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Who’s calling now? That number doesn’t ring a bell. Hold the phone, says the Federal Trade Commission. You could be a potential victim of the growing "one-ring” cell phone scam.

Here’s how it works: Scammers are using auto-dialers to call cell phone numbers across the country. Scammers let the phone ring once — just enough for a missed call message to pop up.

The scammers hope you’ll call back, either because you believe a legitimate call was cut off, or you will be curious about who called. If you do, chances are you’ll hear something like, “Hello. You’ve reached the operator, please hold.” All the while, you’re getting slammed with some hefty charges — a per-minute charge on top of an international rate. The calls are from phone numbers with three-digit area codes that look like they’re from inside the U.S., but actually are associated with international phone numbers — often in the Caribbean. The area codes include: 268, 284, 473, 664, 649, 767, 809, 829, 849 and 876.

If you get a call like this, don’t pick it up and don’t call the number back. There’s no danger in getting the call: the danger is in calling back and racking up a whopping bill.

If you're tempted to call back, do yourself a favor and check the number through online directories first. They can tell you where the phone number is registered.

If you’ve been a victim of the “one-ring” scam, try to resolve the charges with your cell phone carrier. If that doesn’t work, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

And as a general rule: Read your phone bill often — line by line. If you don’t recognize or understand a charge, contact your carrier.

I’ve got to go now; my cell phone is ringing.

Search Terms
cell phone
overseas
robocall
scam
Topics
Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts
Scams
Phone Scams

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
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  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

infoman
June 21, 2014

In reply to by no robo

I keep getting calls from them also. I just blocked them on my iphone. Go to recent calls. touch the info button on the right side. Go all the way down and select block caller!
colorado
June 23, 2014

In reply to by no robo

so I was going to buy something on craigslist a 2006 toyota sienna for $4,600. This person Ben Peltay said the car was going to be shipped and I was gonna have 5 days to inspect it and test drive. The company Square trade was going to hold the money until I confirmied I wanted to buy it. I believe it is a scam. Please confirm!!!!!!
Don't Do it
October 21, 2021

In reply to by colorado

Absolutely a scam! If you contact square they will confirm that they do not participate in between a sale. once you send your money it is a done deal! and you have LOST your money! Tell them you want to come see the car in person and will have the cash with you. You will tell from their response that it is a scam. They will most likely tell you they are out of the country!!!!!
Judy smith
June 25, 2014

In reply to by no robo

18883821222 here is a number you can call its a do not call number. A record will come on and you enter your number then is put on a do not call list. It worked for me
Auggie
July 03, 2014

In reply to by no robo

Hey thank you for your pasting this exact same number got me yesterday if not for your posting would not have known
pissed off
July 10, 2014

In reply to by no robo

Called that number back from work phone...recording says number has been disconnected
txochitl
July 14, 2014

In reply to by no robo

I JUST GOT A CALL FROM THEM ! I ANSWERED & SAID HELLO & NOBODY RESPONDED SO I HUNG UP !
same here
July 19, 2014

In reply to by no robo

Just got a missed call from the same number you've listed...glad I saw this thread.
Notforme
July 31, 2014

In reply to by no robo

I got this exact same number called me like 4 times. So like always i googled it and found this article lol
User
August 08, 2014

In reply to by no robo

Yeah, I just got a call from that number as well, I didn't pick it up, SMH
schnegal693
September 25, 2014

In reply to by no robo

I got a call from 786-204-4348 two days ago. when I picked it up it was a pre-recorded message all in spanish. I hung up and blocked the number.
no robo
February 04, 2015

In reply to by no robo

702-099-1154, 615-863-3044, 91-226-196-9696 all call my number but say they are disconnected when I call right back. Now I will no long answer unknown numbers.
Getting Fed Up
July 08, 2019

In reply to by no robo

Like everyone else I'm getting one ring scam calls from various places. Last number was from 346-316-2377.
identical1
March 05, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

I think I got a call from this same number too. I know it was a 210 area code.
Jazz
March 20, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

I've been getting calls from numbers that look exactly like mine only the last four are different & when I call back its a Spanish person.
one ring calls…
March 25, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

these are not Florida numbers as they appear but both (786)204-4358 and (407)205-0232 are two numbers that ring once and then the call is cut off. That's fine, I have my phone set up to send certain calls into voice mail (they will be charged for the call if they call again).
lkwhite
March 30, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

the 210-775-5385 number is a loan scam according to the search I did. You should be able to block the number if they keep calling.
NoAprilFoolHere
April 04, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

I have gotten several calls from these numbers. I now block the numbers from my cell phone
miss moon and stars
April 12, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

I got this call from 786-204-4358 last night at 11:35 pm. I did not recognize it and almost called back to let someone have it for waking me up but I just went back to bed. glad I checked on it. thanks
phone scum scam
April 23, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

697-316-5054 This number calls and pretends to be a credit card company or a Mortgage Bank representative. They have a recoding telling you to call back in and give them all your personal information. If you answer a number you don't recognize and a recording starts with "there is nothing wrong with your credit but… HANG UP and report the number! DO NOT give anon on the phone all your personal information!
carlb
August 06, 2014

In reply to by phone scum scam

Area code 697 is fake. No area code in North America has a 9 as the centre digit. Unfortunately, the owners of PRI (primary rate interface) lines, the lines used for office private branch exchanges, can send any bogus number on caller ID. Most of the voice-over-Internet companies have those lines, and many allow their clients to send fake numbers to call display. Odds are, the telephone companies know more than what they're displaying when it comes to spam telephone calls - they have a number for billing purposes which is separate from call display. Unfortunately, if the scams are originating on the Internet, this identifies just the gateway - not the origin, which may be foreign or criminal. As long as the telephone companies are making money on all of those calls, they have no incentive for this to stop... if anything, they profit by making their residential landline subscribers pay extra for call display and extra again for caller name display. If you don't recognise the number, don't answer it. Let the machine deal with it. Unfortunate, but that's the consequence of cheap telephone access via Internet. Same mess as e-mail, where there's more spam than real mail.
diarreahsandwhich
June 16, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

if i answered my phone i would be worried but most of the time its on silent and i don't know anyone called till later
Hockpooh
July 03, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

