The words made famous in the Verizon commercials have taken on an insidious tone in a possible new scam.
The Ohio Attorney General and national Better Business Bureau are warning consumers about an old scam with a new twist.
Scam calls have been reported throughout the state and nation in the last week with a scammer calling and asking “Can you hear me?” But when the consumer answers “yes,” which most people do instinctively, the scammer records the “yes,” and could potentially use it to place unauthorized charges using your own voice.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office said calls have been reported to use the “yes” response to place unauthorized charges on phone or utility bills.
“Any time people receive a call that’s suspicious, we encourage them to be very careful and not to respond to the call,” DeWine said in a news release. “When in doubt, just hang up.”
The BBB says so far, consumers report the calls are about such things as vacation packages, cruises, warranties and other big-ticket items.
For the last few days of January, more than half of the reports to the BBB Scam Tracker, www.bbb.org/scamtracker, have been about this one scam. As of Thursday, there were 2,200 complaints nationwide about the calls, said Christy Page, president and CEO of the BBB of Akron, adding that the local office has also been receiving calls.
“Nobody is sure what the endgame is, but it could be bad,” said Page.
Education is key, so letting people know to be aware of the possible scam and how they can avoid getting caught is good, she said.
Page said it’s also tough since there could legitimately be a caller who is not a scammer and needs to speak up.
“That’s the tricky part. You don’t know if they’re genuine or not,” she said.
DeWine said consumers have been reporting the calls appeared to come from a local number, such as an Akron or Columbus number.
Keep in mind that caller ID can be “spoofed” or made up.
According to the BBB, the calls almost immediately ask “Can you hear me?” They want you to say “yes.” There may even be some fumbling around, the BBB said, like the person saying “I’m having trouble with my headset.”
“But in fact, the ‘person’ may just be a robocall recording your conversation ... and that ‘yes’ answer you gave can later be edited to make it sound like you authorized a major purchase.
The BBB said to also be aware of other variations of the “Can you hear me” question since “scammers change their tactics as the public catches on, so be alert for other questions designed to solicit a simple ‘yes’ answer.”
Page said some of the variations that are designed to get a “yes” response include: Are you a homeowner? Do you work outside the home? Are you responsible for the gas bill? Do you believe there are too many homeless veterans?
Here are tips from the Attorney General’s Office and the BBB, plus a few thrown in by me:
• Don’t respond to suspicious calls. Let the calls go to voicemail or hang up if the call seems questionable in any way.
• Don’t always trust caller ID. The numbers could be faked or “spoofed.”
• Check your bills and credit card statements regularly. If you notice anything suspicious, immediately report them.
• Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry, www.donotcall.gov, though keep in mind that this won’t help with scammers, but could help with legitimate telemarketing calls.
• I have also written before about a free robo-calling service called Nomorobo, www.nomorobo.com. You can find more detailed information in a column posted with the “Betty’s Best Tips” at www.ohio.com/betty. We’ve used it for several years at our house and we don’t pick up the phone until it rings at least twice, which means it isn’t a robocall.
The downside is that you must have some type of Internet-based phone service, such as Spectrum (formerly Time Warner) Digital phone or AT&T’s U-Verse (its higher-end phone package) to use the service. Traditional landline companies and cellphone companies have not made the technology available to block the calls. Nomorobo founder Aaron Foss, a winner of the Federal Trade Commission contest several years ago seeking programs to fight robocalls, has confirmed for me that no additional action is needed from customers whose Time Warner accounts are now billed under the Spectrum name following Charter Communications’ acquisition.
The landline Nomorobo service is free. There is also an app available for iPhones for $1.99 a month and an Android version is due out in March, Foss said.
• Lastly, also on my page, www.ohio.com/betty under “Betty’s Best Tips,” you can find some columns on popular items, such as top 10 scams. Recently, I was also a guest on the podcast for my Beacon Journal colleague columnist Bob Dyer, talking about scams. You can find a link to that podcast there as well.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ.