Someone keeps calling and hanging up: why it happens and what to do
You get calls that hang up straight away, sometimes over and over. Find out whether it's a call centre's dialler, a check that your line is live, or a scam attempt.
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Someone keeps calling and hanging up: why it happens and what to do
The phone rings once or twice and when you answer there's nobody there, or they hang up straight away. These "ghost calls" are among the most reported: the NoCall community keeps a large database of user reports on numbers that behave this way.
1. What's behind these calls
- Automated diallers — a telemarketing call centre dials more numbers than it has free agents; if nobody is available, the call drops or stays silent. Ofcom, the communications regulator, has rules on silent and abandoned calls.
- Live-line checks — systems confirming that your number answers, so they can call you later or sell the list.
- Wangiri — a deliberate missed call to get you to ring back an expensive premium-rate number.
2. Don't call back yet
Be careful with foreign numbers. If the missed call comes from an international code you don't recognise, don't call back: the wangiri scam depends on you taking the bait and ringing a costly line. The same goes for UK numbers starting with 09 (premium rate) or 070 (personal numbers that look like mobiles but cost much more). Prices are in the GOV.UK guide to call charges.
3. Check the number on NoCall
Look the number up in NoCall's large database of numbers. If other users report the same "call and hang up" pattern, you know it's not a call worth returning.
4. Block and report
Block the number from your call history and report it on NoCall to warn other users. If the calls keep coming from different numbers, turn on automatic filtering and read our step-by-step guides. If they're sales calls, register your number free with the Telephone Preference Service and report persistent callers to the ICO.
Why do they call me and hang up straight away?
Most often it's a telemarketing dialler with no free agents, or a system checking that your line is live so it can call you later. It can also be the start of a wangiri scam.
Should I call back if they ring and hang up?
No, especially if the number is foreign or unknown: calling back is exactly what the wangiri scam wants, because it connects you to a premium-rate line.
How do I stop getting calls that hang up?
Block the number, turn on your phone's spam filter and report the number on NoCall so other users know it's a ghost-call line. Registering with the TPS cuts down sales calls from legitimate companies, although it won't stop scammers.
Sources and review
Reviewed:
- Ofcom - GOV.UK
- Nuisance calls and messages | ICO
- Telephone Preference Service
- Call charges and phone numbers - GOV.UK
Numbering, carrier tools, and reporting procedures can change. Verify sensitive steps with the linked primary authority.
Article details
Editorial content reviewed by NoCall with practical context for spotting suspicious calls and messages.
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