There’s a concerning new phone scam you should be aware of

It would be very easy to be tricked by this.

A new phone scam is being reported across the US and UK which is tricking people into giving away important information. The caller will ask you a simple question, most likely 'can you hear me' and you will most likely say yes. You may not realise it, but this is enough information to access personal credit card details. The scammers record you saying 'yes'and can then use that as voice authorisation for credit card and bank confirmation. Though the word yes may not seem like enough to get anything from you, the scammers already have your phone number too and this could be enough to gain access to personal information and finances. 'Can you hear me' is not the only question you could be asked as anything with an affirmative answer is enough. So you should also be weary of things like 'are you the bill payer' or 'are you the homeowner'. Experts and advising that people just hang up immediately or that they don't answer numbers they do not recognise. There have been no public reports of this happening in Ireland so far, so at the moment it is mostly taking place in the US with some reports in the UK. Either way,  be weary of strange phone calls.