U.S. official reminds: If a stranger calls and directly asks "this", don't answer

Take home message: Nowadays, criminals are trying to harvest your voice and then use AI technology to alter your voice and then use the altered voice to break into your bank account or credit card accounts. So when you pick up your phone, do not say anything. Let the caller say something first and then you decide whether the call is legitimate. If illegitimate, or suspicious, then hang up immediately before you make a mistake to say something you are not supposed to say.

As technology advances with each passing day, the fraud methods of criminal groups have also evolved. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to forge the voices of relatives and friends when speaking, which can increase the success rate of ransom payments.

The U.S. government reminds you that if you receive a call from an unknown person and the caller starts by asking "can you hear me?" it is recommended that you hang up immediately because this is likely to be a scam call.

According to the US media "CW39 Houston", the US Better Business Bureau (BBB) revealed that the "can you hear me" scam from strangers has been around for many years, and the callers may impersonate government agencies, banks and other financial institutions. , travel agencies, insurance companies, medical institutions, and most of these types of calls are automated voices.

If you answer "yes" after picking up the phone, the call is likely to be hung up. In addition, the fraud group is likely to ask questions such as "XXX, is this your name" or "My headset is broken" on the phone, and then induce the other party to answer "yes" on the phone. And then they can use your voice to plan a fraudulent case against you.

The U.S. Better Business Bureau analyzed that the other party may continue the call through other topics, and then try to trick the caller into recording the other party's voice or personal information, and then use AI to alter the human voice to facilitate subsequent illegal activities such as ransom extortion.

The best thing to do is not answer calls from strangers! The Better Business Bureau recommends that once you receive a call from an unknown person, you must remain silent or hang up the phone when the other party asks "Can you hear me?" or "Is your name XXX?" or even when an unknown phone number calls. Check your bank and credit card statements to see if there have been any unauthorized purchases.