Security News FTC warns on “Can you hear me now” robocall: Hang up!

[Exterminator]

The Federal Trade Commission this week issued a warning about the irritating and illegal “Can you hear me now?” robocall scam making the rounds on phones across the country.

The FTC says it has received hundreds of complaints on the calls which could end up being part of a scam to get your money.

The Better Business Bureau described the scam earlier this year: “By replying ‘yes,’ ‘sure,’ or other agreeable response, the scammer records the call and uses that sound bite to authorize unwanted charges to the scammers benefit. “It seems like an innocent question, but it can cause undue financial burdens and stress. The scam caller may already have your financial information, which is how they authorize a payment and, if you dispute a charge, the scammer has doctored the recording to make it seems as though you agreed to it.”

So, what to do? The FTC and BBB offer the following suggestions:

• Don’t respond, just hang up. If you get a call, don't press 1 to speak to a live operator or any other number to be removed from the list. If you respond in any way, it will probably just lead to more robocalls – and they’re likely to be scams. If you do answer, hang-up immediately. Don’t answer any questions or provide any personal information to an unknown caller.
• Avoid answering calls from unfamiliar numbers. If you don’t recognize a phone number, even if it has a local area code, let the call go to voice mail. You can always call back if they leave a message and it appears legitimate.
• Check your records for unfamiliar charges. If you suspect you are a victim of this scam check your credit card, banking, phone and cable bill statements for unfamiliar charges. Dispute any charges that you did not authorize on purpose.
• Report the incident. Keep track of the initiating phone number, file a scam report with BBB Scam Tracker to help warn others from falling victim and notify the FTC or FCC
• Contact your phone provider. Ask your phone provider what services they provide to block unwanted calls.
• Put your phone number on the Do Not Call registry. Access the registry online or by calling 1-888-382-1222. Callers who don’t respect the Do Not Call rules are more likely to be crooks.

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[Amelith Nargothrond]

We had a similar scam here, but nothing was automated. Somebody would call and tell you (after a period of spying on you) that your daughter or son had an accident, that it was her/his fault, and in order to get him out from jail and/or drop the charges, you need to pay a certain amount of money on behalf of you daughter/son/some other relative. The thing is that many of them paid.

I really can't imagine how they cannot verify everything they are being told...

 

[Marko :)]

Oh, scam calls.
I remember when number 0000000 called me on landline. I didn't answer because I knew it's scam. Few hours later, exact same number was on news and they told people not to answer if they receive call from that number.

I didn't hear for scam calls really long time. Latest scam we had was via SMS. I remember that there was message with text Nazovi me hitno (Call me urgently) and it came from numbers which were from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Somalia. A lot of people actually fell on scam and replied text, some people even tried calling number but mobile oberators blocked the number on time. Some calls which were made had been refunded as far as I know. It's funny how everyone got the text except me.

 

[larry goes to church]

While I was first reading it I was so confused like why would they do this and then i read to the charges against you because you consented and was like ohh... it all makes sense.

Good attack, i guess feel genuinely sorry for anyone who falls victim.
Wonder how that will work out in court after

 

[conceptualclarity]

How are they going to get your financial information? We need to get very specific about that.

 

[Winter Soldier]

Yeah, I've heard similar stories of false energy companies that call you : "are you mr x?", "yes sure" and "yes" is registered and used to enable a new contract but they should also have the POD number that identifies you as a customer.
They use social engineering techniques to steal your data.

 

[oneeye]

Greetings all,

There are various apps that can block or warn about these scam calls or spammers. They are using crowd sourced information to do this, and if your settings are to block these calls with a high degree of confidence, then at most, you'll get a notice of blocked calls.
YouMail is one service, which is similar to Visual Voicemail, a default app for Sprint customers, but much better in numerous ways. I switched to this new service recently and it definitely helped cut down on unwanted robo calls and other garbage.

 

[shmu26]

How are they going to get your financial information? We need to get very specific about that.

Almost every day, there is another leak of thousands or millions of personal details. Getting your personal details is the easy part.

 

[soccer97]

Thanks for the Reminder/Heads-Up Jack.

These are becoming more common. Ensure you are checking your financial statements and make sue that there are not any unauthorized charges.

@conceptualclarity

The scammer generally uses your voice to respond affirmatively to a representative of whatever company they are calling - in an attempt to illegally steal your info and/or money.

Fortunately, most financial companies, along with others you use (utility companies, cell phone, etc are asking you for your info - not merely confirming it). It's another few layers of authenticating that the caller is who they are supposed to be.

It's a lesson for us to be vigilant. It is almost humorous to see some of the caller ID's that have obvious spoofed numbers - including your own phone number. Report robo-calls to the FTC and ensure you are on the do-not call list - which you need to renew every 5 years (take a screenshot of the call or call log on your smartphone).

This helps them eventually ID the company and shut them down.

 

[conceptualclarity]

I try to minimize my vulnerability. If possible, in online shopping I no longer allow vendors to save my credit card info. Amazon and PayPal do have it, but not too many do. I have never done and never intend to do any online banking. I don't even use ATMs.

I have never provided info to a phisher. A few years ago I did click on a link in an apparent phishing email that temporarily fooled me, but I never detected any harm. I have learned my lesson from that goof.

A few days ago I did get a recorded call in which I was asked a question (the specifics of which I forget) that tried to set up a yes or no answer. Instead of yes or no, I said: "Is this a scam call?" or something along those lines. Immediate disconnect on the other end.

 

[soccer97]

I noticed one now where it is a a robocall that just says: "Hi, how are you today....(pause)......then hangs up". Same type of scenario.

 

[soccer97]

Ah, I just fell for this.

 

[Entreri]

Yeah, not saving credit card info on any website is good or just sticking to buying from the major reputable ones.

Being an uber skeptic, from religion to politics etc, impossible to catch me in any scam. I do get stuff from "immigration", "irs", "banks", you name it. The phone stuff is very annoying, the email is amusing...will they go snail mail?

But I can see how to the desperate, the old (most without full mental faculties) can be easily caught.