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One ring, then nothing: the missed call scam

By the StoryCheck team · 6 min read · Published 29 September 2026

A one-ring missed call is a call that rings once and cuts off so that you call back, and the call back is the scam: it goes to an international or premium-rate line that charges you for every minute. The pattern is known as wangiri, Japanese for "one ring and cut". In the UK the safe response is to leave an unknown number alone, block it and report it free by texting 7726 with the word CALL followed by the number.

How does a one-ring call make money?

The calls are placed in bulk, ringing many numbers at once, which is why several people you know may get the same missed call. The number left in your call log is set up to be expensive to ring, and the money is made on your call back. O2's own guidance puts it plainly: some numbers only ring for a short time to make you call them back, and you might be charged for doing so. EE gives the same advice: think twice before returning a call from a number you do not recognise, and check whether it is a chargeable number. The longer you stay on the line, the more it costs.

GOV.UK's call charge figures are approximate, and your provider's actual prices may differ. The point stands either way: the unfamiliar ranges are the ones that cost most to return. Our guide to UK phone prefixes explains every range in more detail.

What should you do about the missed call right now?

1. 1

   Do not ring back

   Not even to ask who it is. If the number is unknown and it rang once, your call back is the only way the scheme earns anything.

2. 2

   Check it without calling

   Search the number inside quotation marks, read the code, or run a reverse lookup to see the line type, the country and any scam signals. Nothing is sent to the number.

3. 3

   Block it

   Use the block option in your call log. An iPhone can also send unsaved numbers straight to voicemail, and the Google Phone app on Android can flag suspected spam.

4. 4

   Report it

   Text the word CALL followed by the number to 7726. It is free, and it lets your network investigate and block the number.

5. 5

   If you already called back

   Hang up, note the time and length of the call and check your next bill. If a charge appears, raise it with your provider.

How do you tell a scam missed call from a genuine one?

O2 recommends ignoring calls you cannot identify unless you are expecting one, because someone with a real reason will usually leave a voicemail. Some genuine callers, including NHS services, hide their number altogether, which is a different situation covered in our guide to withheld numbers.

Foreign numbers are the exception, not the rule. Of the numbers people in the UK checked on StoryCheck between July and September 2026, 96% were UK numbers; among the foreign ones, about a quarter carried +1, the code used by the United States and Canada.

How can you stop these calls in future?

• On a BT home phone, Call Barring can stop outgoing calls to international numbers (code 3) or premium-rate numbers (code 7), and BT says barring premium-rate numbers costs nothing.
• On a mobile, ask your network which bars it offers on premium-rate numbers, international numbers or both.
• O2 labels suspected spam and scam calls on screen through Call Defence, at no extra cost on its Pay Monthly custom, SIM Only and Business plans, and EE offers a Scam Guard add-on to Pay Monthly customers.
• On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Apps, then Phone, to silence unsaved numbers or have them asked for a reason before the phone rings, and send calls your network flags as spam to voicemail.
• Networks already filter some fakes: O2 says Ofcom requires it to stop calls with invalid or incomplete caller ID, and it blocks unallocated ranges such as numbers starting 05 or 06.