I got a call that woke me up, telling me something, forget what now, and the robot voice said call us back at this number. They gave a number but I didn't catch it. I called back from the number in my caller log. A robot voice came on and said, this is not a working number. Another strange thing. I have my phone set up to ring like a old house phone. On the first ring, it's like two short rings together and the other rings are normal. It's like ringring r i n g r i n g r i n g.
jjordan
October 10, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

I just received this type of call once on my work number and then immediately after on my cell but both my cell and work number showed the robo call as coming from "Anonymous." FTC please help find a way to block these scams.
Kenneth
October 13, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

Just the other myself, my fiance, and her father all got a phone call from this number 786-204-4348. I scrolled down through the list and found several updates. So, just thought I'd add that it happened 2 days ago. Our cell phone provider blocked the number free of charge.
Kim G
November 12, 2014

In reply to by mitchmudder

On your iPhone click on Phone app; then click Recent; then on call you want to stop click the 'i' inn circle at the right of it; scroll to the bottom of the information and click on Block This Caller. That will take care of them call you again.
mike
March 05, 2015

In reply to by mitchmudder

Try to reject the no# on call settings (at phone pad hit menu, settings,regect no#. Hope that helps to stop those calls
Wierd Number
June 10, 2015

In reply to by mitchmudder

i have been called from 201-312-6893 has called me but i didn't answer but i googled it and hopefully something happens
Marie
June 16, 2015

In reply to by mitchmudder

Do not answer 204, this number just called me. It was only a three digit number.
Freddy
November 17, 2015

In reply to by mitchmudder

289-404-9601 same phone scam, just different number calling Canadians.
In Maryland
February 24, 2016

In reply to by mitchmudder

Exact same issue!!! he had my address, The call said it was from Fl. He gave me his number 117086 name Robert. He told me i was going to be arrested today. I called irs and they told me im fine!!!!!. he had a Foreign voice also. This is such bs! be careful! Caller: said US Treasury Call Type: Debt Collector from past year IRS

Contessa
July 22, 2016

In reply to by mitchmudder

You can always block the number. I do this all the time and when they call back, the phone only rings once.
house of houng
May 15, 2017

In reply to by mitchmudder

Scammers are pinging to see if your number would be good to call in the future to attempt to scam you. If no answer then they will call off and on for a month to see if you are really a live number. Do not answer and they will stop
Ballhawkaw
November 08, 2017

In reply to by mitchmudder

Area codes 210 and 726 are in or near San Antonio, Texas. The phone number +12107755385 has had massive amounts of complaints, The one I'd be more on alert for is the Antigua and Barbuda scam as a more and more people say that the caller calls you from this country. When they scam you or "one ring" you. They are also leaving a bomb in your wallet if you call back. Beware of these kinds of calls, block them because you never know where that phone number is actually from.
rysio
February 10, 2014
is there anything they cannot scam?
auntie142
February 11, 2014
Thanks for such valuable information... If you register your number with the do not call list and you pay for an unlisted number, who is allowed to call you other than your family and friends? How are they getting your name and number? Especially, these people who call and say something is wrong with my PC. They claim to be from Microsoft I believe. I tell them I don't have a system and I'm gonna give this number to the attorney generals office. They stop for a while, then start again with a new number. Again, thanks for all you do.
bdpp28
February 17, 2014

In reply to by auntie142

The whole month of Feb. I have been receiving calls every hour from #1-215-220-2321 (It comes up SCHOOL DISTRICT on my caller id. It is always a man with foreign accent about winning a Wal-Mart gift card. The other #1-845-666-1697 (also a man with same accent) tells me they are from Microsoft and there is a problem with my PC? They always hang up on me when I tell them to stop calling! It is driving me nuts! How do we report these numbers? and will it do any good?
Don't take tha…
February 22, 2014

In reply to by bdpp28

You can always make a police report out. I report them to DoNotCall.gov but it doesn't really seem to help. I also make a report on them online to sites like "who called me" or others. And the best thing, just add them to your blocked callers list.
Overclocked crash
March 22, 2014

In reply to by Don't take tha…

Police report LOL. Perhaps in your area they work however crap like this has occurred for well over ten years n just gets craftier so cop reports must still b round filed with sept 11 cop reports. When was your first call from 1-000-000-0000?
TK421
April 05, 2014

In reply to by Overclocked crash

don`t bother making a report, they usually don`t even do anything unless you`ve actually been hauled up by this scam. I say don`t waste the time and give yourself a migraine over this, just be careful, block numbers that are used in the scam, and lookup any unknown number before you call it back.
Beth
March 14, 2014

In reply to by auntie142

They just use an autodialer and it calls every single number combination one-after-the-next in order. They don't know who they are calling.
Xyzdreamz
June 25, 2014

In reply to by auntie142

I had the same guy call from "microsoft" over a hundred times I have told him I don't have a pc...I swear it is the same guy. He keeps trying to insist I have a pc... I am like I told you to stop calling me... and then he hangs up.... I want to smack this guy I swear... he sounds like he is in india somewhere... uggg
Goneriding
February 11, 2014
201-279-5864 has called me two times in the last four days. Each time, it rang only once.
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