Article content
Telephone scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and automated, which means we may encounter them more often than ever before. Scammers use various tricks to obtain your voice and then use it against you. If you fall for it, they can extort money from you for services you never ordered. Here’s how to defend yourself against these scams.
How does a scam call unfold?
A scam call often starts innocently. It may be, for example, a female voice pleasantly offering you a service. The call may seem completely normal, except that in the caller’s monologue there is no pause for your response.
When you finally decide to politely end the call, it may turn out that you are talking to a robot — an automated system that records your voice. Then follows the key question: “Can you hear me?” If you answer “yes” to this question, scammers will record your voice and can then edit it to make it sound like you agreed to their offer.
Correct response: Hang up immediately
If you ever find yourself in such a situation, the best thing you can do is hang up immediately. Do not answer any questions, especially not questions that require a simple affirmative answer. If you were to say “yes”, scammers could use that word to deceive you and claim that you accepted their offer.
According to the Better Business Bureau, this type of scam has become increasingly common in recent days. In more than half of cases, scammers use the question “Can you hear me?” right at the start of the call, before people even realize it’s not a real person. It is recommended not to respond and to end the call immediately.
How to protect yourself?
The best protection against these scams is prevention. Avoid answering calls from unknown phone numbers. If you do answer a call and find out it’s an automated system, don’t engage in conversation and hang up. This will minimize the risk that your voice will be misused.
Remember that prevention is key. If you are careful, you can avoid these dangerous scams and protect yourself from potential financial losses.
