A phone scam is making a comeback, and Manitobans have been seeing their cell phones and land lines light up as a result.

Called the “one ring scam”, people who experienced it said their phone rang once, leading to a missed call from a foreign number they didn’t recognize.

Debbie Leah’s phone rang late Monday night.

The Winnipeg woman told CTV News it happened just before midnight.

“And I kind of looked at the number. I’d never heard of it, or the place it came from,” said Leah.

Upon googling the number, Leah said she found the call to be coming from Mauritania: a country in Northwestern Africa.

“They didn’t leave a voicemail,” said Leah.

“I didn’t call back.”

According to Marian Henry with the Better Business Bureau of Manitoba and Northwest Ontario, the organization has received multiple reports of the “one ring scam” over the years.

Henry said that those calling were trying to entice victims into phoning the missed number back: a seemingly-simple decision that could have complicated repercussions.

“When they do call back, it puts them through to a pay-per-call type of scenario where there’s a cost involved to initially be connected, as well as a cost-per-minute once you’re on that call,” said Henry.

Henry told CTV the fraud was also known as the “Wangiri scam”, and could ultimately lead to significant charges on a phone bill.

“You might get music when you reconnect. They may have a pre-recorded message,” said Henry.

“The longer you’re on the call, the more expensive it could end up being. Sometimes you know four hundred dollars a minute,”

Spokesperson for the Canadian Anti-Frau Centre Jessica Gunson, told CTV News the agency was aware of the scam and that it was advising consumers to be wary of missed calls from numbers they didn’t recognize.

“If you see a call come through on your call display, be it your cell phone or your land line, and you don’t recognize it, do not pick it up,” said Gunson.

“If you’ve missed a call and you see this number show up on your phone, do not call back.”

Sergeant Shaun Veldman with the Winnipeg Police Serviec (WPS) Financial Crimes Unit recommended concerned Manitobas report such activity to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Veldman said the WPS was also aware of the scam, and while it wasn’t common in Winnipeg, it could now be starting to target 204 numbers.