Beware Of 'Can You Hear Me?' Phone Scam

DENVER (CBS4) - It starts out like the old Verizon commercials.

If you hear it, hang up right away. If you answer, if you say "yes," then that response is recorded by a fraudster and used to authorize unwanted charges on your phone, utility bills, and credit cards.

"You say 'yes,' it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something," director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America Susan Grant told CBS News. "I know that people think it's impolite to hang up, but it's a good strategy."

With your phone number and your voice, the con artist is able to get through many third-party charges without even having your payment method.

In addition, they may be able to collect more of your personal information.

So what can you do?

Don't answer the phone from unknown numbers, watch your bills and monthly statements closely, and be careful responding in any way on a call from someone you don't know, because the question may not be "Can you hear me now?" It might instead be a question that would normally get you to answer "yes."

"Are you the lady of the house?"

"Do you pay the household telephone bills?"

"Are you the homeowner?"

A reasonable answer, if anyone asks you these or a similar question, if you do answer, is: "Who are you, and why do you want to know?"

If the caller says they're with a government agency - like Social Security, the IRS, or the DMV or court systems - hang up immediately, since government officials communicate via mail only, not the phone unless you're the one who called.