What is a Silent Call?:
A silent call is a telephone call where the calling party does not speak when the call is answered. There are many reasons for silent calls. Someone may have dialed the wrong number and did not want to talk. It could have been a telemarketing call where a human or automated response is meant to speak when the caller answers. It may have been a census check where phone numbers are tested to see which ones are in service and have humans answer them. And finally, it may have been a scam caller looking to steal someone’s identity.
Why Do Scammers Use Scam Calls?:
According to the Federal Trade Commission, robocalls are on the rise because Internet-powered phones make it cheap and easy for scammers to call people worldwide. Scammers receive your phone number through a data breach or a retailer you signed up with.
Scammers first want to confirm that your number is working, and once you answer, they will add you to a calling list. They will call you first, waiting for you to speak. If they can verify that you are talking, they know the phone number is legitimate and can plan their attack.
What a hacker doesn’t want is to call someone, and it’s either a trap (honeypot) or the wrong person. Then they will continue to call, claiming there has been ‘suspicious activity’ in either a bank account or a credit card and that you must resolve it as soon as possible. They want you to confirm your date of birth, account number, or social security number.
How to Protect Yourself from Silent Calls:
The best way to protect yourself from robocalls is to hang up the phone. If it were a legit human calling, they would speak. Many smartphones include settings that allow users to block calls from unknown numbers. iOS and androids have settings where you can filter unknown numbers from your primary inbox.
Do not call the company that asks for your information unsolicited. Ignore the call. If a legitimate company needs to contact you, they will attempt to do so through other means such as email, a phone call, or the post office. Download Agency to help protect you and your device from spam messages.
How Agency Can Help Protect You:
Agency offers enterprise-grade cybersecurity to individuals and families. We also provide personal identification removal from data brokers as well as 24/7 active monitoring of devices. All of this is backed by a $1m cyber insurance guarantee.
