Your phone rings. You don’t recognize the number, but you pick up anyway. A voice on the other end asks, “Can you hear me?” You say “yes” — because of course you can hear them. That’s what normal people do. And just like that, you may have handed a stranger exactly what they needed.
It sounds paranoid. It sounds like something your uncle would forward you in a chain email from 2007. But the “say yes” phone scam is real, it’s active, and it works in ways most people don’t expect. According to Federal Trade Commission data, phone calls were the second most commonly reported contact method for fraud in 2024, and the average victim of a phone scam lost $1,500.
Let’s talk about what’s actually going on — and why one tiny, automatic word can cause so much trouble.
The Setup Is Embarrassingly Simple
Here’s how it works. You get a call, usually from what looks like a local number. Someone — or more likely, a recorded voice — asks a question designed to get you to say one word: “yes.” The most common opener is “Can you hear me?” but there are others. “Is this [your name]?” “Do you have a moment?” “Are you the homeowner?” Anything that triggers your automatic politeness reflex.
According to consumer credit reporting experts, the caller records your “yes” response. That recording can then be used to authorize purchases on your credit card, sign you up for services you never asked for, or confirm to other robocallers that your phone number is active and worth targeting again.
In some cases, the scammer already has your credit card number — maybe from a data breach, maybe bought off the dark web for pennies. What they were missing was your verbal authorization. Now they have it.
It’s Not Just “Yes” They’re After
Here’s something most people don’t know: scammers aren’t only fishing for “yes.” One person reported getting calls where the scammer tried to get them to say “fine” or “okay.” The caller introduced himself as “Dan” and kept asking, “How are you today?” When the person wouldn’t answer the way he wanted and instead asked which company he was calling from, the caller got angry and yelled, “I’m a professional, I asked you first!! How are you today?”
That kind of aggression is a tell. A real business caller doesn’t lose their temper because you asked a clarifying question. The scammer wanted a specific word — any affirmative word — and got frustrated when the script fell apart.
This means the old advice of “just don’t say yes” is incomplete. You should avoid any affirmative response until you know exactly who you’re talking to.
Your Brain Is Working Against You
There’s a psychological reason these calls work so well, and it has nothing to do with being gullible. When someone abruptly asks “Can you hear me?” with no introduction or context, it creates a tiny spike of urgency in your brain. Researchers call this an “amygdala hijack” — the emotional processing part of your brain overrides logical thinking, and you respond before you’ve had a chance to evaluate the situation.
Scammers also use voice modulation — changing their pitch, tone, and pacing — to sound like a real, slightly distressed person. One version of the scam opens with a very human-sounding “Sorry, I’m having issues with my headset.” With AI-generated voices getting better by the month, these calls are harder to distinguish from a real person having actual phone trouble.
Think about it. If someone at work said “Can you hear me?” on a Zoom call, you wouldn’t think twice before saying yes. Scammers are banking on that exact reflex.
What They Actually Do With Your Voice
Here’s where it gets unsettling. Your recorded “yes” can be used in a few different ways. The most direct: a scammer plays the recording when a company’s verification system asks, “Do you authorize this charge?” That’s right — some companies still accept voice authorization for purchases and account changes.
There’s also a practice called “cramming,” where unauthorized third-party charges get slipped onto your phone bill. Small fees labeled things like “voicemail,” “service fees,” or “other fees” that most people never notice. The FTC sent nearly $5 million in refunds to cramming victims last year alone. Some companies actually allow third parties to charge customers’ accounts in exchange for payment — and your recorded “yes” is all the “proof” they need.
But with AI advancing as fast as it is, there’s an even scarier angle. A single recorded soundbite of your voice can potentially be used to recreate a near-perfect version of how you sound. That cloned voice could then be used to call your family members and ask for money, impersonating you. It sounds like a movie plot, but it’s happening right now.
Older Adults Get Hit the Hardest — And There’s a Specific Reason Why
The FCC has specifically warned older adults about this type of call. According to Michael Bruemmer, vice president and head of global data breach resolution at Experian, there’s a generational reason seniors are disproportionately targeted: “They’re preying on older people — people 55 and up — because we are so comfortable using the phone. Scammers take advantage of the fact that we will pick up a phone call because that’s what our mom and dad or guardians told us to do.”
Loneliness plays a role too. Older adults living alone, dealing with health issues, or seeing fewer friends and family may actually welcome an unexpected call. That desire for connection is exactly what scammers exploit. An unsolicited phone call that might annoy a 30-year-old might feel like genuine human contact to someone who hasn’t talked to anyone all day.
Cognitive changes can also make it harder to evaluate a caller’s intentions in real time, especially when the scammer uses fear tactics like “if you don’t do this now, you will lose your account.”
What to Say Instead (And What to Do Right Now)
If you pick up a call and someone immediately asks “Can you hear me?” — do not say yes. Instead, say “I can hear you.” It’s a small change, but that declarative statement doesn’t serve the scammer’s purpose. You can also respond with a question: “Who am I speaking to?” or “What is this regarding?” According to multiple reports, scammers often hang up immediately when you don’t give them what they want.
One person reported on BBB’s tracker that when they responded with “mhmm” instead of “yes,” the caller hung up instantly. When they tried calling the number back, it had already been disconnected.
Better yet, just don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. If it’s important, they’ll leave a voicemail. Bruemmer from Experian suggests not even saying “hello” — just pick up and wait. “You can hear a click and a pause. That means you’re on some sort of auto dialer,” he says. That pause is your cue to hang up.
Your Voicemail Greeting Might Be a Problem Too
Here’s one most people haven’t considered. If scammers want a sample of your voice, they don’t necessarily need you to answer the phone. Your voicemail greeting — the one where you cheerfully say your full name and ask callers to leave a message — is sitting there for anyone who dials your number.
Consider switching to the default automated greeting your phone provides. It’s less personal, sure. But it also doesn’t hand over a clean recording of your voice to every random caller.
If You Think You’ve Already Been Got
Don’t panic, but do act fast. Check your bank statements, credit card bills, and phone bill line by line. Look for small, unfamiliar charges — scammers often start with tiny amounts to test whether you’ll notice. Contact your bank and credit card companies and ask about putting alerts on your accounts for unauthorized transactions.
You can also request a credit freeze through all three major credit bureaus — Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax — at no cost. Change your passwords. File a report with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. And register your number at DoNotCall.gov. It won’t stop scammers who ignore the law (which is most of them), but it cuts down on legitimate telemarketing calls, making suspicious ones easier to spot.
Robocalls cost only a few dollars to send millions of calls. That math will never change. But you can change how you respond to them — starting with retiring the word “yes” from your phone vocabulary entirely.
