Move over IRS Scams, Free Cruise Scams and Phishing Scams….there’s a new phone scam in town – and it’s called “Can You Hear Me?”  Well, hear us now, because if you’re not careful, you could quite easily fall victim to fraud.

It’s deceptively subtle and ridiculously effective. Targeting millions across the country, it’s a simple call involving the caller asking, “Can you hear me?” The logical response…saying “Yes.”  And therein lies the problem.  Scammers are using robots to call and secretly record you. The answers you give them are then used against you – and your wallet. In fact, the Better Business Bureau said more than half of their scam calls this month are reports of this ripoff.

Caller: “Hi, this is Jenny from the consumer department – can you hear me okay?”

If you answer “Yes,” it’s secretly recorded. Later, the scammer calls back demanding payment, using the recording as proof that you agreed to pay for goods or services.

Our advice?  Never answer call from a number you don’t recognize.  And if you do answer, never give out personal information. If you do receive a pre-recorded sales call, or if someone asks, “Can you hear me?” – hang up!

Certainly, having YouMail as your call blocker is our best advice. But remember, it’s not just for your mobile phone.  YouMail can stop robocalls for your home and business lines too. All you need is the conditional call forwarding feature so you can arrange for missed calls to go to YouMail. (Don’t worry, when you sign up, YouMail figures out your carrier and will tell you what to do for your specific carrier.) It really is that simple to get rid of robocallers and telemarketers forever.

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