The death of ‘hello’: how gen Z – and scammers – put paid to the greeting

The customary greeting "hello" is experiencing a decline in usage among Generation Z, alongside the rise of telephone scams. Historically, "hello" originated from various English words like "holla", "hollo", and "halloo", used as attention-grabbing noises since at least the 16th century. However, its popularity plummeted due to the advent of telephones in 1876.

Alexander Graham Bell initially advocated for "Ahoy-hoy" as a standardized greeting, but Thomas Edison had a different idea, leading to the widespread use of "hello".

The reason behind this shift lies in the instant cross-time zone capability of telephones, rendering traditional salutations like "good morning" or "good evening" redundant. With the rise of smartphones featuring caller ID, people can now identify who is calling them before answering, making a formal greeting like "hello" unnecessary for many. In fact, a survey revealed that 40% of 18-24 year-olds feel it's acceptable to answer the phone without any greeting at all.

This trend towards informal communication is further exemplified by Generation Z's preference for answering phone calls with phrases like "Hi", "What's up?", or "Yeah?". While some may view this as a sign of rudeness, others argue that it reflects the evolving nature of conversations, which now seamlessly transition from text messages, DMs, or emails to phone calls.

Unfortunately, this informal greeting has serious implications for consumers. Scammers can now use artificial intelligence to replicate your voice, cloned from your telephone greeting, and use it to deceive your loved ones into sending them money. This phenomenon has been reported by reputable sources such as the New York Times, Which?, the BBC, and the Guardian.

The best defense against such scams is to remain silent when receiving a call from an unidentified number. By not responding with a greeting, you can ensure that a genuine human being is on the other end of the line before proceeding. This simple act of rudeness could potentially save you from falling victim to AI-powered scams.