What Happens if You Answer a Spam Call? (2024)

If you accidentally answer a spam call, scammers know your number is connected to a real person and can target you with more spam calls. These targeted spam calls will try to trick you into giving up your personal information which allows cybercriminals to steal your money, your identity and even your voice. You should avoid answering spam calls to help prevent cybercriminals from trying to steal your personal information.

Continue reading to learn more about spam calls, how to identify them, how cybercriminals can exploit you using spam calls and how to stay protected against spam calls.

What Are Spam Calls?

Spam calls are unwanted phone calls made to a large number of people from an unknown source. Spam calls typically come from businesses trying to sell you something. However, some spam calls are considered scam calls, which are unsolicited phone calls that claim to be from a person or company they are not.

These scam calls use social engineering tactics, similar to phishing, to get people to believe in a fake scenario in which the scammer is pretending to be someone they are not. Scam calls are either done by a real person or a pre-recorded message known as a robocall. The scammer will try to impersonate a legitimate business or entity to trick people into giving up their personal information. They use call spoofing to hide their caller ID information and make it appear like the call is coming from a different person and location.

How To Tell if You’re Dealing With a Spam Call

You receive many phone calls that can either be from a legitimate organization or from scammers. You need to look out for the following to identify if you are getting a call from a scammer.

There is a “spam/scam likely” warning displayed on your phone

If you are receiving an unsolicited phone call from a number you do not know or do not remember giving out your number to, it is most likely a spam call. Some devices will automatically detect and identify spam calls and display a warning message of a “spam/scam likely” to help you avoid answering these calls.

The caller uses a pre-recorded message

Although many legitimate businesses such as healthcare providers and charities use pre-recorded messages to contact people, cybercriminals also use pre-recorded messages to make thousands of spam calls. If you receive a pre-recorded message from an unsolicited phone call, it is most likely a spam call, and you should hang up immediately.

The caller asks you to provide personal information

Many spam calls try to appear as familiar entities such as the government, banks and healthcare providers. They will try to trick you into giving up your personal information such as your Social Security number. However, legitimate businesses should already have your personal information on file and would never ask for it over the phone. If you’re asked to provide personal information on a call you did not initiate, then it is likely a scam.

The caller uses a sense of urgency

Scam calls will contact you regarding an urgent request to pressure you into giving up your personal information without allowing time to think it over clearly. Scammers will often call regarding a technical, banking or tax issue to manipulate you to take action and comply with their instructions. They often threaten you with some sort of punishment if you don’t follow their instructions, such as a fraudulent charge, fine or malware on your device.

The caller offers a too-good-to-be-true deal

Some scammers will portray themselves as a business trying to sell a great deal or trick you into thinking you won something over the phone to hook you in and rip you off. These too-good-to-be-true offers can include winning a sweepstakes, a free item or a large discount. Don’t be fooled by these offers. If the offer seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

The caller asks for payment

Cybercriminals will often impersonate banks, debt collectors or other large companies. They will call you regarding some sort of unpaid charge you need to pay to avoid jail time or prevent losing your account. However, you probably don’t recognize anything the phone call is talking about. If a phone call is asking for some sort of money, especially if the payment is in gift cards, then it is most likely a spam call.

How a Spam Call Can Exploit You

Spam calls have the goal of taking advantage of you by gaining your trust and exploiting you. If you answer a spam call, cybercriminals can exploit you by:

Targeting you for more scams

Cybercriminals will make thousands of spam calls to figure out who within their list of numbers is real and which numbers have been disconnected. When you pick up a spam call, then you let the cybercriminal know that your number is real and that you are willing to pick up their calls. With this information, cybercriminals will try to call you again to scam you into giving up any personal information or money.

Stealing your money

Spam calls often try to portray themselves as financial entities such as your bank or debt collector. Cybercriminals will often ask you to make a payment to resolve some sort of issue they are having on their end such as unpaid debt or charges. They may also ask to confirm your bank account information, which would give them access to your bank account. Once they have access to your bank account, cybercriminals can take out your money or make fraudulent charges.

