Callback Fraud

Callback fraud works by planting a missed call, voicemail, text, or online alert that creates a convincing reason for the victim to phone back. Once the victim calls, they are connected to a premium-rate number, a long international call, or a fraudulent 'customer service' line that extracts personal information or payment details.

Variants include wangiri scams (a single-ring missed call from an expensive international number), fake fraud-alert texts from 'your bank', or automated messages claiming a parcel requires a phone call to release. In the corporate world, callback fraud also refers to attacking telephony infrastructure to generate international calls billed to the victim organisation.

Victims are typically charged at high per-minute rates before the fraudster has said anything useful to them — the mere act of calling and staying on hold generates revenue. Defence: always look up the number independently using the official website or a number-checking service rather than redial the number presented.