Nexus

The "can you hear me?" scam call

A "can you hear me?" call is a trick to get you to say "yes" on the line. The FCC warns that scammers may record that yes and try to use it to claim you agreed to charges. If a stranger opens with a yes-or-no question, hang up without answering.

How the call goes

The phone rings from a number you may not know. Caller ID can be faked, so even a familiar-looking number proves nothing.

A recording or a real person asks a simple question. "Can you hear me?" is the best known. Another is "Is this the lady of the house?" The goal is to get you to say yes.

The caller may claim to be a company you know, like a mortgage lender or a utility. That makes a yes feel harmless.

What a recorded "yes" can be used for

The FCC warned about these calls in 2017. It said scammers may keep a recording of your yes as a kind of voice signature. Later they may pretend to be you and use it to approve charges by phone, such as on a utility or credit card account.

Charges on a bill that you never agreed to are called cramming.

There is a simpler harm too. A yes, or pressing a key, shows that a real person answers this number. The Minnesota Attorney General notes that active numbers can be sold to other callers. That can mean more unwanted calls.

None of this is a reason to panic. It's a reason to keep one easy habit with strangers: don't answer their questions.

What to do when the call comes

You don't need a clever reply. You just need to end the call.

If you already said yes

It's easy to say yes out of habit. Just keep an eye on your accounts for a while.

How Nexus handles it

With Nexus, numbers on the spam list are refused, and most callers you don't know are asked who they are before your phone rings. An automated assistant does the talking, not you: it tells them the call is being screened and may be transcribed, then asks who's calling and why. Anthropic's Claude reads what the caller says to decide what to do.

Real callers are put through, or leave a voicemail you can read as text. People in your contacts always ring and are never blocked.

Nexus works on Android and iPhone. More about how it works is on the About page.

Nexus is invite-only. The price is on the wait list page, and you can cancel yourself any time.

Common questions

Should I never say yes on the phone?

With people you know, it's fine. With a stranger who called you, skip the yes. Ask who is calling, or simply hang up.

Can a recording of me saying yes really be used against me?

The FCC has warned that scammers may try to use a recorded yes to approve charges on accounts such as a utility or credit card. If you said yes to a stranger, read your statements and dispute any charge you didn't approve. Some disputes have deadlines, so act soon.

Why do scammers ask a question instead of making a pitch?

Getting you to talk tells them a real person answers your number. A recorded yes may also be kept to back up a fake charge later. Hanging up gives them nothing.

Where do I report a "can you hear me?" call?

Report it to the FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov or the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. In North Carolina, you can also report robocalls to the NC Attorney General at ncdoj.gov/report-robocalls or (844) 8-NO-ROBO.

Sources

Written by Noah, who builds Nexus call screening in North Carolina.

Last updated 2026-11-09. This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. To report a scam, visit reportfraud.ftc.gov.