If you hear your phone ring and pick up, be cautious about what you say. A new scam is targeting callers who say the word “yes.”
According to the Better Business Bureau, the scam begins when you get a call from a business or association. The person on the line will then ask, “Can you hear me?” If you reply yes, then your voice can be used against you.
BBB says the caller will then try to persuade you to purchase the product they are advertising and demand your payment.
If you refuse, the scammers can then take your recorded “Yes” and confirm an unwanted purchase.
People we spoke with say they understand how scary suspicious calls can be.
“I got a call. It said, “Can you hear me?” I said yes and he started talking and I tried to ask a question and he kept talking,” Ehrich VanLowe said.
“Somebody called and said that a man that has your last name might be your husband or your brother, was it an accident? And it really freaks me out,” Kelly Coy said.
BBB says if you receive a suspicious call, there are several things you can do to protect yourself:
– Do not answer any questions over the phone.
– Do not say any personal information
– If things appear suspicious, hang up the phone.
Also, if you feel that you have been scammed, monitor your personal information.
“What you really need to do is you need to watch your credit card statements, you need to watch your phone bill to see if charges have appeared on those bills that you didn’t truly authorize,” Chris Thetford, Vice President, Communications & Marketing with the Better Business Bureau, said.
If you continue getting suspicious calls, write down the number and report it to the Better Business Scam Tracker https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker/us/and the FTC’s Do Not Call List https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0262-stopping-unsolicited-mail-phone-calls-and-email.
