Jamaica on high alert for "One-Ring" scam

8:09 am, Mon July 3, 2017

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Assistant Commissioner Clifford Chambers, head of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Task Force (C-TOC)

INTERPOL, the International Police Organization, and other international organizations have been contacted by the Jamaican authorities in an effort to rein in a telephone scam which emerged in the island on the weekend.

The ‘One Ring’ scam, which is often referred to as Wangiri, is a phone fraud that originated in Japan.

The scam involves a large number of mobile phone numbers being dialed by a computer at random. The numbers appear as missed calls on the recipients’ phones.

Believing a legitimate call was cut off, or simply being curious, users are enticed to call back. The callers are then charged a premium rate.

Technology Minister Dr. Andrew Wheatley confirmed that international assistance has been sought.

Jamaica based mobile phone companies and the government remain on high alert after the telephone scam.

Digicel says, in the event that customers receive the calls, they should hang up quickly and not share personal information.

In a statement on Sunday night, FLOW, the other dominant telecoms provider in Jamaica, said it has activated its Anti-Fraud Team and will be blocking numbers which are found to be involved in the phone scam.

In the meantime, the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Task Force (C-TOC), which is one of the local police agencies investigating the telephone scam, believes Jamaica has an advantage compared to other countries which have been affected by it.

"It is a trend that impacts other countries, not just us in the Caribbean, and that's one of the advantages that we have in that we are aware of how it is done, we are aware of who is involved, we are aware of the scam with regards to hacking networks and how they can benefit from it; and what has been happening with ourselves, the ministry, the communication provider is (we) have very proactive steps so we can mitigate its impact on the country," asserted Assistant Commissioner Clifford Chambers, head of C-TOC, in an interview with RJR News on Monday.

He said information on the scam is being provided to Jamaica's National Intelligence Bureau by INTERPOL and EUROPOL.