Phone Scam spoofing Vatican phone number
Take action: Never answer unexpected calls from unfamiliar international numbers as they're likely scams using spoofed caller IDs. Never call back to such numbers, they may be tricks for you to call a premium number. If you answer and someone claims to be from a known company or the government, always hang up (and don't pick up again) - then contact the institution through their official website or phone number.
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This is an active phone scam attempt using spoofed Vatican City caller ID.
The incoming call displays rhe phone number +379 67641975 and the phone shows location Vatican City. In realty, the prefix +379 is assigned to Vatican but is not in use. Vatican City uses +39 06 698 as their number.
A call like this creates false legitimacy and curiosity - why would Vatican City call someone.
The call is going to be a scam, trying to collect the victim's personal data, get credit card information or persuade the victim to pay money or to open some website links to extend the attack. Probable "stories" for the scam
- Religious authority impersonation, like "You've been specially selected for a blessing" or "there's a special fund for the faithful you qualify for" trying to first get the data, then to pay some fees or give card information.
- Death of the Pope - currently very probable due to the passing of Pope Francis, like "we're contacting selected faithful following the Pope's passing", or "You've been chosen for a special memorial fund", "Your name was on a special prayer list requiring verification"
- Mentioning of the Vatican Bank as a place of inheritance, like "A deceased relative left funds in the Vatican Bank for you", "An anonymous donor selected you for charitable distribution" or "There's an issue with your previous donation needing correction"
- Just trying to profit from callbacks to a premium number, hoping to trigger the curiosity of the victim to get them to call an expensive phone number.
The scammers will try to steal identity details, addresses, birthdates, close family information, credit card numbers, bank account details, passwords or verification codes. All these will be then used to extend the scam or be sold for other scams. The scam will probably be extended to get payment from the victim through "donations" or solving "problems" with previous donations.
Be aware that with AI and near-real-time voice translation, any scammer can seem to speak the language of the victim, with some accent which will be explained as a foreigner.
Remember: The Vatican would never randomly call individuals this way. It's the Vatican.
Any unexpected incoming call should ALWAYS be treated as potential scam.
- NEVER SHARE personal or financial information on unexpected calls
- DO NOT CALL BACK - scammers can create a premium rate number, then ring and drop the call to trigger curiosity and get people to call back and get a very nasty surprise on the next phone bill.
- IF THE CALL CLAIMS TO BE FROM AN AUTHORITY (BANK, GOVENMENT) - VERIFY THROUGH OFFICIAL CHANNELS - call the official numbers of the organization from the official website.
