Tens of thousands of mobile phone owners in Ireland were targeted by an international missed-call scam over the weekend.
The scammers extracted money from consumers by leaving missed calls that appeared to come from 086 numbers, but when the phone owners returned the call, they were connected to a premium-rate number in Slovenia. The missed calls were made to mobile phone numbers that were randomly generated by a computer and then auto-dialled. Returning the calls could be costly, as the connection charge is believed to be in excess of 2 euros, with similar rates for each additional minute on the line.
Ireland's Commission for Communications Regulation has moved swiftly to block connections to the premium number from all Irish networks. It is also working to ensure that the people behind the scam are not paid.
Victims are likely to be reimbursed by their providers for any charges incurred. Irish mobile users with 087 numbers were also targeted by the scam.
Labour MEP for Munster Phil Prendergast says that more action is needed to ensure that the missed-call scam and similar activities do not spread throughout Europe. Ms Prendergast said the European Commission should make it impossible to automatically redirect a national number to a premium line.