Apr 10 -  Remember last year's wave of tech support scams, where you received calls from a foreign sounding "technician" asking for access to your Windows computer as well as your credit card details?

They have been replaced this year by the robocall, a less intrusive scam that simply places a call to your landline or mobile, often from an exotic calling code like Cuba (+53) or Tunisia (+216). When you pick up there is usually silence at the other end.

Out of curiosity or fear of missing an important call, some of us call back the number, unwittingly connecting to a premium call number that charges an inflated rate for the short time we are on the phone listening to more silence before we hang up.

It is like the spam email epidemic of ten to 15 years ago, before mail scanning software became smart enough to filter out the vast majority of it.

The United States is the prime target for these robocalls - nearly 100 million of them are made to US phone numbers every day according to the Federal Communications Commission. Some of the calls also play recorded messages advertising bogus financial advice services or claiming recipients have outstanding debts to pay.

Continue here to Peter Griffin's full article on RadioNZ |  ||  April 10, 2018   |||