Ghost calls, also known as silent calls, are brief, unsolicited calls that disconnect before the recipient can speak. These are often generated by robocalls, primarily used by telemarketers and scammers to identify active phone numbers for future targeted calls or scams.
A 2016 study, "Everyone Hates Robocalls," linked the increase in ghost calls to the rise of VoIP technology and the outsourcing of telemarketing services. The ease of making thousands of simultaneous calls makes this a cost-effective, large-scale operation.
Scammers use ghost calls to gather information. By listening to the recipient's voice, they can ascertain demographics (age, gender, etc.), which allows them to tailor future scams.
Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has implemented stricter regulations since April 2024, including substantial fines (up to R$ 50 million) for companies making mass unsolicited calls. Anatel's monitoring efforts, significantly increased in January 2024, have prevented 184.9 billion unwanted calls from 2022 to December 2024.