Scam Alert: BEWARE Of A Call That ONLY RINGS ONCE

[Segami]

NEW TRICK INVOLVES GETTING YOU TO CALL BACK

(NEWSER) – The Better Business Bureau calls it the "One-Ring Phone Scam": Scammers call your phone, let it ring once, and hang up. That prompts you—the scammers hope—to call back, allowing them to pile on charges while you're connected. The calls usually come from outside the US, but that's not clear to the victim because they're from countries that also use a +1 country code. Answer it, and suffer a $19.95 international call fee as well as a charge of up to $9 per minute, the BBB reports. (It shares area codes to look out for: 268, Antigua or Barbuda; 809, Dominican Republic; 876, Jamaica; 284, British Virgin Islands; and 473, Grenada.)


Many people won't fall for it, TechCrunch notes, so scammers have computers calling thousands of people every hour. That way, a few are bound to call back, thinking the unrecognized call might be an important one. If you get a suspicious call, TechCrunch suggests Googling the area code and number; that way you'll know where the call is originating from, and others may have already posted about it being a scam line. If you do get scammed, tell your carrier—they usually know about such tricks and will cancel the charges.



http://www.newser.com/story/181701/scam-alert-beware-of-a-call-that-only-rings-once.html

[Common Sense Party]

1. I never call them back. If someone knows me, and truly wants to get in touch

with me, they'll leave me a message.

Why would you EVER call back an unknown number?

[tammywammy]

12. +1

When I worked as a receptionist years ago at a car dealership, service or sales would call people and not leave messages. I'd get a lot of calls of "who called me from here"?

My philosophy is like yours, if it's important they'll leave a message. The only time I answer an unknown number it's from an area code around here OR like when I was dealing with UPS they said they'd call me back so I answered a strange number.

[FSogol]

2. Did they stop teaching the "if it is important, they'll call back" mantra?

[Progressive dog]

3. Last 2 missed calls on my cell

were 268 area code, one of the codes where these calls originate.
Fortunately, I have and will never return a call to a number I don't know. If its important, they will call again.

[HappyMe]

4. Why would somebody call back?

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Snopes confirms this:

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/onering.asp

[snooper2]

6. new trick, not really

The Caribbean who share the same NANP have been known as high fraud countries for a LONG time

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. good tītle for horror movie

[Jefferson23]

18. lol

[RKP5637]

28. LOL, Yep !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[oldhippie]

8. We got one of those calls last night ....

.. on my wife's cell phone. She called back since she thought it might be one of her Chinese relatives calling about Chinese New Year. When she tried to call back she got the old "this call cannot be completed as dialed" recording, so AT&T must be on to the scam.

[bmbmd]

9. I got one last Thursday from Grenada,

and another Friday from Antigua. One ring. I didn't answer, of course. (I hardly ever answer anyway).

[SidDithers]

10. Even worse. The call is coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE!!...nt

Sid

[Phentex]

13. LOL!

I doubt I would hear just one ring. And even if I did, I'd never call back. I'm just not that curious.

My kids will text me from inside the house.

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. !!!

[Capt. Obvious]

11. Who blindly calls back a number like that?

The lonely?

[oldhippie]

23. My wife

She has no idea what the numbers mean and thinks it may be one of her relatives.

[arikara]

15. A time or 2 I've dialled a wrong number

And quickly hung up, and am surprised to get a callback from a stranger asking what I wanted as late as a day or 2 later. Sometimes they can be really rude about it. It would serve them right to get dinged $20 with that attitude. I never call a strange number, if they want something they can leave a message.

[a kennedy]

16. I don't have caller ID, so I answer and say hello, hello, and hang up.

Think I should get caller ID???

[FarCenter]

17. No voice message, no call back

And who answers the phone anymore.

[Warren Stupidity]

19. Remember: the postman always rings twice.

[jsr]

20. Damn scammers

[colsohlibgal]

21. I Screen All My Calls

If I don't recognize the number I let it ring, I figure if it's legitimate and they aren't selling anything they will leave a message.

[superpatriotman]

22. Had three of these in seven days

Thanks for the heads up!

[City Lights]

24. I would never call back.

Hell, I rarely answer my phone unless I know the caller. No way I'd ever call back some random number.

[David_ness]

25. Missed call from 473-405-0089. I was charged by Verizon at premium rate

I got a call late at night...which I missed.. I called back next day morning. There was some racy music and I was kept on hold for sometime and then heard women giggling and moaning.. I hung up swiftly. I noticed the scam when I saw the bill from Verizon... was charged $20 for couple of minutes

[JustAnotherGen]

26. I'm running interference

On this as a side project at work. . .

Another tip - Wireless Handset Owners that are not Pre paid -

Go to your providers website and note te Toll Free Number for Customer Service.

They are aping these numbers to call wireless subscribers and get them that way - this scam was noticed in late January and it's already morphed that quickly.

Fraudsters are ver very clever and they never ever stop - they just get more creative.

[RKP5637]

27. For me, if they can't bother to leave a VM, then screw them, I could care less talking to

anyone. And especially those that block caller ID.

[tularetom]

29. I guess I don't understand how cell phone charges work

Yes, you would be on the hook for a bunch of charges - to your service provider, not some third party.

How does a scammer benefit if you have to pay your phone company?

Or are you saying the phone companies are in on the scam? I could believe that.