How checking a missed call could cost Brits £100 in a matter of minutes

A single missed call could be all it takes to rack up triple-digit charges, as British phone owners are warned over a surge in "one-ring" scam calls linked to premium-rate 084 numbers. The scam is simple, and brutally effective. The scammer will make a phone call which rings once and then abruptly stops. They are relying on curiosity over the potential caller to prompt a call back on the number - and that's when the extortionate charges begin.

Users on a UK-based digital voice provider Phonely's "Who Called Me" platform have increasingly flagged suspicious "one-ring" calls designed to trick people into calling back over recent months. Complaints include "This number rings once then stops", "Daily scam, one ring then disconnects", "Rings for two seconds then cuts off" whilst others say the real shock comes later, when the bill arrives: "Surprise £10 charge on my bill from this number","Received £10 worth of charges for a number I don't recognise", "£110 outgoing charge appeared!"