Don’t Answer At All

While researching a lot of these posts I found a common theme among tips for avoiding scams was to not answer yes or no questions. Never one to simply do as I’m told I wanted to know why. What were the scammers going to get out of someone if they answered a yes or no question? Well the answer is relatively simple. Any kind of positive interaction, the scammer will use to say indicated consent to the service.

What can you say instead? Ask your own questions. Ask who is calling, what service they are from. Maybe even their employee ID number in case you need to call back and ask something else. Their phone extension, their email address, anything that can link you back to them for when you need help. There’s a great article I found that goes into detail about some of the steps you can take to cut down on the amount of robo calls that you get. It offers some good first steps.

Scammers are taking steps to make themselves seem more legitimate. It’s only getting worse as AI generated calls and the voices used are becoming more realistic. Many articles talk about how to avoid scams start with telling you not to answer your phone if the number is one you don’t recognize, and this can be very useful. I have a habit of doing this, because if it’s important, they’ll leave a message and I can always call them back later.

The article cited above also suggests registering on the National Do Not Call List, which can be done here. The article does say that this might only have “diminishing returns” but that it can be helpful when reporting numbers and issuing fines to the offenders. When in doubt, you can always let it go to voicemail and do some research instead of getting roped into a scam on your phone. Stay safe out there!