way you will reduce future exposure from the same number. In addition to blocking it, report it (if you have the opportunity to do so), so as to help stem the phenomenon.
