I have received a call from tunisia with prefix 216, who is it?

“I receive calls from Tunisia”, “They have called me with the prefix 216”, “Two tones ring and then they hang up”, “A number that begins with 216 has called me, where is it from?”… Dozens of users have reported in In the last weeks, I have received several missed calls through a number that begins with the prefix +216. If we look at the geographical position of this prefix, the origin of the call does not lead to Tunisia. But what is really hidden behind these types of calls? Is it a scam attempt? We see it below.

I have been called by a number that begins with the prefix 216

Several dozen users have reported in various forums and social networks having received missed calls from phone numbers that begin with the prefix +21 6, such as 216 98628172. As with the prefix 212, it is an attempt to scam in which special rate telephone numbers from other countries come into play. In the case that concerns us, the country of origin is Tunisia, although cases have been reported from other countries of African origin. For example, 234 from Nigeria, 233 from Ghana, 225 from Ivory Coast and 355 from Albania.

As the Civil Guard has been able to confirm in its official Twitter account, what these types of organized groups do is make various calls indiscriminately to urge the victims to call back. It is precisely at this point where the scam is forged. After all, the regulation of payment numbers in these countries is much more permissive than the Spanish regulation. Some users have even reported having received charges on the invoice for amounts of 300 and 400 euros. In any case, it is advisable to block calls from any number that begins with the prefix 216, a process that we will reveal below.

How to block calls from a Tunisian number

The easiest way to block a phone number is based on using the iOS and Android options. Just access the call history and then select the number we want to block. An option will automatically appear that will allow us to veto calls from the number in question.

Another more recommended option is to resort to third-party applications, such as Mr. Number or True Caller. The difference of these applications with respect to the native options of Android and iOS is that they feed on a database with tens of thousands of numbers reported by other users. If a specific number has received a high number of reports, the calls will be blocked automatically.

My operator has charged me for the 216 call, what can I do?

If we have received a high charge due to a call to a special rate number, FACUA recommends taking advantage of order PRE / 361/2002 of February 14, which establishes that teleoperators cannot cut the telephone line to a user who is not satisfied with the payment of an invoice whose amount is subject to the remuneration that corresponds to an additional rate service provider. In other words, we can refuse to pay the invoice if part of the amount is related to the payment of a special rate number.

The organization itself recommends filing a claim with the telephone company to record the disagreement. From tuexperto.com we recommend submitting said claim to the nearest Consumer Service Office to have support from the Public Administration.

List of spam numbers identified by tuexpertomovil.com