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Silent Call Scam: the new scam where criminals use silent calls to collect audio and feed it to artificial intelligence software for voice cloning

A new scam, called the "silent call scam," has become a threat to individuals and businesses. Criminals use silent calls to collect audio and feed it to artificial intelligence software for voice cloning. In this way, they can create scams like the imposter scam, in which they pressure victims into sending money and data.

This pattern, called the "Silent Call Scam," appears to be just a strange call or a poorly executed telemarketing call. The scam takes advantage of a common behavior, which is that of the person answering and automatically saying "hello." This response can become a starting point for voice cloning, especially when the criminal combines the audio with other excerpts found on social media, videos, interviews, and apps.

Adriano Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, says that cloning tools only need a few seconds of clear audio. With ten to twenty seconds, it is already possible to create a convincing imitation. “If the victim continues talking, out of irritation, curiosity, or to create some kind of evidence, they may unintentionally give more material to the scammers,” he says.

The expert gives tips on how to identify and protect yourself from the new scam. In addition, he explains how large corporations can take steps to protect themselves from criminals.

How to identify..If the call is silent or suspicious, it is already a warning sign. The best thing to do in this case is to hang up the phone. If you say a simple "hello," it may be enough for the cloning tool to analyze the tone and pitch of your voice, along with other vocal characteristics.

How to protect yourself...One of the most effective protections is to avoid providing usable voice samples to scammers. In practice, this means that the person calling should have the opportunity to speak first. You should not answer the call with a "hello," and neutral responses should be given whenever possible. You should end the call if it seems suspicious, instead of prolonging it.

Beyond phone calls, people should be cautious about the amount of voice content they share online. Social media platforms are among the largest public sources of voice recordings, videos, voice messages, and interviews, and criminals can misuse them.

What are the risks? The biggest risk is criminals using your voice to create a realistic clone. Modern voice cloning software is inexpensive, widely available, and capable of producing highly convincing results from small samples. With this cloned voice, scammers can impersonate you to deceive friends or family members.

Scammers use emotional stories, such as accidents or emergencies, to trick victims into giving them money or confidential information. Even if the person realizes they are talking to a scammer and no immediate harm occurs, criminals can still use the recording later in further attacks.

What to do if you think you've fallen for a scam...If you suspect that criminals have recorded your voice, you should be alert to subsequent attempts to capture your voice through other channels. Furthermore, it's important to warn family, friends, or colleagues that a scammer may try to impersonate you using a cloned voice.

Alert contacts that any urgent or unusual request should be verified by returning the call using a known phone number or a commonly used communication method. Quick verification can prevent scammers from escalating the attack and spreading it to others.

Risk to businesses...There are significant risks for businesses that fall victim to these scams. In fact, criminals can use voice cloning to impersonate company executives, including managers or other high-ranking positions, and make requests that sound legitimate and authentic. This can lead employees to make unauthorized transactions, cause leaks of confidential information, and damage the company's reputation.

A silent call scam (or "blank call scam") is a deceptive tactic where a recipient answers a phone call only to be met with total silence before the caller hangs up. While some silent calls are caused by automated telemarketing systems (predictive dialers) failing to connect to an agent, many are calculated first steps in more advanced fraudulent schemes. 

How the scam works(below)

Active Number Validation: The primary goal is often to confirm that your phone number is "live" and answered by a human. Once verified, your number is marked as a high-value target and sold on the dark web or added to lists for future phishing, vishing (voice phishing), or SMS scams.

Voice Recording and AI Cloning: Scammers may stay quiet to prompt you to speak first (e.g., saying "Hello?" multiple times). As of 2026, experts warn that just a few seconds of your voice can be recorded and used by AI tools to create a convincing voice clone. This clone is then used to impersonate you in "emergency" calls to your friends or family to demand money.

Voice Authorization Fraud: Some scams specifically try to get you to say the word "Yes" (e.g., by asking "Can you hear me?"). This recording can potentially be used as a "voice signature" to authorize unauthorized charges or account changes. 

Immediate steps to take(below)

Hang Up Immediately: If you answer and hear no response within a second or two, disconnect the call. Do not wait or continue saying "Hello".

Stay Silent: If you must answer unknown calls, do not speak first. Wait for the caller to identify themselves.

Block and Report: Use your phone’s built-in "Block Contact" feature. You can also report the number to national agencies like the FTC (US), Action Fraud (UK), or the Chakshu portal (India).

Use Call Screening: Enable features like "Silence Unknown Callers" (iPhone) or "Spam Protection" (Android/Google) to automatically filter suspicious calls.

Set a Family "Safe Word": To counter AI voice cloning, establish a secret word with family members to verify each other's identity during urgent phone requests for money. 

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