Guarding your voice and wallet: Why answering suspicious foreign calls could cost you

According to specialists, these calls are not typically conducted through standard telecommunications channels. Instead, fraudsters use the internet and specialized software to mask their true identities. This technology allows them to spoof numbers, making any foreign country’s code appear on the recipient's screen to gain a false sense of trust.

Tracing the origin of these calls is particularly challenging because they are routed via the internet. Experts noted that these numbers are often temporary and do not exist in official databases, further confirming their fraudulent nature.

The risks associated with engaging with these calls are multifaceted. Redialing a missed call from such a number can lead to significant charges being deducted from a subscriber’s balance. Furthermore, scammers frequently pose as employees of various official organizations to extract sensitive personal information or secret bank card codes.

Specialists also warned that simply answering a call from an unknown number can flag a user’s line as "active" in fraudulent databases, leading to a further influx of spam and scam attempts. In more sophisticated cases, criminals may record the recipient's voice to create deepfakes using artificial intelligence. These voice clones are then used to deceive relatives or colleagues in targeted social engineering attacks.

To mitigate these risks, citizens are strongly advised not to answer or return calls from suspicious foreign numbers. Experts recommend blocking such numbers immediately, refraining from sharing any personal or financial data over the phone, and maintaining a high level of skepticism toward unsolicited international communications.