Are You Getting Weird Phone Calls From Mauritania?

As if spam calls weren't bad enough, now they appear to be coming from a foreign country.

Several people in Central New York report receiving calls at unusual hours from somewhere called Mauritania. In case you're wondering, Mauritania "is a country in Northwest Africa. It is the eleventh largest sovereign state in Africa," according to Wikipedia. Most received the calls in the middle of the night - anywhere from 2 - 3 am.

A simple Google search tells us that this is a scam - and it's been making it's way around the globe since at least 2017 - hitting countries like New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

What should you do if you receive a call from Mauritania?

Do not call back! According to Techwelkin.com, the scam originated in Japan and is called wangiri which mean "one ring and cut." The scammers hope you'll call back so they can pocket the cost of the call - they could even re-direct you to an adult phone service which will cost you even more per minute.

You can try to block the number from your phone, in the hopes of avoiding being woken up by the call.