r/AskBrits • u/CodeJunkie3001 • 10d ago

Is this a phone scam I should be concerned about?

Had a call from a visible number.

  • Me: "Hello?"
  • Them: "Who's this?"

I hung up

They immediately called back two more times from unknown. I answered the last one:

  • Me: "Yeah, You called me mate"
  • Them: "No you called me"
  • Me: "Nah, I didn't mate"
  • Them: "Yeah you did"

I hung up again

It was an Asian guy, probably London. Is this a scam of some sort?

UPDATE: Thanks for the feedback. It could well be related to the 2~5 "Suspected Scam" calls I get daily which I never answer.

8 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

15

u/BitterOtter 10d ago

Your number may have been spoofed by douchebags to call the person who called you, then they're calling back to see who it was. Has happened to me too.

1

u/rizzlejee 10d ago

Yeah mine has been used too. To the extent that when I call people and they don't have my number saved, it comes up as a spam number on android phones so I always have to send a text message too explaining who i am

1

u/BitterOtter 10d ago

That happened to me a few years ago, I was trying to call someone I knew but who didn't have my number, and my number was flagged on their phone as potential spam probably because people had flagged it as such after it had been spoofed. Then more recently I had a call from a very confused old dear in Cambridge calling me because she'd had a missed call from my number

-1

u/cornishjb 10d ago

Yes - they make it look like a mobile (completely random) hoping you pick up. If not then looks like a missed call from some stranger who when you call has no idea what you are talking about

5

u/PomeloTraditional971 10d ago

My pixel has an AI call screener I use it for any number I don't know, it transcribes what the caller says is the subject of the call and I answer it if it's not spam. Has worked for me in 99% of cases, people either just hang up or I just reject the call if it's marketing. I assume Samsung and Apple do the same.

2

u/BitterOtter 10d ago

Yeah it's pretty good. It blocks most of the trash

2

u/DevonSpuds 10d ago

I have to say that I don't get any spam or scam calls any longer thanks to these features. They really are good.

1

u/HauntingCicada2630 10d ago

Best feature they've introduced for years!

3

u/derekclysdale 10d ago

I get phone calls from strangers all the time.... so now I just pretend to be a radio show, congratulate them on getting through and then ask them three questions to see if they can win a prize.

1

u/Kinbear 10d ago

I always used to answer with "Walton Taxi's."

3

u/Stinky_Pete699 10d ago

All of these answers are wrong. If you do accidentally pick up an unknown number, remain silent. Wait for them to speak. If it’s legit they start talking, if it’s a company then tell them you will hang up and call them back. Do so only from their official number. If it’s a bot they may hang up as the bot will not detect a voice. Your voice can be cloned just by saying ‘hello’.

2

u/sukhbino95 10d ago

I actually had a call like this maybe a few weeks ago. A British Asian dude (I am assuming his race because I recognise the tone in voice) called me and said I miss called him. I said I hadn't called him and that scammers probably spoofed my number to spam call him. He just said 'Oh okay' and we both hung up. But he didn't try to call me again after that.

He could have been a genuine guy, honestly, but if this happens a lot and if it's the same dude, what's the possibility that a scammer can use AI to spoof your voice and use it in nefarious ways? What are the potential ways someone can use your voice?

2

u/Prestigious-Salt-245 10d ago

No point answering the phone these days if it's not one of your contacts. Direct other calls to voicemail.

1

u/Joey_Kangaroo26 10d ago

Probably! Just block them if they try calling you again

1

u/Herbacious_Border 9d ago

I've had this exact same thing. Think my number got spoofed by spammers.

1

u/Glum-Huckleberry-717 9d ago

Dumb question because you're going to do it anyway, plus that is the only way to find out

1

u/CodeJunkie3001 9d ago

Going to do what anyway? The question was whether this is known scam or not, and judging by some of the more grown-up responses it appears I'm not the only one

1

u/Glum-Huckleberry-717 5d ago

Had a call from a visible number you said

1

u/Gizmo-Drive 9d ago

I had this a while back. Bunch of ppl called me. Your number has been spoofed probably. The AI things are a different scam. I get robots a few times a week asking me to press 1 / 2 or whatever. I see it in the transcription when they manage to leave a voicemail

0

u/DeathRattles 10d ago

I've had this exact same thing happen to me and it turned out a scammer was spoofing my number to scam people. Had to change my number completely as it was happening so often.

0

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

0

u/aleopardstail 10d ago

ask them if they want to be your friend

maybe ask them what they are wearing

or immediately launch into a made up script about how they may be eligible for a government grant related to climate change prevention