Don’t say yes, officials warn. In fact, don’t say anything. One word could make a person the victim of a scam that is circulating across the United States, CBS News reported.
A person's affirmative response can be recorded and used to authorize unwanted charges on a telephone or utility bill or a stolen credit card, CBS News reported. When payment is demanded and that person refuses, the caller may produce the previously recorded assent, the Idaho Statesman reported.
"You say 'yes,' it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something," Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America, told CBS News. "I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy."
But if the caller has not provided a payment method, how can he or she be charged? The con artist already has your phone number, CBS News reported, and many phone providers pass through third-party charges.
They called, I picked up thinking it might be my landlord calling from an alternate number, and there was nobody on the other end. A quick search of Google led me here.