One-Ring Scam (Wangiri): Why Not to Call Back
A one-ring or Wangiri scam is a call that rings once and hangs up so you call back. The number is usually overseas or a Caribbean area code that looks North American, and returning the call can connect you to a line that bills a connection fee and high per-minute charges. Do not call back unknown missed calls.
How the one-ring scam works
“Wangiri” comes from Japanese and roughly means “one ring and cut”. The CRTC describes Wangiri-type calls as calls made in huge volume, mostly to mobile phones, that appear to come from overseas. The phone rings only once or twice, in the hope that you will be curious enough to call the number back. When you do, the way international calls are paid for sends part of the charge to the fraudsters.
The FCC gives the same warning for the US. If you call back, you may be connected to a number outside the country and charged a fee for connecting plus significant per-minute fees for as long as someone keeps you on the line. The charges can appear on your bill as premium services, international calling or toll calls. The Competition Bureau’s Little Black Book of Scams describes the Canadian version: you see a missed call you do not recognize, call it back, and pay premium rates without knowing it. The same guide cautions against calling numbers that begin with 1-900, the code used for pay-per-call services, which the FCC compares these callback charges to.
Why do I get missed calls from international numbers?
Usually because a calling system is dialling thousands of numbers in a row and hanging up after one ring. You were not chosen personally. The goal is to make some of those people call back, because each returned call earns the scammer a share of the international or premium charge. Ignoring the missed call ends it.
The codes that show up
One-ring calls change countries often, so any list goes out of date. These are the examples that regulators and Canadian news reports have named:
| Code shown | Where it rings | Named by |
|---|---|---|
| +222 | Mauritania | FCC alert, May 2019 |
| +232 | Sierra Leone | FCC consumer guide |
| 809 | Dominican Republic | FCC consumer guide |
| Albania, Macedonia, Seychelles | Overseas | Canadian reports, February 2018 |
The 809 example is the dangerous one, because it does not look foreign. The Dominican Republic, Jamaica (876) and the British Virgin Islands (284) are part of the same ten-digit numbering plan as Canada and the US, so their numbers look like any other area code. A call to them is still billed as an international call.
Is a call from 809 or 876 international?
Yes. 809 is the Dominican Republic and 876 is Jamaica. Both use the same 1 plus ten digits format as Canada and the US, so they look like domestic area codes, but calls to them are international and are billed at international rates. If you do not know anyone there, do not call back.
The easiest check is to compare the area code with the full list of Canadian and US codes on our area codes page. If it is not there, the number is outside Canada and the US.
What carriers and the CRTC do
In April 2020, the CRTC allowed Bell Canada and its affiliates to block verified Wangiri calls on their networks, in Decision 2020-125. Bell’s broader call-blocking system for fraudulent and scam calls was approved as a permanent offering in December 2021. Carriers also block calls with malformed caller ID that cannot be dialled, which catches some fakes before they ring.
You can add your own layer. The FCC suggests that people who never call abroad ask their phone company to block outgoing international calls. On Bell Home phone, for example, the Call Control feature can block international and domestic long distance calls and all 900 and 976 numbers. Mobile carriers handle this differently, so ask yours what it offers.
What if I already called back?
Hang up and check your next bill for international, premium or toll charges you do not recognize. If you find any, call your carrier, explain that it was a one-ring scam and ask for the charge to be reviewed or reversed. The FCC advises trying to resolve it with your phone company first.
What to do now
- Do not call back missed calls from numbers you do not recognize, especially international or Caribbean codes.
- Look up an unfamiliar number on the phone lookup before you return a call.
- Ask your carrier to block outgoing international calls if you never make them.
- Report one-ring calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.