Stealing your identity

Cybercriminals will try to trick you into giving up your personal information. They will try to impersonate legitimate organizations such as healthcare providers, banks and other companies wanting to confirm your personal information. If you fall for their scams and give up your personal information, cybercriminals can use it to commit identity theft.

Identity theft is when someone uses a victim’s personally identifiable information without their permission to impersonate the victim and commit fraud. Identity theft can leave damaging effects on the victim such as financial loss, debt, damaged credit and potentially a criminal record.

Recording your voice for vishing attacks

By answering a spam call and speaking to the scammer, scammers can record your voice and use it for vishing attacks. Vishing is a type of phishing that uses voice calls to trick people into doing something. Often, cybercriminals try to impersonate a familiar voice to a victim to gain their trust.

When you speak to a spam call, cybercriminals can record your voice and use AI to impersonate the recorded audio clip. The cybercriminal will then use the AI impression to trick your family members into giving up personal information such as login credentials.

How To Stay Protected Against Spam Calls

Spam calls have been around for a long time, but cybercriminals are taking advantage of new technologies to help scam people and steal their personal information. Although it is almost impossible to stop receiving spam calls, you can stay protected against spam calls by doing the following.

Avoid answering or interacting with spam calls

You should avoid answering or interacting with any unsolicited phone calls you are receiving. It is most likely a scam call trying to trick you into giving up your personal information. By avoiding answering spam calls, you can reduce the number of spam calls that you receive. If the call was from someone legitimate, they will most likely leave a voicemail and you can return their call after confirming their identity.

Block and report numbers from scammers

If you accidentally answer a spam call, do not respond to the call and hang up immediately. You should then individually block that spam number from your phone and report it to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help stop spam callers from attacking other people. You can also set up settings on your phone to help stop receiving notifications of phone calls from unknown callers.

Contact your phone service provider for spam-blocking services

Some phone service providers offer spam-blocking services that will help block many spam calls. You should contact your phone service provider to see if they offer a spam-blocking service to help you avoid getting contacted by scammers. Although this service will not block all spam calls from reaching you, it provides an extra layer of security and will help prevent falling for these types of scams.

Get a spam-filtering app

If your phone service provider does not offer spam-blocking services, you can get a third-party spam-filtering app that will detect and block most incoming spam callers from reaching you. These third-party spam-filtering apps have a database of known and reported spam numbers. Some apps constantly update their database to help them detect and block new spam numbers. Like spam-blocking from phone service providers, these third-party apps won’t completely stop spam callers from reaching you but will help you avoid falling for these types of scams.

Sign Up for the Do Not Call Registry

The Do Not Call Registry was originally created to prevent telemarketers from legitimate businesses from reaching you. However, you can use the Do Not Call Registry to help you identify and ignore any spam calls. When you join the Do Not Call Registry, you block calls from telemarketers and reduce the number of unwanted calls. Since telemarketers are blocked, you’ll know that any incoming spam call is most likely from a scammer and can ignore it.

Avoid Falling Victim To Spam Calls

Although cybercriminals cannot steal your information just by you answering a spam call, you should still avoid answering them to prevent them from targeting you more and falling for their scams. You should never give out your personal information over the phone unless on a call that you initiated to a trusted source, such as your doctor’s office. If you do, you risk getting your money, identity and voice stolen by cybercriminals who can use it for malicious purposes. Block all known spam numbers and sign up for the Do Not Call Registry to stay protected against spam calls.

What Happens if You Answer a Spam Call? (2024)

FAQs

What Happens if You Answer a Spam Call? ›

If you accidentally answer a spam call

spam call
Mobile phone spam is a form of spam (unsolicited messages, especially advertising), directed at the text messaging or other communications services of mobile phones or smartphones.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mobile_phone_spam
, scammers know your number is connected to a real person and can target you with more spam calls. These targeted spam calls will try to trick you into giving up your personal information which allows cybercriminals to steal your money, your identity and even your voice.

