It starts quietly.Your phone buzzes with a voicemail notification.
The strange part is that your phone never rang.Then it happens again.
Before long, your voicemail inbox is filling up with messages you never heard come in.That's exactly what Mike from Westport, Connecticut, is dealing with right now.
He wrote to us saying:"I am so upset.Every 20 to 30 minutes, I am getting voicemails, but what's weird is my phone never rings.
After blocking the number, it just rolls over to a new source number.When I go to play the message, there is no audio.
Is this a scammer just trying to get me to call them back? Not sure what the endgame is here.What can I do to stop this from happening? I really appreciate your help."Mike's experience has the hallmarks of automated spam activity, but there is an important distinction.
A voicemail that appears without your phone ringing does not automatically mean a scammer used a special "ringless voicemail" system.Your phone's call-screening settings, your wireless carrier's spam filters and automated robocalls can all produce a similar result.FTC REVEALS WHERE SPAM CALLS HIT HARDESTAn unexpected call from an unfamiliar number can be the first step in a robocall or callback scam designed to get you to engage.
(Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The safest approach is to treat repeated unexplained voicemails from unfamiliar numbers as suspicious and avoid calling those numbers back.Here's what may be happening behind those mystery voicemails, why the numbers keep changing and what you can do to make them stop.New! Free live CyberGuy class: Protect Your Money From Today’s Biggest ThreatsJoin us Saturday, August 29, at 10 AM ET for a free CyberGuy LIVE class covering five simple steps to help defend yourself against AI scams, fraud, identity theft and financial hacks.
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson will explain how to set up bank alerts, strengthen your account logins, protect your phone number, freeze your credit and help secure your retirement savi...