Americans lost an average of $577 per person to phone scams in 2022. Scammers make nearly 200 million calls yearly with devious schemes targeting innocent people. Among the several scams, the "Can You Hear Me?" scam is the most common and has been around for years.
Learn more about the "Can You Hear Me?" scam, how it works, and how to protect yourself from scams and fraud in this Community Phone guide.
How the "Can You Hear Me?" Scam Works
The "Can you hear me?" scam tricks unsuspecting victims into saying something affirmative that can be recorded and used against them.
For example, scammers call individuals pretending to be from legitimate businesses, such as banks or utilities, and ask the victim if they can hear them. If the victim responds with a "yes" or anything affirmative, the scammer records it and uses it against them.
If you start to receive a higher number of spam calls, one of the reasons could be the "Can you hear me?" scam. Scammers call a number and repeatedly ask this question until the recipient responds with a yes or an affirmation. This response assures the caller that the number is live, and they sell it to telemarketers or other scammers for a price.
How to Report a Phone Scam?
Contact your local law enforcement agency if you have received a "Can You Hear Me?" scam call and would like to report it. You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ or by calling their toll-free line: 1-877-382-4357.
How Can You Protect Yourself in the Future?
You can block spam calls on your landline by getting spam-blocker services. You can download several apps to block spam calls on Android and iPhones. Read on!
The Best Way to Block Spam on your Landline
Most landline providers do not offer spam-blocking services, leaving you with no option but to block them manually on your phone. Manually blocking spam calls is ineffective because you can block numbers only after receiving the call.
The only effective way to block spam calls is to switch to a provider that blocks them automatically before they reach you.
Community Phone offers landline phone service with built-in spam call blocking that can stop unlawful and unwanted calls from reaching your landline. It allows you to keep your landline phone without tying it to the internet.
Get rid of unwanted calls, and protect yourself, your loved ones, or your business from scams with Community Phone's spam-calling blocking services. Its spam call blocker can automatically detect spam, fraud, or robocalls and stop them before your phone rings.
How does It work?
- When you receive a call to your Community Phone number, your phone won't ring immediately. The caller will hear a recording that asks them to "press 1 to connect."
- Robocalls work by sensing when the recipient picks up the phone and speaks. Once they hear a sound that isn't the sound of the phone ringing, the recording begins.
- Since robocalls don't press buttons, the call will never reach your phone.
- If an "unidentified caller" follows the instructions and your phone rings, you can let the call go to voicemail and respond to the voicemail if it's a legitimate caller.
The Safelist
The Community Phone "Safelist" is a list of numbers you pre-approved to receive calls from. Your phone will ring only to let calls from the pre-approved numbers reach you. It will block all other numbers before your phone rings. You can update this list anytime to add or delete pre-approved numbers.
This feature is handy for seniors who are unsuspecting victims of phone scams. The Community Phone account holder can prevent anyone seniors don't know from reaching them, guaranteeing they'll avoid phone scams.
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The Safelist - 2
This feature lets your phone ring only for numbers pre-approved by you and routes the rest to voicemail. You can access your voicemails and respond to legitimate messages or missed calls. You can update the pre-approved list anytime to add or delete numbers.
The Blocklist
Community Phone guards your landline number against known robocallers, scam calls, and telemarketers by checking each incoming caller's number against a regularly updated database, better known as the blocklist. Their database has over 6 million known spam numbers and is growing daily. You can contribute actively by updating the database with a spam number to protect yourself and other Community Phone members from unwanted calls.
Join Community Phone's waitlist today for first access and receive a free brochure on how this one-of-a-kind spam call-blocking service can help you.
The Best Way to Block Spam on your iPhone
There are 2 ways to block spam calls on your iPhone
1. The Community Phone Spam Call Blocking App
You can find Community Phone's spam blocker in the Apple Store. Download this free app on your iPhone to block spam calls and text messages. You can also add the spam number to the Community Phone blocklist to update their blocklist. This action can help protect you and other Community Phone members from unwanted calls from that number.
2. Manually Block the Spam Number from Your iPhone
You can block scam calls manually on your iPhone by following these steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap > Recent
- Locate the number you want to block
- Tap the info icon
- Scroll to the bottom
- Tap block this caller
- Tap Confirm
The Best Way to Block Spam on Your Android Phone.
You can block scam calls manually on your Android Phone by following these steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap more
- Access Call History
- Tap the number/name you want to block
- Tap Block/Report Spam
Benefits of Choosing the Community Phone Spam Blocker
Here are some benefits of choosing the Community Phone spam-blocker services:
1. Built-in Spam Blocker
Landline service providers cannot house the technology for an in-built spam blocker. If you have a traditional landline, you can manually block spam numbers until you reach a limit. However, you can block the number only after you receive the call, which could be risky in many cases as you may have engaged the scammer.
The Community Phone built-in spam blocker scans, flags, and blocks spam calls before your phone rings, protecting you from scams and fraud.
2. Great Advantage for Seniors
The Safelist can ensure seniors are not troubled by scammers calling from unknown or unidentified numbers. The person who controls the Community Phone user account can pre-approve numbers from which the senior would like to receive calls. The spam blocker service will only allow calls from pre-approved numbers and block all other calls.
3. Take Control of Your Protection
You can update the Safelist or the Allowed list at any time to add or delete numbers. This feature prevents you from engaging scammers and ensures peace and protection against scams and fraud.
4. Effective Where the "Do Not Call" List Fails
The Do Not Call list is not effective against scammers. To prevent scam calls and to protect yourself from fraud, sign up for the Community Phone spam-blocker services for your landline or download their app for iPhone now.
FAQs
What is the best free scam call blocker for the iPhone?
The Community Phone spam call blocking app available on the Apple Store is the best free scam call blocker for iPhones. This spam blocker blocks spam calls and text messages and sends notifications to keep you posted so you can take advantage of legitimate calls.
What happens if you answer the phone to a scammer?
Since scammers call from around the world and think of devious ways to con unsuspecting people, engaging a scammer in conversation is risky. They will mark you as a target and could sell your number to other scammers or telemarketing companies, increasing the number of spam calls you get.
Conclusion
The "Can you hear me?" scam calls are increasing yearly. So, knowing what they are and how to protect yourself from them is essential. You can report any scam calls you receive to your local law enforcement agency or the Federal Trade Commission.
However, the best way to protect yourself from scams and fraud is by getting Community Phone's spam blocker services for your landline and their spam blocking app if you have an iPhone. Talk to their specialists to learn more!