If you get a missed call from a number you don’t recognize, it could be a scammer hoping you’ll dial back.

The Better Business Bureau is warning Calgarians about a recent phone scam that’s “caught on like wildfire” in the U.S., and may be making its way to Canada.

In the one-ring scam, the phone will ring and hang up when or before the recipient answers. Those who are curious enough to call the number back will hear music and/or audio-advertising while being unknowingly connected to a caller-paid toll service or chat line outside the country, the BBB warns.

Victims end up being billed at least $19.95, depending on how long they stay on the line.

Calls have originated from area codes in the Dominican Republic (809), Jamaica (876), British Virgin Islands (284) and Grenada (473), and scam artists may even be buying up and using local numbers.

Sandra Crozier-McKee, president and CEO of the BBB serving southern Alberta and East Kootenay, said some BBB locations in the U.S. were getting hourly reports from victims of the scam last week, and some Canadians may have already been hit.

“If you don’t know who it’s from, don’t pick up and don’t call back,” Crozier-McKee recommended. “If it really is a legitimate phone call, they’ll leave a message.”

Calgarians should check their phone bills regularly and look for unknown charges, as well as inquiring with service providers about restricting third-party billing, she added.

“When people (in Canada) start checking their January phone bills, they might find out they’ve already been victimized,” she said. “If you’ve been charged, let us know at the BBB if that’s happening.”

Daniel Williams, with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, said they haven’t received any reports of the one-ring scam but are expecting to.

Williams said the tactics used are similar to those of the caller ID spoofing scam, in which scam artists will use a phone number similar to the recipient’s to fool them into thinking it’s a local call.

The centre also recommends against picking up the phone if the call is from an unrecognizable number.

cho@calgaryherald.com