Suspicious phone call

[EggyRepublic]

I got a phone call today from an unknown number (likely spoofed because it starts with the same 6 digits as my own number). I picked up but remained completely silent and the other side hung up after about 5 seconds. However, I later remember this might be my doctor checking in for my appointment tomorrow so I called back, but it went into a random lady's voicemail.

 

I think this might just be another telemarketer, but is it possible to get hacked or your identity stolen through a phone call you initiated? Crybercriminals are getting ridiculously smart in their tactics so I thought maybe they can track me down or something through a phone call?

[BrinkGG]

6 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

I got a phone call today from an unknown number (likely spoofed because it starts with the same 6 digits as my own number). I picked up but remained completely silent and the other side hung up after about 5 seconds. However, I later remember this might be my doctor checking in for my appointment tomorrow so I called back, but it went into a random lady's voicemail.

 

I think this might just be another telemarketer, but is it possible to get hacked or your identity stolen through a phone call you initiated? Crybercriminals are getting ridiculously smart in their tactics so I thought maybe they can track me down or something through a phone call?

People can spoof caller ID nowadays. Always assume a call is a scam until they identify who they are. I get about 10-15 automated calls a day to both my work phone and my cell phone. All from public business numbers, but the ID name is always V[string of numbers] so it's a dead giveaway nowadays. 

[Arttu89]

9 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

I got a phone call today from an unknown number (likely spoofed because it starts with the same 6 digits as my own number). I picked up but remained completely silent and the other side hung up after about 5 seconds. However, I later remember this might be my doctor checking in for my appointment tomorrow so I called back, but it went into a random lady's voicemail.

 

I think this might just be another telemarketer, but is it possible to get hacked or your identity stolen through a phone call you initiated? Crybercriminals are getting ridiculously smart in their tactics so I thought maybe they can track me down or something through a phone call?

I don't see how they could steal your identity through you initiating a phone call, they'd have to hack your mobile provider first and if they had done that already then they wouldn't really need to call you or get you to call them.  My guess is it might've just been a scam call, but when you sat silent for a couple sec they just disconnected.

[TempestCatto]

If the first six digits are exactly the same as yours, deny the call. Never answer. You may have just gotten a big charge on your phone bill. One of the scams going around is getting a weird call, and either your phone rings once and stops, or just plain silence when you answer. The idea is that you get curious and call the number back, and get a toll charge on your cell bill. It's supposed to be a weird 1-800 number though, so you might actually be fine. But at the same time you can tell if it's a robo-dialer if when you say "hello?" there's at least five solid seconds of silence. It's the auto-dialer connecting you to an "agent". Then you know that you can just hang up right away. Also, you should have your doctor's office number(s) saved in your phone, so not only can you call then right-away if there's something wrong, but also so you'll know to answer it if they show up on the caller-ID.

[EggyRepublic]

4 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

If the first six digits are exactly the same as yours, deny the call. Never answer. You may have just gotten a big charge on your phone bill. One of the scams going around is getting a weird call, and either your phone rings once and stops, or just plain silence when you answer. The idea is that you get curious and call the number back, and get a toll charge on your cell bill. It's supposed to be a weird 1-800 number though, so you might actually be fine. But at the same time you can tell if it's a robo-dialer if when you say "hello?" there's at least five solid seconds of silence. It's the auto-dialer connecting you to an "agent". Then you know that you can just hang up right away. Also, you should have your doctor's office number(s) saved in your phone, so not only can you call then right-away if there's something wrong, but also so you'll know to answer it if they show up on the caller-ID.

Does that scam work if my mobile company does not allow me to place International calls (I tried to call international once and it told me to upgrade my plan), or are they working around that somehow?

[SpookyCitrus]

21 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

I got a phone call today from an unknown number (likely spoofed because it starts with the same 6 digits as my own number). I picked up but remained completely silent and the other side hung up after about 5 seconds. However, I later remember this might be my doctor checking in for my appointment tomorrow so I called back, but it went into a random lady's voicemail.

 

I think this might just be another telemarketer, but is it possible to get hacked or your identity stolen through a phone call you initiated? Crybercriminals are getting ridiculously smart in their tactics so I thought maybe they can track me down or something through a phone call?

Well I mean if I called someone and they didn't say a single word after 5 seconds when they answered, I'd hangup too. I always at least say hello when I answer my phone. If it's a robo caller I hangup and block the number, and a real person trying to scam or sell me something same thing just hangup and block the number.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Many telemarketers, scammers, political callers, and other scum use auto dialers that call random numbers sequentially and  when they get an answer, they will forward the call to the first available parasite. If none are available to take, the random dialer will hang up.

[DarkShame2]

I just usually google search the number I don't recognized, then report/block spam calls if above post.