The +252 international calling code, associated with Somalia, has been cited in warnings about Wangiri-style callback scams targeting Kenyan mobile users. According to reports, scammers place brief or one-ring calls from unfamiliar international numbers in an attempt to make recipients curious enough to call back.
When a victim returns the call, they may be connected to a premium-rate or high-cost international number that can generate unusually expensive per-minute charges. The scam depends on keeping the caller connected for as long as possible, sometimes through recorded messages or other tactics designed to prolong the call.
The Communications Authority of Kenya has warned the public about suspicious international callback scams and advised users not to return calls from unfamiliar foreign numbers unless they can verify the caller. The +252 prefix itself is legitimate and widely used in Somalia, so the warning concerns suspicious numbers misused by scammers rather than all calls carrying that country code.
Reported 9 Feb 2026
