Archive: Business & Technology

This morning I answered the phone after confirming on caller ID that it was a local call. A natural sounding voice said, "Hello, my name is Emma and I see you inquired about a job on one of our Web sites. Can you hear me alright?"

What was he right answer?

a) Yes
b) Who is this again?
c) Say nothing. Hang up

If you guessed 'c' you probably already know not to say anything when you get a suspicious phone call. That's right. Don't be polite. Simply hang up.

If you reply 'Yes' when Emma asks if you can hear her, your voice is recorded and used to authorize illegal charges on your credit card. While there are a myriad of robocall scams, the newest twist is for the recording to sound as natural as possible so you are likely to reply when asked a question. Since Emma asked me a yes or no question, the chances were good that I would say 'Yes'.

There are other pieces of robocall scams. Lately around half the junk calls I receive have shown a '607' area code on my caller ID. The scammers are likely spoofing the area code to make me think it is a local call. The many calls I get telling me there are no problems on my credit card have 607 area codes to make me think my local bank is calling.

Many of these call offer you the choice to press a number in order to prevent future calls. Never do this. They are fooling you into confirming that your phone number is a valid one. Simply hanging up won't eliminate the calls, but it will prevent still more calls from interrupting your day.

Last March FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said that his agency gets the most complaints about robocalls, and reported that consumers in the United States receive 2.4 billion robocalls per month. The FCC decided to make new rules that will eliminate robocalls. But scammers don't exactly follow rules.

The FCC maintains a Web site that makes it easy to complain about robocalls, and they recommend you do so. Telephone scams may include junk calls (even if you are listed on the National Do Not Call Registry), junk faxes, slamming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill). The Better Business Bureau also maintains a Scam Tracker Web site where you can report instances of these scams.

What do you do if Emma calls and you reply 'Yes' when she asks if you can hear her alright? Experts say you should closely monitor your credit card, bank, and phone statements and challenge any suspicious charges you don't recognize.

The FCC says you should write down the number a robocall comes from, and ask your phone company whether they have a robocall blocking service. And register all your telephone numbers in the Do Not Call Registry -- it won't stop scam callers, but legitimate telemarketers tend to respect the registry.

Emma's call was the first of two robocalls I have received so far today. I do check area codes and tend not to answer outside of our calling area unless I recognize a number. My theory is that if it is a legitimate call they will leave a message and I can call them back. Not surprisingly almost none do leave a message.

Anecdotally I would say that 60% or more of the calls we get on our office phone are anything from unwanted solicitations to scam calls, and increasingly more of them are robocalls. That has put me on the alert -- even if I have answered and someone apparently human is on the line I think nothing of gently hanging up. But this morning I had yet another clue that Emma was a scam: I haven't applied for any jobs on any Web sites.

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