Getting calls with no one on the other end of the phone? NY1 For You's Susan Jhun explains the latest scam hitting the city.
For a year now, Sarah Schafer has answered her phone, only to hear silence.
"I've been getting these weird phone calls where a number will pop up on my screen that I don’t recognize. I’ll answer it, and nobody will be on the other line," Schafer says.
They are an annoyance to Schafer, who says on average, she receives three of these calls a day.
"At first, I thought that it was somebody calling the wrong number. And I would sometimes call the number back," she says.
That's exactly what you shouldn't do, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which warns these so-called ghost calls are used to initiate scams.
One uses the calls to determine which numbers are active, thereby providing target numbers for scams. The second attempts to prompt a consumer to call the number back, which then goes to an international location and results in high charges for the international call and possibly charges for pay-per-call services.
The FCC recommends not answering a call if the caller ID is unfamiliar. And don't try to call it back to find out who it was.
Consumers who receive such calls should take down the number and file a complaint with the FCC at fcc.gov.