Police are warning people to immediately hang up if you receive a phone call from someone asking “can you hear me.” The “can you hear me” con aims to get victims to say “yes,” which is recorded by the fraudster and used to authorize unwanted charges.
They already have your phone number — and possibly other information — which means that the fraudster can spend your hard earned cash.
But why shouldn’t you say “yes?” Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America, says that the scammers can threaten legal action if you attempt to dispute the charges:
“You say ‘yes,’ it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something.”
“I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy.”
If you think you’ve already fallen victim, police recommend checking your credit card, phone and cable bills for any extra charges. If there are any, contact the company immediately and if they say you have been recorded approving the charge, ask for proof.
You can then contact the Federal Trade Commission for help disputing the charge.
To avoid the scam, authorities recommend not answering the phone from numbers you don’t know. And if you do, not confirming your number over the phone, not giving out personal information and not answering questions.
The truth isn’t always stranger than fiction, but in these cases, it totally is.
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