At the center of the scams are telephone calls seeming to originate from numbers dialed from Dominica and Antigua. People from a number of states report receiving calls on their mobile phones during which the caller quickly hangs up. When the calls are returned, they’re connected to a paid international adult entertainment service or chat line located outside the country.

Victims subsequently are billed for the incoming international call if they answer the unwanted premium service, which typically appears as a $19.95 charge. In some cases the scammers even charge smaller amounts so as not to arouse suspicions.

The large volume of complaints has prompted the Better Business Bureaus in the states of Georgia and Michigan to issue advisories to residents.

Authorities believe that the scammers use computers to randomly make short calls to thousands of mobile phones. When victims call back usually out of curiosity they are diverted to the bogus sites and billed accordingly.

The Better Business Bureaus are urging residents to ignore the calls from numbers that they don't recognize and resist the urge to call back.