There's a dangerous new phone scam that's just hit Australian shores.

It’s the latest phone scam to hit Australia, and if you answer the phone to someone asking repeatedly ‘can you hear me?’… do not say ‘yes’.

The scam was reportedly prolific in the United States and United Kingdom throughout the first months of 2017. Now it’s active in Australia.

It’s believed the question ‘can you hear me?’ is meant to elicit a ‘yes’ response that could see Australians lose thousands of dollars.

This ‘yes’ is then recorded and used by the scammers to authorise payments in your name.

If they already have your phone number and address, ‘yes’ might be all they need to access your bank accounts.

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Police have spoken to a victim of the ‘can you hear me?’ scam in Mackay, and they are warning the rest of Australia to be wary.

“We believe it to be hitting many areas,” a statement from Senior Constable Steve Smith released on Wednesday reads.

“If the scammer already has your mobile phone number and some sensitive identification information of yours… you may have some serious and legitimate reasons to be concerned,” Smith said.

Queensland Police encourage Australians to do three things to help fight the scam:

• Spread the word
• If you receive a ‘can you hear me?’ phone call – hang up – don’t respond.
• If you did respond with a “yes” … alert your financial institution and monitor your accounts closely.

Have you been the victim of a phone scam before? Tell us your stories in the comments below…