DO NOT CALL BACK: An Old Phone Scam is Making Its Way Back to Texas

Attention, Texas--Everyone from Amarillo to El Paso, Abilene to Lubbock, Midland/Odessa to Tyler, be alert.  What once was old is new again.  That is the perfect sentiment for scams.  Especially phone scams.  Texans need to be aware that an old scam is making its way around the Lonestar State again.

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Over 5 years ago a scam popped up called the One Ring scam.   The way this scam works is your phone will ring once.   Most of us being curious tend to want to know who the heck is calling us and will immediately call the number back.

BEWARE of the one-ring hangups!

That's where they will get you, when you call that number back it'll answer and put you on hold.  What you don't realize is that you are essentially calling a 1-900 number and you will get charged per minute for the phone call.

The number will come in as a regular number that might be from your area or it might be from somewhere else, but it doesn't show as a pay-to-call number.   Scammers spoof a number to make it look like a legitimate call.

Here are the area codes you to look out for when getting phone calls.

Here are some tips for avoiding phone scams:

• Don't answer the phone if you don't know the number
• Don't call back if they didn't leave a message or you don't recognize the number
• If you don't recognize the area code don't answer the call

The same goes for text message scams, those are becoming more sneaky especially this time of year when you are buying a ton of gifts online and having them shipped.  Google before you click on a link to see if that number is fraudulent or if anyone has posted.