“Can you hear me?” phone scam

Anyone that receives a call where “can you hear me” is asked is advised by police to say nothing and hang up the phone.

The scam has done the rounds in the United States and United Kingdom and has now arrived in Australia.

Though the question seems innocent it exposes the call receiver to what could end up being potential fraud.

 The caller records the call receiver’s voice and is then able to use it anyway they choose for whatever purpose.

The “can you hear me” scam is where a scammer will call a phone number, either business or personal and when the call is picked up the scammer asks the question. 

The scammers have been known to ask “can you hear me” several times resulting in the recipient replying ‘yes’ or hanging up.

Once the scammer records the recipients response they end the call.

The recording can then be used to authorise payments, transfers, charges and changes using the victim’s name with voice recognition.

Authorities have found that because it is the individual’s voice authorising transactions, it makes it hard to dispute later if a victim claims they have been scammed.

Anyone who thinks they may have received a scam phone call is asked to contact police about their concerns.

For updates, information and help with potential scams and what to do if you believe you are a victim go to https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/.