The Royal Malaysia Police’s (PDRM) Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) recently revealed that even saying “Hello? Hello?” for 3 seconds during a silent call from an unknown number can help scammers.
Taking to their Facebook page, they explained that silent phone calls are done deliberately in an attempt by scammers to record victims’ voices.
“Silent calls are decoys to identify prey”
They wrote, “Silent calls aren’t just a nuisance, they’re a tactic to collect voice metadata to confirm your number is still active before the scammer makes their next attempt. Let’s recognise the signs and take preventive measures to protect yourself from becoming the next victim of a scam.”
“Silent calls are not normal nuisances – they are decoys to identify prey. Don’t get trapped!”
They also shared a video where an officer explained that scammers tend to make silent calls to capture victims’ voices when they say “Hello? Hello?”.
All it takes is 3 to 5 seconds for scammers to record victims’ voices, which they then use to reach out to the victims’ friends and family and ask for monetary loans.
“There have been many cases lately, using the voices of others,” the officer said.
Tips and advice
JSJK PDRM left the general public with tips on how to prevent themselves from becoming victims of these silent phone calls.
Those tips include:
- Don’t answer calls from unknown phone numbers hastily
- Get clarification via WhatsApp messages first
- Only proceed to speak when the caller has spoken first
You can check out the video here:
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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