Are you receiving calls or messages from numbers with the area code +44? Unless you have family and friends contacting you from United Kingdomit is likely that these are due to yet another telephone scam with a foreign prefix. The mechanism is quite simple and follows the same pattern as someone who contacts you from the Portugal prefix, the Netherlands prefix or the French prefix: with the excuse of offering you job opportunities, prizes or other attractive offers, the scammer attempts to steal your your personal data. It all happens by exploiting pre-recorded voices or messages on WhatsApp or Telegramoften accompanied by links. If you follow the instructions of the recorded voice or message, you risk ending up straight into the trap set for you by cybercriminals. For protect yourself from the scam with the UK +44 prefixjust ignore these phone calls and messages, block suspicious numbers, don’t call them back and don’t open the links offered in the messages coming from them.
How the UK +44 area code scam works
There scam using the prefix +44 (0044) it can present itself in different forms. In some cases it is an automatic voice message or an SMS inviting you to contact a number on WhatsApp or Telegram, with the apparent excuse of ajob offer or asimple earning opportunity. Those who are tempted and fall into the trap find themselves involved in a network that aims to collect personal data or, even worse, direct the victim to links that can download malware; in other cases a phishing attempt could be perpetrated, with the aim of stealing confidential information such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Furthermore, calls can include systems such as “wangiri” scamwhere you receive a short ring, hoping that the victim will call back and incur high costs. In this case, the call is deliberately short, it serves to make the person receiving it suspicious, prompting them to call back. The numbers involved, such as those with the +44 prefix, are often connected to pay lines that charge very high rates for each minute of conversation, or in some cases, activate unwanted subscription services that will feed the fraudster’s pockets.
How to protect yourself from the UK +44 prefix scam
To avoid falling into the UK +44 prefix trapwe suggest you follow these suggestions:
- Never call back unknown international numbers: if the call is important, those looking for you will find other ways to contact you.
- Activate the anti-spam filters available on your smartphone: on many mobile devices it is possible to block or silence spam calls or, in any case, those coming from unknown numbers.
- Don’t open suspicious links: since some malware can be installed with a simple tap on a link, avoid opening them, especially if you use an Android device on which a good antivirus is not installed.
- Inform your family and friends about the scam: since these types of phone attacks aim to target unaware and more vulnerable people, such as the elderly, they are often unaware of the dangers that hide behind apparently harmless calls or messages, inform them of what you have just learned about the +44 scam . Knowing the “weapons” used by cyber criminals is in fact essential to learning how to defend yourself.
