Phones are increasingly central to our lives, but in their original role \u2014 as a means of making and receiving voice calls \u2014 they\u2019ve become as much an annoyance as a convenience. Most of us receive an overwhelming number of unwanted, unsolicited phone calls in the run of a day, most of them scammy or spammy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While robocalls<\/a>, on the whole, are irritating, the creepiest may be the silent calls: the ones where there\u2019s nobody on the other end when we pick up or listen to the voicemail. Those so-called ghost calls have a couple of explanations, and neither of them is necessarily good news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One reason for silent calls, or \u201cghost\u201d calls, is a by-product of everyday telemarketing technology<\/a>. Most telemarketing companies use some form of computer-operated auto dialer to make outgoing calls, and then when you answer the call you\u2019ll be connected to the first available human. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This system works pretty well as long as there are enough call center agents to handle the calls, but occasionally they\u2019ll all be busy and unable to pick up. When that happens, you\u2019ll hear nothing but silence until somebody is able to pick up. (They could at least play the \u201cJeopardy\u201d music, right?) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually you won\u2019t stay on the line until that happens, so you\u2019ll remember it as a silent call. It\u2019s irritating, but it happens with perfectly legitimate calls: For example, a charity you\u2019ve previously supported might reach out to solicit a new donation. Unfortunately, other reasons for silent calls can be more malicious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve received a ghost call. Now that it\u2019s been confirmed that you\u2019re willing to answer a ringing phone, enterprising criminals can reach out to you with any number of phone-based scams. Most of them follow a few familiar patterns<\/a>, but the most prevalent and damaging are called imposter<\/em> calls. In 2020, the FTC\u2019s Consumer Sentinel Network<\/a> recorded a total of 2.2 million fraud reports, with imposter calls alone accounting for just under a half-million of those reports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re called \u201cimposter\u201d calls because the scammer pretends to be someone else, usually an authority figure of some sort: the IRS, your bank, the Social Security Administration<\/a>, the police, or even ICE. They\u2019ll have a plausible story about why you need to act RIGHT NOW \u2014 it might be a \u201ccarrot\u201d in the form of something you want, or a \u201cstick\u201d in the form of something you fear \u2014 but the goal is to keep you off-balance long enough to give them either money or your personal information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Engaging with scammers, even if you\u2019re trying to intimidate or annoy them<\/a>, is usually a bad idea. Whether the scam is successful or not, that puts you on a list of potential \u201cmarks\u201d who will actively respond to the caller. From there, they feel (not without reason) they can get value from a call by learning which buttons to push. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you get silent calls in your workplace, instead of at home, there can be another threat at play. Most business telephone systems \u2014 private branch exchanges, or PBXs \u2014 are computerized now, and internet-connected, and therefore vulnerable to hacking. Those silent calls will often mean that an attacker is methodically probing your system for vulnerabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One provider deliberately set up a PBX and left it unprotected with its default password in place, just to see what would happen, and discovered that it took less than an hour<\/a> to be compromised. Once hackers have wormed their way inside your system, they can leverage its hardware and software \u2014 which you\u2019re paying for! \u2014 to make their own robocalls and scam calls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t something you\u2019ll deal with on your own, unless you\u2019re a telecommunications IT pro (in which case you won\u2019t need advice from us). Instead, if you receive these ghost calls at your business, contact your phone systems provider to discuss what they\u2019re doing to keep your system secure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To summarize, silent calls are an annoyance at best and a threat at worst. So what can you do about them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Placing yourself on the Do Not Call Registry<\/a> is a good starting point, because it will weed out those \u201cauto dialer pause\u201d calls from most legitimate sources (be patient, it can take a while to kick in and some classes of callers are exempt). If there are specific numbers that call you repeatedly, you can block them individually on your phone and report them to the FTC (you\u2019ll see that option on the homepage of the Do Not Call Registry). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Installing a robocall-blocking app<\/a>, or utilizing your phone carrier\u2019s call-blocking services, is a more aggressive option. Those can proactively evaluate incoming calls, and screen out the ones that are likely from scammy or spammy sources (our own Spokeo app<\/a> is really good at that).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if you\u2019re really irritated, you can try to track down who\u2019s behind those calls. Go to Spokeo\u2019s Reverse Phone Number Lookup<\/a>, and enter the number that showed on your Caller ID display. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The search results will show you the registered user\u2019s name and location, as well as a wealth of other information (including whether it\u2019s an individual or a company). Our Phone Reputation Score will also give you a best-guess take on whether the call was legitimate, a scam or spam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bear in mind, the number that shows on your display might have been spoofed by the caller<\/a> in order to hide the call\u2019s true point of origin. In that case what you\u2019ll see is the legitimate number\u2019s owner, rather than the scammer\u2019s identity. Your time isn\u2019t wasted, though, because the Reputation Score also shows how often that number has been searched lately, and whether other users have complained about it (and please, feel free to do that as well). A sudden rash of complaints about a legitimate number can be a warning sign that scammers are indeed actively spoofing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best weapon you can use against these silent calls is prevention, in the form of call blocking from an app or your service provider. The second best is to actively screen calls yourself, and block the number whenever you get a silent call. It won\u2019t stop any other scammer from trying their luck, but it\u2019s a step in the right direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a point of reporting the numbers of any scam or ghost calls with the FTC, and we certainly appreciate you making a complaint with us as well, so we can add the number to our own database of dubious callers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if you manage to trace a silent call (or any scam call) to its source, don\u2019t engage with the scammers yourself. However badly you want to give them a piece of your mind, it\u2019s better to add that information to your complaint with the FTC. If it\u2019s a local number, it\u2019s probably worth reporting to your local law enforcement agency as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That way, the authorities have a chance to build a case against the scammers and get a conviction, and at the end of the day that\u2019s the best answer to scam calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phones are increasingly central to our lives, but in their original role \u2014 as a means of making and receiving voice calls \u2014 they\u2019ve become as much an annoyance as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":26593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[612,614],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-safety"],"yoast_head":"\nOne (Relatively) Innocuous Reason for Silent Calls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Phone Calls That Hang Up when You Answer\u2026\u2026and What They Can Lead To<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Silent Calls to Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to Do about Silent Calls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hunt Down Silent Calls with Spokeo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Best Advice \u2014 Still \u2014 Is \u201cDon\u2019t Engage\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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