Phone scams have been around for quite some time, but fraudsters keep coming up with increasingly sophisticated methods of deception.
The staff of Us.abrozzi wants to draw your attention to a relatively new type of phone scam and asks you to read this article carefully!
If you answer the phone and a stranger asks, “Can you hear me?“ hang up immediately. The call is from a scammer who is after a recording of your voice (more precisely, a recording of you saying ”Yes“). Such a voice sample can then be used for making purchases or other financial transactions in your name.
In some cases, saying “Yes” represents signing a verbal contract — something that equals clicking ”I agree“ or ”I accept» during online shopping. These so-called voice signatures are legitimately used by many companies when it comes to asking a client to confirm account changes or money transfers.
- Don’t answer phone calls from unfamiliar numbers. Picking up the phone lets the criminals know that your number is a valid one and can be used in fraudulent activity. Later on, your number might be resold to other scammers.
- If you decide to answer a call from a stranger, try to remain cautious and skeptical, especially when being asked questions that entail a reply of “Yes.“ These questions might include: ”Can you hear me?“ “Is it convenient for you to talk right now?” ”Are you the homeowner?“ etc. A reasonable response to any of those questions should be: ”Who are you, and why do you want to know?»
- Configure your phone to automatically switch calls from unknown numbers to voicemail. Scammers never leave voice messages.
- Do not give your personal information to strangers, even if they claim to be employees of a company you know.
Even if you think that it is impolite to hang up on a stranger, think again! Sometimes this can be really helpful.
