Phone and Internet Scams

[rstrong]

CBS: Beware new "can you hear me" scam

After the person or automated recording on the other end of the line introduces themselves they ask, "Can you hear me?" Scammers record your "yes" response, then bill you for products or services you never asked for.

If you try to deny the charges, the scammers will playback your verbal "yes" confirmation and threaten to take legal action if you don’t pay. They may also use the recording to authorize charges on a stolen credit card number.

[Vrede too]

... The question doesn’t have to be “can you hear me?” It could be “are you the lady of the house?”; “do you pay the household telephone bills?”; “are you the homeowner?”; or any number of similar yes/no questions. A reasonable response to any of these questions is: “Who are you, and why do you want to know?”

Or, "Fuck off!" Or, I say that I don't give out personal info. on cold calls and ask for a callback phone number. They hang up.

If the caller maintains they are with a government agency -- Social Security, the IRS, the Department of Motor Vehicles or the court system -- hang up immediately. Government officials communicate by mail, not phone (unless you initiate the call). Many con artists use the aegis of authority to convince you to keep talking. The longer you talk, the more likely you are to say something that will allow them to make you a victim.