After having circulated on the network, WhatsApp and Facebook since 2014, the alert of the 1,500 euros of WhatsApp returns to the ring with the same form in which it arrived five years ago today. The message in question warns about making fraudulent calls from numbers such as 636 634 795 and 693 955 444 in order to obtain economic benefit by returning calls with figures ranging from 1,350 euros to 1,500, figures that will be charged in the next invoice telephone .
Is it a real warning or is it just a hoax? Is it a scam? What happens if we call any of the numbers indicated in the message? We see it below.
Who is 693955444 and 636634795 and how much will they charge me to call these numbers
Since the last few weeks, there are not exactly few users who are reporting the receipt of chain messages through WhatsApp where it is noticed that several phone numbers are making calls at random to obtain economic profit .
Although the content of the message may vary, this type of WhatsApp strings are often accompanied by the following body:
“If they call you from tlf: 636634795. Do not call to see who called you. It's a booby phone. The call will be charged at € 1500. It is information from consumer associations. Pass it on.
It is a very elaborate scam. Watch out.
They sent it to me from the OCU legal department. Pass it on to all your contacts is urgent
I have looked for it on the internet in case it was a hoax, but even Telefónica has published it on its website. "
In 2014 the National Police confirmed it through a tweet on its official Twitter account: any message that warns of missed calls from third-party numbers is false, and of course it will not involve such a high cost on the phone bill .
You get x Whatsapp: "They call 911140XXX. Do not call to see who it is. Trap. They charge the call at € 1,500"
- National Police (@policia) June 26, 2013
So is it a scam? We do not know the origin of the message, although what is certain is that it is a hoax . According to some users in specialized networks and forums, the telephone numbers mentioned in the original message belong to individuals who have little or nothing to do with the hoax infused through WhatsApp.
If we refer to the cost of the call, making any call to a national mobile number is usually covered, in general, by the mobile rate that we have previously contracted. Otherwise, the normal thing is that the price of the call is 29 cents for call establishment and between 8 and 10 cents per minute , depending on whether we have a landline or mobile phone line.
How to detect possible hoaxes and scams on WhatsApp
Detecting hoaxes spread through WhatsApp is a relatively simple task. Just yesterday we collected several of the most common WhatsApp scams, and the only way to ensure that we are faced with a scam is to apply logic and search the content of the message on the Internet.
In the aforementioned article we collect some of the most recurrent methods: online store discount coupons, fake sweepstakes, fake job offers, fraudulent phone numbers ... In the case that concerns us today, just look at the nature of the phone number to confirm that indeed they will not charge us such an amount.
To date, the only phone numbers whose call involves a surcharge compared to the usual value of the call are those that begin with the following prefixes:
- 901
- 902
- 905
- 803
- 806
- 807
- 118
Regarding mobile phone numbers, we will have to make sure that a + sign and several numbers that escape the numbering used in Spain (6XXXXXXX, 7XXXXXXX…) do not precede them. In national territory the prefix used is +34.