For some time now, a wave of calls from numbers starting with the +44 and +31 indicatives touch many users in France. Here is what is hidden behind these strange phone calls …
We are so knocked out by telephone canvassing that when we receive a call so the number is not among our contacts, we hesitate to drop out. And if it was an important call, coming from a recruiter, our bank or the school of our child?
But, in the majority of cases, it is an abusive canvassing. Also, in 2023, the government implemented measures to limit the inconvenience, in particular by prohibiting the use of numbers starting with 06 and 07 for canvassing, these prefixes being associated in the minds of people with mobile phones. He also assigned special numbers for canvassing platforms, to help the French recognize them better.
However, for several weeks, many French users have received calls from numbers starting with +44, a prefix indicating that the call comes from the United Kingdom (+33 corresponds to France). And more recently, it is Dutch numbers (+31) that invade call newspapers.
This is more than suspect. Why after numbers coming from the United Kingdom, others coming from the Netherlands would be called to call us? In reality, it is neither more nor less than a scam. At the other end of the phone, an individual (it is actually a vocal robot) offers a small paid job. Nothing complicated: it is simply a question of watching a video, like a message or even noting a hotel. Very simple tasks, all paid in cryptocurrency.
At the beginning, the victim is indeed remunerated, which allows the crooks to gain his confidence. But, after a while, they will ask him to pay to unlock even more paid tasks. Obviously, she will never see the color of this money.
The choice of +44 numbers has certainly been made to suggest that it is a large, rich English company, which contacts. In addition, the fact that it is a foreign number can surprise and make you want to answer. However, the crooks surely noticed that the +44 numbers ended up being associated with scams, and was therefore less likely to work. Hence the change in +31. In addition, this indicative resembles +33 French, which makes it effective to deceive the eye if it is followed by a 06.
So be very vigilant at the moment if you are receiving a call for numbers starting with +44 or +31! Subsequently, it would not be impossible for the crooks to start using Belgian (+32) or Spanish (+34) numbers …