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I've recently noticed that I reflexively answer my phone with "MyName speaking", it occurred to me that this is bad security practice. Any suggestion on how I

I've recently noticed that I reflexively answer my phone with "MyName speaking", it occurred to me that this is bad security practice. Any suggestion on how I should politely and professionally answer a call without giving away my identity?

jrootabega 5y ago
First name only isn't that bad, right?
krageon 5y ago
> Any suggestion on how I should politely and professionally answer a call without giving away my identity? I use "hello". It's pretty rude compared to how I was raised, but it's also the only way to not give scam calls the ammo they need to mess with me. So I can live with rude.
ceejayoz 5y ago
Let it go to voicemail, and have your voicemail greeting say "please send me an email instead".
mattw2121 5y ago
Hello?
mikequinlan 5y ago
Many people nowadays just answer 'Hello'. I do that and if I don't get a response after a few seconds I hang up.
vegetablepotpie 5y ago
I’ve taken up the practice of just not answering the phone. Nothing good ever comes of it. If it’s important, they’ll leave a voice mail and I can call them back.
- wintermutestwin 5y ago
  Yes, but then they do the same and it is endless phone tag which usually ends in "you can email me at blaa." The telephone is broken.
- daniel-cussen 5y ago
  Today, for sure, the phone is dead. But it could come back.
- enlyth 5y ago
  My apartment has almost no phone signal so I started leaving my phone on airplane mode. Best decision I've ever made, it's been like this for 6 months now without issues. With friends and family I call through facetime/whatsapp/etc. anyway. It also makes the battery last twice as long.
  - leephillips 5y ago
    Doesn’t airplane mode also turn off the WiFi radio? Maybe it depends on the phone. But if it does, how can you use WhatsApp, etc.?
    - BenjiWiebe 5y ago
      You can turn WiFi back on.
      - leephillips 5y ago
        Haha. I actually knew that and have done it, but forgot that it was possible. Thanks.
- Timothycquinn 5y ago
  Agreed - As a minimum if the caller has no caller ID I don't answer unless I'm expecting such a call. If I answer the phone and get a long pause or clicks before I'm talking to someone, I'm very dubious of who I'm talking to and get their name and phone number so I can do quick background check and call them back. With that said, I almost got duped by a good samaritan debit card scam about 20 years ago in Toronto.
suprfsat 5y ago
"Hello" — Thomas Edison "Ahoy" — Alexander Graham Bell
postsantum 5y ago
Drop the call and send an SMS saying "Busy now, please let me know when it would be best to call you back"
xcyu 5y ago
Just stay silent until the other person speaks.
- mbauman 5y ago
  This is my MO for unknown numbers these days (which I only answer when I have a reasonable expectation of getting a call from a new contact). Automated systems will just disconnect when they think they got a dead line. Humans will go, "uh, hello?"
  - dvtrn 5y ago
    I started doing this a few months ago, and the number of spam calls I've gotten from certain area codes that used to call me without fail at least three times a day has dropped considerably.
    - ceejayoz 5y ago
      I've had good results from answering spam calls, following the prompt to get a human to "resolve this matter with the IRS" or talk to "Visa and Mastercard customer service" and just screaming into the phone when they come on the line. Seems to get me on a "don't call this number" list after a few goes.
bena 5y ago
I just go with "Hello?". I also don't mind confirming my name. But I try to never say "yes" or "no" when they ask if something is right, I respond with "That is correct" or "That is not correct". That may be me being too paranoid of people editing the conversation to make it look like I agreed to something I didn't. There was some point where I was getting a call that claimed to be a collection agency trying to collect on a DirectTV bill. I've never had DirectTV. They kept trying to get me to confirm an address, I kept informing them that I've never had DirectTV. They would usually hang up when I would press them on who their employer was. They often made the mistake of calling during my commute when I lived roughly an hour away from my place. So, you know, I had the time to kill.
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  > But I try to never say "yes" or "no" when they ask if something is right, I respond with "That is correct" or "That is not correct". That may be me being too paranoid of people editing the conversation to make it look like I agreed to something I didn't. It's not overly paranoid. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/Publications/CanYouHearMe.asp https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/Publications/CanYouHearM... > The details of this scam vary, but it always begins with a call, usually from a telephone number that appears to be local. When the person answers the call, the scam artist tries to get the person to say “yes”—most often by asking, “Can you hear me?,” “Is this the lady of the house?,” or a similar question. By responding “yes,” people notify robo-callers that their number is an active telephone number that can be sold to other telemarketers for a higher price. This then leads to more unwanted calls. > In some cases, the caller may record the person saying “yes.” Scam artists may be able to use a recorded “yes” to claim that the person authorized charges to his or her credit card or account. Used to be used a whole bunch for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramming_(fraud) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramming_(fraud) back in the days when you could subscribe to things via your phone bill.
  - bena 5y ago
    Good to know, I guess. On some level. I've probably read something similar at some point, made the change, and forgot the source that made me wary of it. Cutting the ends of the roast as it were.
bombcar 5y ago
Roadkill Cafe, you kill it, we grill it, how can I help you?
- vlachen 5y ago
  Drinkwine Mortuary, You stab 'em, we slab 'em!
wglb 5y ago
I've often answered calls from unknown numbers with "This is Security" in my most formal voice. Nowadays, I don't answer unknown numbers at all.
gre 5y ago
I'm hostile to anyone who calls me until they deserve otherwise. Just "hello", "mhmm", "mnnn" kind of grunts. Kind of sad but 95% of phone calls that I don't know are from scammers/telemarketers.
Angostura 5y ago
Many years ago, I changed to simply using "Yes, hello?"
bell-cot 5y ago
If I don't recognize the #, "Tech. Support, do you have a Contract # or Incident #?". Backed by a brusque "very busy professional, required to bill his hours" attitude. Human cold callers often identify with that - enough to either end the call fast, or to try no "hooks" to keep me on the line when I end it.

