A single ring, a hang-up and a foreign number in the call log—often +355, +225 or +234—is bait. Calling back connects you to a premium-rate line, with a cut going to the fraudster. The Guardia Civil has warned about wangiri since at least 2016; Maldita.es compiled its alerts in June 2022. The risk is billing fraud, not a hack.
- What it is: A missed international call designed to provoke a premium-rate callback.
- The real risk: Unexpected charges, not stolen contacts or bank data.
- Defence: Filter unknown calls, never call back, and use your right to block international dialling.
How the callback fraud works
Wangiri means ‘call and cut’ in Japanese, according to the OCU. In 2019 the Guardia Civil’s Grupo de Delitos Telemáticos called it ‘wangiri (call-hang up),’ as Maldita.es reported. Curiosity is enough. The Guardia Civil cited +355 (Albania), +225 (Ivory Coast), +233 (Ghana) and +234 (Nigeria). The OCU warns the list is indicative: “it could be any other.”
Returning such a call means “a special rate will be charged, of which the scammer takes a share,” the Guardia Civil summarised.
The profit lies in the seconds the line stays open. The OCU describes the typical case: you call, nobody answers, you hang up, and only the bill reveals “special” calls outside your tariff. Small sums repeated across thousands make it profitable; few dispute a few euros.
A WhatsApp chain falsely attributed to the Guardia Civil has circulated since at least 2018, claiming that returning these calls lets criminals copy contacts in three seconds and access bank details. Maldita.es debunked it again in April 2026, citing INCIBE.
“Simply with a call, they could not have access to our contacts or bank data,” INCIBE stated.
The same hoax says #90 or #09 opens access to your SIM; INCIBE said it had no evidence this is possible. Wangiri is billing fraud, not a cyberattack. Exaggerating it makes people forward the chain while still not knowing what to check on their bill.
Filtering the calls on iPhone and Android
On iPhone, under Settings > Apps > Phone, Filter Unknown Callers offers Never, Ask Reason for Calling or Silence, which sends calls to voicemail. Under Call Filtering, enable Unknown Numbers to move them to a separate list, plus the unwanted-calls filter. Block a number via Recents > Block Number. Apple warns that calls are not evaluated while roaming.
On Android with Google’s Phone app, caller ID and spam protection are on by default. In More options > Settings > Caller ID & spam, enable Filter spam calls; notifications stop, but calls remain in history. Use Block or report spam from call history. Naming trap: Blocked numbers > Unknown blocks private or unidentified numbers, not numbers missing from contacts. Google says calls from numbers not stored in contacts still arrive, so a visible +234 is not “unknown” there. Samsung and other brands may use different labels.
If you already called back or were charged
If you called back or were charged, check the bill and complain. If you rarely call abroad, few people use a legal tool. Spain’s Telecommunications User Rights Charter (Real Decreto 899/2009) remains in force because Ley 11/2022 General de Telecomunicaciones does not repeal it and keeps earlier rules where they do not conflict. Article 24 recognises the right to disconnect, at minimum, international calls and premium-rate services. You can request it in writing, by phone or online; the operator has up to 10 days to apply it. If it fails for reasons outside the customer’s control, costs fall to the operator. The same decree grants the right to an itemised bill separating international calls.
- Gather evidence: call-log screenshot, bill and bank charge, as the OCU recommends.
- Complain to your operator and ask for a reference number; the rule obliges it to provide one and accept a phone complaint.
- Report it: the Guardia Civil’s Grupo de Delitos Telemáticos encourages victims, and the OCU notes reports can also go through INCIBE.
- Call 017, INCIBE’s free confidential helpline, open 8:00–23:00 daily.
A voicemail or SMS claiming to be a relative in trouble is a different, more elaborate and costlier scam. The defence is a family keyword against an AI-cloned voice.
Wangiri survives because it is cheap and profitable at scale, while WhatsApp chains feed the wrong fear. Enable unknown-caller or spam filters, do not return international calls you are not expecting, and—if nobody abroad needs you—ask your operator to disable international calls. It is your right. Genuine callers will leave a message.