Hunterdon Co. Officials Warn Of 'Wangiri' Phone Scam

HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ — Authorities in Hunterdon County are warning about a phone scam that has recently targeted local residents.

The phone scam is known as Wangiri, which is Japanese for “one ring and drop,” Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns said.

The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) has received numerous reports of the scam, which utilizes automated dialing machines to work through large ranges of phone numbers, intentionally ringing one time repeatedly.

These phone scams show up as unrecognized or spoofed missed calls hoping the target calls back.

If you do call back, a "threat actor" then attempts to keep you on the phone as long as possible, as the call has potentially been routed to a premium rate service to be automatically billed hefty charges, Kearns explained.

Incoming calls may appear as spoofed domestic and international numbers, unknown caller, or no caller ID. Spoofed international calls have appeared to be calling from countries such as Slovenia, Belarus, and Morocco, local authorities said.

To avoid becoming a victim, users should not answer unexpected calls from unknown international or unusual numbers, or return calls from unknown or suspicious numbers.

"You are advised to hang up immediately upon callback if an odd message is heard. Users are encouraged to explore and implement call-blocking options and to check voicemail messages on another phone from unknown or suspicious numbers," Kearns said.

If you are targeted by a phone scam, you can report the incident via the Cyber Incident Report Form on the NJCCIC website.