jrootabega 5y ago

First name only isn't that bad, right?

krageon 5y ago

> Any suggestion on how I should politely and professionally answer a call without giving away my identity? I use "hello". It's pretty rude compared to how I was raised, but it's also the only way to not give scam calls the ammo they need to mess with me. So I can live with rude.

ceejayoz 5y ago

Let it go to voicemail, and have your voicemail greeting say "please send me an email instead".

mattw2121 5y ago

Hello?

mikequinlan 5y ago

Many people nowadays just answer 'Hello'. I do that and if I don't get a response after a few seconds I hang up.

vegetablepotpie 5y ago

I’ve taken up the practice of just not answering the phone. Nothing good ever comes of it. If it’s important, they’ll leave a voice mail and I can call them back.

wintermutestwin 5y ago
Yes, but then they do the same and it is endless phone tag which usually ends in "you can email me at blaa." The telephone is broken.
daniel-cussen 5y ago
Today, for sure, the phone is dead. But it could come back.
enlyth 5y ago
My apartment has almost no phone signal so I started leaving my phone on airplane mode. Best decision I've ever made, it's been like this for 6 months now without issues. With friends and family I call through facetime/whatsapp/etc. anyway. It also makes the battery last twice as long.
- leephillips 5y ago
  Doesn’t airplane mode also turn off the WiFi radio? Maybe it depends on the phone. But if it does, how can you use WhatsApp, etc.?
  - BenjiWiebe 5y ago
    You can turn WiFi back on.
    - leephillips 5y ago
      Haha. I actually knew that and have done it, but forgot that it was possible. Thanks.
Timothycquinn 5y ago
Agreed - As a minimum if the caller has no caller ID I don't answer unless I'm expecting such a call. If I answer the phone and get a long pause or clicks before I'm talking to someone, I'm very dubious of who I'm talking to and get their name and phone number so I can do quick background check and call them back. With that said, I almost got duped by a good samaritan debit card scam about 20 years ago in Toronto.

suprfsat 5y ago

"Hello" — Thomas Edison "Ahoy" — Alexander Graham Bell

postsantum 5y ago

Drop the call and send an SMS saying "Busy now, please let me know when it would be best to call you back"

xcyu 5y ago

Just stay silent until the other person speaks.

mbauman 5y ago
This is my MO for unknown numbers these days (which I only answer when I have a reasonable expectation of getting a call from a new contact). Automated systems will just disconnect when they think they got a dead line. Humans will go, "uh, hello?"
- dvtrn 5y ago
  I started doing this a few months ago, and the number of spam calls I've gotten from certain area codes that used to call me without fail at least three times a day has dropped considerably.
  - ceejayoz 5y ago
    I've had good results from answering spam calls, following the prompt to get a human to "resolve this matter with the IRS" or talk to "Visa and Mastercard customer service" and just screaming into the phone when they come on the line. Seems to get me on a "don't call this number" list after a few goes.

bena 5y ago

I just go with "Hello?". I also don't mind confirming my name. But I try to never say "yes" or "no" when they ask if something is right, I respond with "That is correct" or "That is not correct". That may be me being too paranoid of people editing the conversation to make it look like I agreed to something I didn't. There was some point where I was getting a call that claimed to be a collection agency trying to collect on a DirectTV bill. I've never had DirectTV. They kept trying to get me to confirm an address, I kept informing them that I've never had DirectTV. They would usually hang up when I would press them on who their employer was. They often made the mistake of calling during my commute when I lived roughly an hour away from my place. So, you know, I had the time to kill.

ceejayoz 5y ago
> But I try to never say "yes" or "no" when they ask if something is right, I respond with "That is correct" or "That is not correct". That may be me being too paranoid of people editing the conversation to make it look like I agreed to something I didn't. It's not overly paranoid. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/Publications/CanYouHearMe.asp https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/Publications/CanYouHearM... > The details of this scam vary, but it always begins with a call, usually from a telephone number that appears to be local. When the person answers the call, the scam artist tries to get the person to say “yes”—most often by asking, “Can you hear me?,” “Is this the lady of the house?,” or a similar question. By responding “yes,” people notify robo-callers that their number is an active telephone number that can be sold to other telemarketers for a higher price. This then leads to more unwanted calls. > In some cases, the caller may record the person saying “yes.” Scam artists may be able to use a recorded “yes” to claim that the person authorized charges to his or her credit card or account. Used to be used a whole bunch for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramming_(fraud) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramming_(fraud) back in the days when you could subscribe to things via your phone bill.
- bena 5y ago
  Good to know, I guess. On some level. I've probably read something similar at some point, made the change, and forgot the source that made me wary of it. Cutting the ends of the roast as it were.

bombcar 5y ago

Roadkill Cafe, you kill it, we grill it, how can I help you?

vlachen 5y ago
Drinkwine Mortuary, You stab 'em, we slab 'em!

wglb 5y ago

I've often answered calls from unknown numbers with "This is Security" in my most formal voice. Nowadays, I don't answer unknown numbers at all.

gre 5y ago

I'm hostile to anyone who calls me until they deserve otherwise. Just "hello", "mhmm", "mnnn" kind of grunts. Kind of sad but 95% of phone calls that I don't know are from scammers/telemarketers.

Angostura 5y ago

Many years ago, I changed to simply using "Yes, hello?"

bell-cot 5y ago

If I don't recognize the #, "Tech. Support, do you have a Contract # or Incident #?". Backed by a brusque "very busy professional, required to bill his hours" attitude. Human cold callers often identify with that - enough to either end the call fast, or to try no "hooks" to keep me on the line when I end it.