‘Can you hear me?' Don't answer that!

They put the charges on your phone bill, aka cramming.

A few years ago a food co-op I volunteered for got stung by the "trick you into saying 'yes' scam". Well, they got hit by it, but not stung. True to form, the scammer recorded the original call and re-edited it to put the "yes" where he wanted it. Unfortunately for the scammers they tried this in a state that is a "two-party" state for recording phone calls (both parties involved must be aware that the call is being recorded). When the scammer called back to demand payment he was told in no uncertain terms that he had committed a criminal offense in recording the call and if he wanted to go to court we would be happy to see him there. That was the end of it.

You're naive. Have you never heard of third-party charges through your phone provider?

Wish *I* could but answering phone calls is a good portion of my job. And many of our clients call in with nothing identifiable on the CID.
My cell phone, on the other hand, doesn't get answered unless I know who it is.

Just because someone hasn't heard of something, it doesn't mean they're naive. Possibly uninformed but not naive.

Ugh, four calls today spoofing local businesses, and each caller asking "can you hear me?" The calls sound like a computerized voice, and there have been substantially more basically crank calls that usually begin with "can you hear me?" in the past 2-3 months.  I find it a good time to practice my Spanish, like "quien es esto?" or "who is this?"

     Yesterday two Indian accents accepted an "Uh Huh" and an "okay" in connection with their seeking my consent to receive a key DS calls, texts, etc. even if I am on the do not call lists for both my phones. They always give a false entity name and falls city address – in years past, they often said  they were calling from America's Finest City [tm], San Diego - Beverly Hills and Florida are more popular now.

    I will have to try and write down more closely what their actual script said, but my recollection is that the script almost always reads: "even if you are on a do not call list…"  In addition to their indirect admission they are violating the TSR, they also are impliedly admitting that either they have not purchased the federal do not call lists for the area codes they are calling, or they already know my landline and cell phone are on the do not call lists. I believe they first started using their consent spiel in the second half of 2015.The overseas callers are far more accepting of "uh huhs" and "okays," while a number of domestic callers have insisted that I give them a "yes." But since I live in a two – party consent state, and since they almost never have announced they are recording the call at the very inception of the call, they just increased their potential liability!

   We definitely appreciate your insights.

I have (so far) only heard this approach when some telescum for a cruise line was calling. It was an IVR. FYI guys a recent class action suit against one of this scammers has just been approved. There is an online site where you can type in your phone number and it will tell you if you're eligible. (sorry, I don't know it offhand)  These were calls made back in 2011. Sadly, my number wasn't part of the deal.

I never answer unknown numbers or callers.  Most calls I get are usually scam and thank you for your insight.

Birchmeier et al v. Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., kindly brought to our attention almost two weeks ago. Claims are due in two days.

Free Vacation Fake Survey Robocall Lawsuit Settled

I am not giving legal advice. If legal advice is needed then the individual should seek it. I gave my own advice as to how I approach it just as many others here. If I don't recognize the phone number I don't answer. If the caller refuses to leave a voice mail/message it must not have been important.

Legitimate businesses/entities..
- Leave legitimate names of the one placing the call,
- Leave the legitimate company for which they are associated with.
- Leave the reasons for which they are calling.
- Leave call back information.

Pretty simple. That's how I approach this issue. It's up to others to do what they wish.

If I were to ever get one of these calls (and actually answer an unknown number) I'd say "No" when they asked if I could hear them. Then I'd laugh and hang up and block the nunber.

I would call them a name then hang up.