Experts are strongly advising people against engaging in conversations with phone scammers. Such interactions pose significant risks, as criminals can potentially gather important information about the person they are calling.
Sergey Zolotukhin, an expert from F6, outlined three primary reasons why you should avoid any dialogue during a suspicious phone call:
Reason 1: Voice Data Collection for Deepfakes. Fraudsters are able to collect samples of your voice. Just three seconds of recorded speech can be sufficient to create a convincing voice deepfake. They can then use this synthetic voice to make calls pretending to be you to your friends or family, potentially for fraudulent purposes.
Reason 2: Accidental Information Disclosure. Engaging in conversation with a scammer significantly increases the chance of accidentally disclosing sensitive personal or financial information, even if you believe you are being cautious. The expert stressed that «the likelihood [of this happening] becomes zero only if you didn`t answer the phone at all or hung up immediately upon realizing the call was unwanted.»
Reason 3: Sharing Minor Details That Can Be Exploited. During a conversation, even seemingly minor or insignificant details you share could be picked up by the fraudster. These details might be later used against you or your close contacts in future, more targeted scam attempts.
According to Zolotukhin, the single best tactic when receiving a suspicious call is to end the conversation as quickly as possible. He concluded, «If you hang up immediately, you are guaranteed not to become a victim of fraud.»
