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Ping calls (one-ring scams)
By the Scampilot team · Last updated
Your phone rings exactly once from an unknown foreign number and the caller hangs up before you can answer. The missed call is the bait: if you call back, you land on an expensive foreign or premium-rate number that keeps you on the line while charges run up. The Bundesnetzagentur regularly blocks the numbers behind these waves and collects reports.
Warning signs
- A single ring from an unknown number with a foreign country code (e.g. +216, +252, +675).
- Several such missed calls in a row, sometimes at night, to push you to call back.
- The country code looks deceptively like a German area code (e.g. +21 65... read as 02165).
- When you call back you hear music, announcements or silence designed to keep you on the line.
Example
Missed call (1) from +675 7012 4455 at 02:13. Missed call (2) from +675 7012 4455 at 02:14. You have one missed call - call back this number now.
Made-up example - not a real message.
How to protect yourself
- 01Never call back unknown foreign numbers after a one-ring missed call.
- 02Check the country code first: anyone who really wants to reach you will try again or text.
- 03Block the number and report it to the Bundesnetzagentur, which can order it disconnected.
Already caught out?
- 01Note the number, date and time, and check your next phone bill for inflated charges.
- 02Dispute premium charges with your provider in writing - blocked numbers must not be billed.
- 03Report the number to the Bundesnetzagentur so it can be blocked for everyone.
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