KANSAS CITY — If your phone rings once, beware.
The Federal Communications Commission is warning about 'one-ring robocalls'-- a scam that doesn't require you to pick up the phone, but to call back.
"No matter what time of day it is. If it's the afternoon or the morning, or I'm at work or at night... it's another 'Scam Likely,'" resident Brigita Mandic said.
Mandic said she averages about four scam calls a day. Anytime she sees a phone number she does not recognize, she ignores the call. And she never calls back.
"I don't want to mess with it," Mandic said.
According to the FCC, the 'one-ring robocall' scammers will dial a number before hanging up after one to two rings. The phone number will often begin with familiar area-codes.
The hope is that you will call the number back, listen and try to decipher a message. In the meantime, the scammer is connecting you to a line with high inter-connect fees so your stuck paying the bill.
"It's a clever scam, but I don't return a call unless I recognize a number," resident Robert Milgrin said.
The FCC recommends never picking up or returning a phone call you do not know. Another solution includes downloading apps to block these calls.
The Missouri Attorney General's Office has received more than 46,000 complaints about these robocalls. It's the biggest consumer complaint in Missouri-- up from about 22,000 complaints in 2012.
