One-ring scam checker: is it safe to call this number back?
In short: Says what calling a number back would be: an ordinary call, international, a +1 number in another country (the one-ring pattern), premium rate, or a number no phone can have. Limit: It reads the number's range only: it can't tell who called, whether they're a scammer, or whether the caller ID was spoofed to a real number.
A one-ring scam is a call that rings once from a number that looks domestic, hoping you call back and pay international or premium rates. Paste the number and pick your country: this checker says whether calling back is an ordinary call, international, a +1 number outside the US and Canada, premium rate, or a number nobody can own.
Price: this tool is free. Live line type and carrier lookups come with Pro + Phone at $49.99/mo; email checking is from $9/mo. See pricing
The country you would call back from. Numbers without a + are read as this country's.
Sample result
(473) 555-0110 looks like a US number, but 473 is Grenada.
- Missed call
- (473) 555-0110
- Country
- Grenada
- FTC one-ring list
- Named
What this means for you
Calling back may be billed as an international call. Let unknown numbers go to voicemail.
- International, premium and +1-abroad numbers
- Numbers no phone can have (faked caller ID)
- Says what it can't know: who called
- One number or a list
- Missed calls
- Premium rate
- No signup
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
How do I check a number before calling it back?
- Pick your country, the one you would call back from. Numbers written without a + are read as that country's.
- Type the number as it showed on your phone, such as +1 876 555 0147 or (473) 555-0110. A list works too, one per line.
- Press Check before calling back. You get the number's country, what calling it would be billed as, and whether the FTC named its area code in its one-ring alert.
- For a list, download the report or just the flagged numbers.
Example
- You enter
- Your country United States;
+1 876 555 0147,+1 900 555 0100,(415) 555-0132and+1 999 555 0100. - You get
+1 876 555 0147: +1, but another country (Jamaica), may be billed as international, area code named in the FTC's one-ring alert.+1 900 555 0100: premium rate.(415) 555-0132: a normal call in your country.+1 999 555 0100: can't belong to anyone, so the caller ID was faked.- Limits
- One number or a list: up to 500 rows a run without an account and 25,000 when signed in with Google. It runs in your browser and dials nothing.
What is a one-ring scam?
A one-ring (or "wangiri") call rings once and hangs up, so the number shows as a missed call. If you call back, you may be connected to a number abroad that charges a connection fee and per-minute rates, which the FCC says can show on your bill as international, premium-service or toll charges. Answering the call costs nothing; calling back is the risk.
The trick works because many Caribbean countries share +1 with the US and Canada. 876 (Jamaica), 809 (Dominican Republic) or 473 (Grenada) look like US area codes and are dialled the same way, but they're other countries. The FTC's 2014 alert named ten of them: 268, 284, 473, 649, 664, 767, 809, 829, 849 and 876.
Which area codes should I not call back?
There's no list of bad area codes: every code the FTC named is a real code that hotels, families and businesses use every day. What matters is what calling back would cost and whether you know the caller. A +1 number outside the US and Canada may be billed as an international call; a 900 number in the US or a premium-rate number elsewhere, such as UK 09, charges a higher rate set by the service.
A number whose area code isn't in service, such as +1 999, can't belong to any phone, so the caller ID was faked. The FCC lets carriers block calls from numbers like these under 47 CFR 64.1200(k). Area codes come from NANPA's area code database; numbers outside +1 are read with Google's libphonenumber data.
Can this tell me if a number is a scam?
No, and nothing that reads a number alone can. Caller ID can be spoofed to show any number, including a local one or one you know, and most calls from the Caribbean are genuine. This checker tells you where the number's range is and what kind of range it is; who called, and why, isn't in the number.
If you don't recognise the caller, let it go to voicemail; a real caller will leave a message. If a charge does appear, the FTC suggests raising it with your carrier first, and you can file a complaint with the FCC or FTC. If you never call abroad, ask your carrier to block international calls from your line.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Anyone with a missed call
- Check an unknown number before calling back, so a Caribbean +1 or premium number doesn't end up on your bill.
- Support teams
- Screen callback lists so agents don't return calls to premium-rate or impossible numbers.
- Call centers
- Flag numbers in a callback queue that would be billed internationally before they're dialled.
- IT and telecom admins
- Scan call logs for one-ring patterns before deciding on an international-calls block.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- It reads the number's range only: it can't tell who called, whether they're a scammer, or whether the caller ID was spoofed to a real number.
- What a call actually costs depends on your carrier and plan; this says what kind of call it is, not the price.
- Numbers without a + are read as your country's, so a foreign number written without its code may come back wrong.
- Up to 500 rows a run without an account and 25,000 when signed in with Google.
Common questions
- Is area code 876 a scam?
- No. 876 is Jamaica's area code and most calls from it are genuine. It is one of the codes the FTC named in its one-ring alert because it looks like a US code, so be careful calling back a number you don't know.
- Does answering a one-ring call cost money?
- No. Receiving a call costs nothing on most US plans. The charges come from calling the number back.
- What area codes are one-ring scams?
- The FTC's 2014 alert named 268, 284, 473, 649, 664, 767, 809, 829, 849 and 876, all Caribbean countries on +1. Scammers can use any number, though, and can fake caller ID.
- Why did I get a call from my own area code that I don't know?
- Caller ID spoofing, often called neighbour spoofing, can show a local-looking number that isn't the real caller. The number's area code tells you nothing about who called.
- How do I stop one-ring calls?
- Don't call back unknown international numbers, use your carrier's call-blocking or spam filter, and if you never call abroad, ask your carrier to block outgoing international calls.
Sources
Well formatted is not the same as reachable.
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