06/03/2024
Why You Should Never Answer Your Phone Unless You Know Who Is Calling -
Have you answered a spam call by accident? Your next move is extremely important
Don't try to engage with scammers, an expert warns -- and explains why in great detail.
Zip your lip.
Letâs say you pick up a spam call without realizing it â your first instinct might be to tell off the scam artist on the other end.
Just donât, experts urge.
Charlotte Vogel, an operations research analyst, is one of those experts â she recently confabbed with Quora users on the subject, warning them against engaging with a potential scammer in any way.
The best approach to keep your data safe is to not speak at all â just hang up.
Thatâs because you could accidentally reveal more personal details about yourself than the joker on the other end of the line already has â which will likely put you at even greater risk.
âI think you should never engage with scammers because when you do, youâve just confirmed two pieces of information for the scammers â [theyâve] called a working phone number and youâll answer the phone,â she said.
The best approach is to simply hang up rather than attempt to be the voice of reason â or irritation â which could âresult in you giving out sensitive information about yourself.â
âRemember that identity theft isnât just about getting money out of you one time or stealing a tax refund check, itâs an entire industry,â she noted.
A database of your information is slowly being pieced together by malicious actors, âstored, repackaged and sold from one scammer to the next.â By offering up more information â even by simply answering the phone â that faux pas is âvaluable to scammers who might try it again laterâ and âsell your number to the highest bidder,â she said.
âIt may be tempting to bring out the big guns like, âIâll get you, Iâm a lawyerâ or âHow dare you, my dad is a copâ or âJust wait until my Army husband, Bill, gets home,'â Vogel continued. âBut think about what youâve just said. Yes, more information about yourself.â
âThose additional nuggets are helping form your profile,â she wrote. You might also slip up and say âstop calling my houseâ or âdonât call me at work,â she added, which just gives scammers more information.
Even if they donât request money from you, merely confirming personal details like a phone number, address or even Social Security number gives criminals more ammunition.
âThose additional nuggets are helping form your profile. Pieces of data are matched to other data,â Vogel said.
âSuddenly, youâre no longer just a random phone number. Youâre Jane Smith, SSN 123-45-6789. Youâre a lawyer, and your dad is a cop. You live at 123 Elm Street, Anytown, USA 12345 (since that address matches your phone number). Your spouseâs name is Bill, and he works for the government.â
All they have to do is match the existing data they have â whether gleaned from social media profiles or a recent hack â to the information you just gave up, and youâre all the more at risk.
Not to mention, hackers are likely unbothered by your anger.
âUnderstand that these people are thieves. They are preying on vulnerable people â typically the elderly, students, and immigrants -âwho they feel they can bully,â she wrote online, adding that they are attempting to âscareâ victims into giving up money or sensitive information.
âThese are not nice people. Your threats, bad language, telling them off? Theyâve likely heard and said worse. Youâre not fazing them one bit. Donât waste your time.â
