<![CDATA[Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers.]]>Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers.

"Good afternoon, thanks for calling!"

"Hello."

"Hi, who's calling please?"

"This is Experian Security Services calling to discuss an urgent issue with your account."

"Who are you trying to reach?"

"I am looking to talk to the owner of this phone number."

"I'm sorry, I'll need a name to help you."

30 seconds of silence.

Call hangs up.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/0bc32cfb-07c9-452b-9c96-e2a648264635/answering-unknown-number-calls-on-my-cell-phone-like-a-receptionist-really-confuses-scammers.RSS for NodeFri, 01 May 2026 20:06:01 GMTWed, 08 Apr 2026 17:48:18 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:10:32 GMT]]>@vees I wish I got that much entertainment out of them. Here's how mine go.

Me: "Who is this"

30 sec silence
Click

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://masto.hackers.town/users/murph/statuses/116370901086895274https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://masto.hackers.town/users/murph/statuses/116370901086895274Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:10:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:08:47 GMT]]>@raymierussell Lol
No, indeed, we don't say that 😂

@vees

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://piaille.fr/users/RachelC_Y/statuses/116370894177839671https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://piaille.fr/users/RachelC_Y/statuses/116370894177839671Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:08:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:05:26 GMT]]>@raymierussell Funny, I do the same with english @vees

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://piaille.fr/users/RachelC_Y/statuses/116370881011911902https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://piaille.fr/users/RachelC_Y/statuses/116370881011911902Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:05:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:52:14 GMT]]>@vees If you say "This call is being monitored and recorded for quality assurance" you can cut your call times down to 10 seconds.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/rasterweb/statuses/116370829107887665https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/rasterweb/statuses/116370829107887665Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:52:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:45:16 GMT]]>@vees
This is good. I just never answer my phone unless it's someone I know. If it's important, they will leave a message. Unless I've turned messages off. 😲

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/MostlyTato/statuses/116370801721328097https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/MostlyTato/statuses/116370801721328097Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:45:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:45:04 GMT]]>@vees Genius! I sometimes pretend to be a toddler asking the caller for snacks.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://jawns.club/users/oreoteeth/statuses/116370800916869607https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://jawns.club/users/oreoteeth/statuses/116370800916869607Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:45:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:42:21 GMT]]>@vees I never answer my phone with "Hello", but with reciting my phone number. How they respond to that is a good indication of whether they are a legitimate caller or not; the ones following a script tend to get confused. I then repeat my phone number. The more confused they get, the more likely I am to just keep repeating it.

With legitimate callers, reciting my phone number is merely a confirmation that they called the correct phone number (and helps me memorise it, too).

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.au/users/kerravonsen/statuses/116370790229638795https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.au/users/kerravonsen/statuses/116370790229638795Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:42:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:30:31 GMT]]>@vees This is brilliant.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://jawns.club/users/davekonopka/statuses/116370743746301544https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://jawns.club/users/davekonopka/statuses/116370743746301544Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:30:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:20:39 GMT]]>@vees I scream and then hang-up.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/praetor/statuses/116370704952333416https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/praetor/statuses/116370704952333416Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:20:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:20:17 GMT]]>@acm_redfox @vees this will actually work in USA, where the mobile numbers are mixed up in the dialplan with all the others (in other parts of the world, mobile numbers have their own code prefix and most of the scammers know this (although we do also have Communications Minstries and regulators with more teeth, so its not that common to get a real human making a scam call (more often only odd voice messages, sometimes in Chinese))

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.tchncs.de/users/vfrmedia/statuses/116370703451749185https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.tchncs.de/users/vfrmedia/statuses/116370703451749185Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:20:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Answering unknown number calls on my cell phone like a receptionist really confuses scammers. on Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:59:46 GMT]]>@vees nice!!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://jawns.club/users/acm_redfox/statuses/116370386872741957https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://jawns.club/users/acm_redfox/statuses/116370386872741957Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:59:46 GMT