Calls that ring once and hang up: the wangiri scam

Calls that ring once and hang up: the wangiri scam

Your phone rings once, you look at the screen and the call has already ended. The number is unknown, sometimes with an odd country code you don't recognise. Your first instinct is to ring back: what if it was something important? That instinct is exactly what the person on the other end is after. It's the missed-call scam, known as wangiri (Japanese for "one ring and cut"), and it has worked for years because it plays on the most basic curiosity.

How wangiri works

The mechanics are simple, which is why they're effective:

1. An automated system calls thousands of numbers and hangs up after one or two rings, before you can answer.
2. You see a missed call from a number you don't know. Many of these numbers carry unusual international codes (+216 Tunisia, +234 Nigeria, +355 Albania, +675 Papua New Guinea...).
3. If you call back, you're connected to a premium-rate line: recordings designed to keep you on the phone as long as possible (surveys, prizes, recorded messages) while the meter runs.
4. The cost per minute is high and part of it goes to the scammer. The bill arrives weeks later, when there's little left that's easy to claim back.

The same trick works with UK numbers too. 070 numbers look like mobile numbers but are "personal numbers" charged at a much higher rate, and 09 numbers are premium rate: according to the GOV.UK guide to call charges, they can cost up to £3.60 a minute plus your provider's access charge.

There's also a variant that isn't after the cost of the call but checking your number: by calling back you confirm that your line is active and that a real person responds, and your number becomes more valuable on the lists sold on to telemarketers and scammers. It's the same goal as silent calls, except that here you're the one making contact.

The signs that give it away

• A single ring, then nothing. Genuine callers let it ring; wangiri needs you NOT to answer, so it's programmed to cut off.
• An unknown international code. If you're not expecting calls from abroad, a country code you don't recognise is reason enough not to call back.
• A "mobile" number starting with 070. It isn't a mobile, and calling it back costs far more.
• Odd hours. Many batches go out late at night or first thing in the morning, when you're most likely not to answer and to find a missed call when you wake up.
• Repeated waves. If you get several similar missed calls within a few days, it's an active campaign, not a coincidence. Look the numbers up in the spam numbers directory and check unfamiliar country codes in our prefix directory.

What to do (and not do) about a suspicious missed call

The right response fits into three steps:

1. Don't call back. If it were important, they'd call again or leave a voicemail. No bank, government department or reputable company works with one ring and a hang-up.
2. Check the number before doing anything. Look it up in the spam numbers directory: wangiri reuses numbers for days, and usually dozens of people have already reported it, with the code and the trick identified.
3. Block and report. If you confirm it's wangiri, your report turns your missed call into a warning for the next person.

And what not to do: don't call "to see who it was", not even out of a minute's curiosity. One minute on a premium-rate line is enough to be charged, and the recording is designed to stop you hanging up straight away.

Can I be charged for a call I didn't answer?

No. While you're in the UK, receiving a call and not answering it never costs you anything, whatever country it comes from. The wangiri risk lies only in calling back. Likewise, answering one of these calls doesn't cost you anything either (the caller pays); the danger starts if they ask you to ring another number "to continue". That's the same trap with an extra step.

Quick questions

What if I called back without realising? Hang up as soon as you suspect something, check how long the call lasted and contact your provider (EE, O2, Vodafone, Three or whoever you're with) to ask about the cost and about barring calls to international and premium-rate numbers. If you've already been charged, complain to your provider in writing. If it isn't resolved within eight weeks, or they send you a deadlock letter, you can take it to the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS, depending on which scheme your provider belongs to, although a refund isn't guaranteed. The Citizens Advice consumer service can advise you along the way (in Scotland, Advice Direct Scotland; in Northern Ireland, Consumerline).

Does blocking the number help? Against that particular number, yes. But campaigns rotate numbers, so blocking is only a partial measure: the real protection is the habit of never returning missed calls from unknown numbers with unusual codes.

Does this only happen on mobiles? No, it reaches landlines too. If older people at home use a landline, it's worth leaving a note by the phone: "missed call from a strange number = don't ring back". You'll find more advice on the NoCall blog.

If you've had one of these missed calls, look it up in NoCall's spam numbers directory and report it: every report helps the next person who sees that number on their screen know not to call back. If a call like this has cost you money, you can also report it to Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) on 0300 123 2040 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or to Police Scotland on 101, as the NCSC explains.