SEATTLE -- A growing "can you hear me" phone scam may be the scariest scam yet because it can make you a victim if you say just one word.
"Yes."
This is how it works, according to the Better Business Bureau.
You receive a recorded call from someone who provides an introduction and identifies the business or agency they supposedly represent. After the introduction, the recording will ask if you can hear the caller clearly. If you answer "yes" there's a possibility that the scam artist behind the phone call has recorded you and will use your agreement to sign you up for a product or service and then demand payment. If you refuse, the caller may produce your recorded "yes" response to confirm your purchase agreement.
If you get a call like this, BBB suggests the following:
• If you receive an unsolicited robocall from an organization or business, just hang up. If you are on the Do Not Call List and a company calls out of the blue to ask questions, it's likely a scam. Avoid responding with "yes, sure or ok."
• If you are asked a similar question in a phone call or are asked to press a button to be placed on the Do Not Call Registry, just hang up the phone. Saying anything or pressing buttons when prompted may help the scam artists identify that you have an active phone number. Remember that no government agency will ever solicit for the Do Not Call Registry.
• Write down the phone number of those callers violating the Do Not Call Registry and file a scam report with BBB Scam Tracker and the FTC's Do Not Call List. Remember that Pennsylvania's wiretapping law is a "two-party consent" law, making it a crime to intercept or record a telephone call or conversation unless all parties to the conversation consent.
KING 5 spoke to some law enforcement agencies in the Puget Sound area. They say they haven't received any reports of a scam like this.
