Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is issuing a warning after Ohioans have reported receiving the suspicious “can you hear me?” phone calls.
Similar calls have been reported throughout the country as a part of a scam to trick consumers into responding “Yes” so the caller can record the response to place unauthorized charges on their phone or utility bill.
“Any time people receive a call that’s suspicious, we encourage them to be very careful and not to respond to the call,” DeWine said. “When in doubt, just hang up. If you need help or if you suspect a scam, contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.”
According to DeWine’s office, consumers said the calls appear to come from a local phone number, such as a number showing 614 (Columbus) or 330 (Akron) area code.
Some Ohioans said the callers claimed they won a vacation or cruise or claimed to work for an extended warranty company. The Better Business Bureau said some nationwide reports state the callers claim to be from a variety of businesses and government agencies.
The BBB said below are example questions the callers might try to ask to get the consumer to say “yes”:
- Are you the homeowner?
- Are you over 18?
- Do you pay the household bills?
- Do you have a home computer?
Tips to avoid potential phone scams include:
- Don’t respond to suspicious calls. Let the calls go to voicemail, or hang up if a call seems questionable in any way, especially if it’s an automated telemarketing call (or “robocall”), which is used commonly in scams.
- If you do start to answer and are asked many questions that seem to be fishing for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, do not respond and hang up immediately.
- Don’t always trust caller ID. Even when calls appear to come from an Ohio phone number, the numbers could be spoofed or the calls could be made over the Internet, meaning the caller could be located somewhere else entirely.
- For this scam, and all others, do not give out personal identifying information over the phone when you are not sure of the caller.
- Check your phone bill and your credit card statements regularly. If you find suspicious charges, immediately report them to your provider.
Consumers who suspect a scam or who want help resolving a consumer problem should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.
