Robocall scam: Avoid high phone bills from one-ring phone call scams to international numbers

Are you getting one-ring phone calls? Consumer Investigator Jason Knowles has a Quick Tip on the one-ring robocall scam. What to watch out for to avoid a skyrocketing phone bill.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The FCC recently decided to allow service providers to block suspicious calls from foreign numbers associated with the one-ring scam, but you could still get one of these calls

This robocall scheme has been skyrocketing in the last three years.

What happens is, you get a one-ring call from an international number and when you call it back you could be connected to an answering service that is designed to keep you on the line as long as possible.

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Then you get charged an extremely high rate for the call and the bad guys end up getting a cut of that money.

So you should not be calling strange numbers back.

First, check and see if the person left a voicemail. If you're expecting a call from a number you don't have saved, you may want to Google it or research it before calling back. There are also resources available to check what tech your carrier might be using.

The FCC has more information on avoiding these scams available on their website.

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Beware of high phone bills from one-ring robocall scams