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Phone fraud more prevalent in Norway than other Nordics

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Phone fraud more prevalent in Norway than other Nordics
Telia blocked more fraudulent calls in Norway than they did in Sweden or Denmark last month. Pictured is a stock photo of people using their phones. Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on Unsplash

Norway is much more exposed to scam calls than its neighbours, figures have revealed. In January, telecommunications firm Telia blocked nearly twice as many fraudulent calls in Norway than in Sweden or Denmark.

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During January, telecommunications firm Telia blocked just over 4 million fraudulent calls in Norway, nearly twice as many as in Denmark and Sweden, public broadcaster NRK reports.

Methods phone scammers use include phishing, where fraudulent callers send a message designed to trick the recipient into revealing sensitive information, and spoofing, where a cybercriminal pretends to be somebody else.

Telia has meanwhile noted a new scam on the rise in Norway called "Wangiri". Wangiri- which in Japanese means "one ring and cut"- sees scammers call, allow the phone to ring once and then end the call. The aim is to get people to call back and incur high fees.

READ ALSO: How to switch to a Norwegian phone number

"It's difficult to answer why (Norway is exposed to more phone scams), but those who do this (Wangiri scams) have realised that Norwegians call back. They probably have a higher hit rate in Norway," Øivind Kristiansen of Telia told NRK.

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"It may be that we are a little too naive and gullible," he added.

Telia has said that to avoid becoming the victim of a Wangiri scam people shouldn't answer or call back foreign numbers they don't recognise.

Frank Stein, from the National Communication Authority, said that trying to stamp out scammers was a game of cat and mouse.

"There are many things that work against this. People are getting wiser, but on the other hand, attacks are getting smarter. It's a cat and mouse game: one does not always know who is who. It's the security industry in a nutshell," he explained to NRK.

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