Out of state calls where no one is there

Happened to my friend. He died a strange death.

Was happening all the time to me
I started going through my call log & blocking the #'s, still get them but not as often as I was

That might be the "one ring" scam. Some people will call that number to see who is calling them - they get charged big bucks for placing that call.

One Ring Scam explained

Some wireless consumers receive calls from phone numbers with three-digit area codes that appear to be domestic, but are actually associated with international pay-per-call phone numbers. These calls often disconnect after one ring, not giving the consumer time to answer the call and tempting them to return the call. If you receive a call like this and do not recognize the number of the incoming call, do not return the call.

If you return the phone call, you may be connected to an international hotline than can charge a fee just for connecting, along with significant per-minute fees if they can keep you on the phone. These charges may show up on your bill as premium services.

This scam appears to be a variation of an old long distance phone scam that tricks consumers into receiving high charges on their phone bills. In the past, telephone consumers have been fooled into making expensive international calls by scam artists who leave messages on consumers’ answering machines or their email accounts. The messages urge consumers to call a number with an “809,” “284,” “876,” or some other area code to collect a prize, find out about a sick relative, or engage in sex talk.

I called back one time and it was a recording saying that I won another free cruise. After that, I stopped answering and block as many as I can.

quote:

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Out of state calls where no one is there
I constantly get calls from random numbers (many different states pop up) and no one is on the line. I answer because I suspect to a telemarketer and I want them to take me off their list. But a lot of the time, no one's there. Sometimes I just stay on the line to see what's up and it hangs up on its own. What the he'll could this be? Happens like twice a week.

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Mine are constantly car warranty scam calls.

Tin foil hat [on] off

Doxxers checking to see if the number they have is good. Especially effective if you leave your name and company in your message once it goes to voicemail.