In other news, the 'One-Ring' has appeared in Japan.

"Ever since the problem started we've been advising customers not to call back these numbers and not to give any response to requests for their bank details or addresses."

Like all the best con tricks, the "wan-giri" or one-ring scam is simple.

The operators make computer-generated mass calls to random mobile numbers, hanging up after one ring and tempting many curious users to call back, at which point they usually get a salacious message and a huge bill.

- via Reuters, obviously