What do I do if I accidentally answered a spam call? ›

You accidentally answered a scam call in the past

They will then mark your number as “live” and you'll receive more and more calls as they try to reach you using different numbers. It can be hard to tell if you're dealing with a scammer — but if you accidentally answer a spam call, you should hang up immediately.

Should I be worried if I answered a spam call? ›

Here's what to do if you unintentionally answer a spam call: Hang up right away. If you think scammers are targeting you, hang up before they can record your voice or get any information. As a best practice, don't answer unknown numbers.

Is it safe to accept spam calls? ›

It is because these spam calls are not only used for mass advertising of a product or service, but also to steal your personal information, money, or any other confidential data. Receiving these calls can lead to serious consequences such as fraud, reputation damage, virus infection, and more.

What happens if I call back a spam number? ›

Spam callers can hide international numbers with ID spoofing. These one-ring calls are bait — the fraud happens when you call back the spam number. If you must call back after a missed call, check the area code to ensure it's in the United States.

Can someone steal your information by answering a call? ›

Although cybercriminals cannot steal your information just by you answering a spam call, you should still avoid answering them to prevent them from targeting you more and falling for their scams.

What happens if I answer a spam call and say hello? ›

Many robocall scams start with a question like “Hello, can you hear me?” to which people may reply “yes” without thinking. They can then store the recording of your confirmation and use it for fraudulent activities. So, avoid saying yes where possible.

Is it better to decline or not answer spam calls? ›

It's better to ignore spam calls. When you decline a call, it can alert the spammer that your phone number is active, prompting them to call you again. If you use a call-blocking tool that uses caller ID, you should never answer calls labelled as spam.

Can spam calls hack your phone? ›

Spam calls can't hack your phone, because signals from cellular service providers aren't able to hack phones themselves. But spam calls may try to trick you into giving up information, which is where the danger lies.

Why do spam callers hang up when you answer? ›

Heck, sometimes there's no answer at all and the caller just hangs up. This is even more nefarious because it is likely a system confirming that there is a person behind the phone number to add to a list for future spam calls. The best thing to do with these calls, if you suspect that it is a scam.

What happens if I answer a potential spam call? ›

If you unknowingly answer a spam call and engage with spammers, they know that your phone number is active and that you're willing to talk. As a result, they might target you with even more scam calls in attempts to defraud you.

Why am I suddenly receiving lots of spam calls? ›

Why am I getting so many spam calls? If you have answered a number of robocalls, it may be because the spam caller sold your number to other scammers or telemarketing companies. Remember, if the call is important enough, the caller will leave a voicemail message.

Does blocking spam calls do any good? ›

Call blocking can help stop robocalls from scammers. But some robocalls might still get through. If you get an illegal robocall, hang up and don't call back. Don't press a number, which could lead to more robocalls.

Is it okay to answer spam calls? ›

Consumer Tips. Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately. You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed.

What do spammers do with your phone number? ›

Scammers can use your phone number to gather and release sensitive information to public sites and social media. They could also dump your information on the Dark Web for others to purchase and use.

What happens if you press 2 on a spam call? ›

Pressing “2” may work, but more than likely it does nothing more than end the call; and you'll probably continue receiving calls.

What happens if you answer to spam? ›

If you reply to spam emails, it tells scammers that your email is real. Then they might send more spam. Also, talking to scammers can be risky. They might try to get your personal info or trick you into something bad.

What happens if you accidentally respond to a spam text? ›

Directly replying to a spam text message lets a spammer know that your number is genuine. After you reply, they can sell your phone number to other spammers who might bombard you with false promises of free gifts and product offers. Instead, it's best to block and report the number.

What happens if I call back a spoofed number? ›

It can be tempting to call a phone scammer back or text them an angry reply but, much like answering a call, doing so will simply tell them that your number is real and is worth pursuing in future scams. Block robocalls. Most phone carriers can enable robocall blocking on your phone.

What if I answered a call from my own number? ›

It is generally a good idea not to answer a phone call that appears to be from your own phone number. There is typically no legitimate reason for a person to receive such a call, and by answering, the scam artist is notified that your number is active, often leading to more scam calls.

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