TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. reported plans to combat mobile-phone scams involving companies calling wireless customers and then hanging up after one ring in an attempt to solicit business.
Under the scam, which DoCoMo said is known as “wangiri,” a computer dials a phone number and then hangs up automatically after one ring and leaving the number stored in the receiving party’s mobile phone. If the phone’s user sees the call listed in their incoming call log and returns the call, the user is connected to a sales tape soliciting business.
DoCoMo said it has already advised customers not to return calls from unknown numbers and introduced new countermeasures to the problem, including offering a new ringing tone that remains silent during the first ring of an incoming call. In addition, the Japanese operator is encouraging customers to use a step-tone ringing feature that gradually raises the ring tone of incoming calls, equipping phones with features that inform customers of how long each incoming call rings, and offering the ability to block wangiri calls by registering up to 19 offending telephone numbers on a dedicated network.
