Have you ever picked up the phone, only to be met with an ominous silence on the other end? While there’s a chance that it’s just your aunt butt-dailing you, if you didn’t recognize the number before answering the phone there’s a chance that this was no mistake. So, are silent calls dangerous? Read on to find out everything you need to know.
What Is a Silent Call?
A silent call takes place when someone calls you and doesn’t say anything. The person on the other line may be a robot, an individual, or even a telemarketer depending on the purpose of the call. In fact, some silent calls may just be mistakes, so if you receive one from a number you know, there likely isn’t a cause for concern.
That said, if the call is coming from an unknown number there is usually some type of malicious intent, whether that’s gathering data for a scam, trying to prank you, and much more. Therefore, if you get one of these calls it’s a good idea to hang up sooner rather than later.
Are Silent Calls Dangerous?
Yes, silent calls are dangerous. While they can sometimes be a mistake or a butt-dial, sometimes scammers use them to determine if your phone number is active, telemarketers may use them to gather information, and ghost calls will even wreck your business.
Explore the dangers of silent calls below.
Phone Scams
A silent phone call is a warning that a scam is coming. Scammers will use silent calls to see if a phone number is active and that a real person is using it. Once they know that someone is using the phone number, they’ll call the number again posing as the IRS, a bank, or any other entity to try and steal information.
Telemarketer Harassment
If your phone number isn’t on the Do Not Call List, there’s a good chance that telemarketers may use this strategy to harass you, even if it’s unintentional. Callers will call your number, see if it’s active, and then call you back and try to sell you a product. It’s pretty much the same system that scammers use, but instead, they’re trying to sell you a product, so there’s that at least.
VOIP System Attacks
If you think you’re safe as a business owner, unfortunately, silent calls can be an even bigger nightmare. This is because malicious actors may use ghost calls to disrupt a call center, and that can lead to a loss of money, employee dissatisfaction, and much worse, total failure of the system if enough silent calls are coming through.
How to Protect Yourself from Silent Calls?
If you want to protect yourself from silent calls you have a few steps you can take, with the most important being not answering the phone unless you know who’s on the other line. This minimizes the risk of walking right into a silent phone call trap, so you won’t have to worry about keeping an eye out for additional mysterious calls. The best way to figure out who’s on the other line is to run the phone number through a reverse phone lookup tool.
These tools will tell you who owns the number, whether that’s a business, an individual, or someone more unknown. Plus, many tools also allow you to search based on someone’s name, so if you only saw a name on the caller ID you shouldn’t have to worry.
That said, what about if you answered the call already? In these cases, the best thing you can do is not answer any follow-up calls from mysterious numbers before at least running them through a reverse phone lookup tool. If you suspect a scam, however, then you should contact your phone provider and the authorities.
Protect Yourself from the Dangers of Silent Calls
Silent calls may seem like a mistake, and while sometimes they are, something more malicious is often happening on the other line. To prevent the issue from happening in the first place, always run unknown phone numbers through a reverse phone lookup tool before answering the phone.
And if you have picked up a silent call in the past, don’t panic, because the authorities can always help and scammers can’t steal from you if you don’t give them any information.