FCC Warns About 'One Ring' Robocall Scam Seeking Callbacks To a Toll Number

"Don't return that middle-of-the-night phone call if your cell phone only rang once," warns the New York Daily News: The Federal Communications Commission on Friday alerted consumers about a wave of "One Ring" robocalls after detecting "widespread overnight calling" in both New York and Arizona. The scam calls, also known as "Wangiri" -- which is Japanese for "one ring and drop" -- are an attempt to trick customers into phoning the number back. If you do, it can result in getting billed toll charges as though you called a 900 number... "They may call repeatedly, hoping the consumer calls back and runs up a toll that is largely paid to the scammer," the FCC said in a press release. According to the FCC the callers are using the "222" country code of Mauritania, a nation in West Africa, to carry out their scheme. In addition to not returning the phone call, officials encouraged people against calling back numbers they don't recognize -- especially if they appear to be international.

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