Four-word question to never answer when you pick up the phone – scammers just need seconds to steal your savings

SCAMMERS are targeting victims by asking a simple four-word question and giving them a response could see your bank account drained.

The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about the scam, especially as Americans might be doing more business over the phone during tax season.

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The scammer will call a victim and ask, “Can you hear me?”

The caller will typically hang up as soon as the victim answers the question.

However, some victims have said that the scammer might also mention banking, vacation packages, warranties, or Medicare cards.

The caller might also impersonate a victim’s bank, insurance company, or government agency.

Victims could lose money right away or have trouble later on.

HOW IT WORKS

A victim will receive a call from someone who will immediately ask, “Can you hear me?”

The goal is to get the victim to say “Yes,” which most people will do out of habit.

Sometimes the caller might say, “I’m having trouble with my headset” or “I’ll call you right back.”

However, the “caller” might not be a real person.

The scheme is often a robocall and your response to the question is recorded.

When a victim answers “Yes,” their remark, featuring their voice, can later be edited to make it sound like they authorized a purchase.

Top tips on avoiding scams:

As scams become more sophisitcated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam and how to avoid them.

• Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
• Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
• Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
• Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
• Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
• Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
• Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.

Source: Chase.com

Answering can also confirm to the scammer that the phone number they called is real, meaning it can be targeted for future scams.

The FTC has issued a unanimous ruling in the past to make artificial intelligence-generated voices in robocalls illegal.

There are some variations of the scam, such as the caller asking, “Is this [your name]?” or another question that would prompt the victim to answer “Yes.”

Other times, the caller might not hang up right away and instead try to continue the conversation to steal your personal information or record more of your voice.

The BBB has provided some recent examples of testimonies from the Scam Tracker:

• “They called and said hello, hello? Then they asked if I could hear them. I assumed they wanted me to say yes, but instead, I said ‘mhmm’ and they immediately hung up. I immediately tried calling the number back and got an error message, saying the number had been disconnected.”
• “Caller asked ‘can you hear me’ then represented himself as a representative of [company name redacted] and asked for personal finance information…”
• “A man called and immediately said ‘Can you hear me?’ And then told me that my identity was stolen and used for a crime in San Antonio, TX. He said that someone was laundering money using my name. I then hung up the phone.”
• “Caller asked ‘Can you hear me.’ My husband responded with YES. The caller hung up. We think they recorded his response to be used as a scam.”

To avoid becoming a victim of these scams, the BBB has offered some advice, such as using caller ID to screen calls and not answering unfamiliar numbers.

“They will leave a message if it’s important, and you can call back,” the agency wrote on its website.

Experts also advise that you hang up if you receive a call from an unfamiliar number and are asked, “Can you hear me?”

Scammers will typically change their tactics whenever the public catches on to them.

Be sure to make note of the number and report it on the BBB Scam Tracker to warn others.

Lastly, always check your bank account and credit card statements regularly, even daily if possible, so you spot any fraudulent charges quickly.

“Scammers may use your voice’s ‘Yes’ recording to authorize charges on your phone. This is called ‘cramming,’ and it’s illegal,” BBB wrote.

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