One Ring Phone Scam

Did the unknown caller hang up after one ring? Don’t return the call.

Who Is It Targeting: Phone users

What Is It: A scam that gets you to return the call at your cost

What Are They After: This old scam has been called the “one ring” scam because the caller hangs up after the first ring, but it’s now been found to take on multiple formats, including recorded calls and text messages. Basically, the scammer’s goal is to get you to call back, thinking that the call was dropped.

When you call back or text to the seemingly normal phone number, it’s actually a spoofed international number. You’ll be charged astronomical prices as the scammer keeps you tied up with a pointless conversation that tries to steal even more money from you.

How Can You Avoid It:

• If a call is dropped, don’t return the call; even if it was legitimate, it could have dropped because the caller was driving and entered an area of low service.
• If you don’t recognize a number, feel free to ignore it. If the call was actually important, they’ll leave a message or call back.

Find more information about current scams and alerts here. For full details of this scam check out this article from Clark.com.

If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530.