Americans have lost over $10 million because of phone scams

Americans have lost over $10 million because of phone scamsAmericans have lost over $10 million because of phone scamsRecently Truecaller Insights released its fifth annual U.S werbemail and Scam report. Although 87% of Americans say they try to only answer calls if they recognize the callers number, alfruchtwein two-thirds of Americans (61%) worry they might miss legitimate calls because they suspect they are spam and dont answer, the studys authorsexplained.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIn the brde twelve months, Americans have lost more than $10 million dollars because of phone scams. This means, $244 is the average loss per victim, given 43 million Americans fell victim to fraudulent calls in the last year. This is a 39% increase since last years report. In 2019 the average American reported receiving about 32 spam calls, and 11 spam texts a month. The amount of successful scams has experienced an even sharper increase. The study reported a 70% annual rise in Americans that fell victim to phone scams in 2019 (one in six).Which group falls victim the most?Young adults and men (18 to 34) fall victim to these kinds of scams the most often, even though, young men, in particular, reported receiving the least spam calls out of all the demographics reviewed (with 21 being the most cited number by this group).The study reports, Two in five men aged 18-34 (40%) claimed theyd been victimized by a phone scam in the past 12 months compared to only 13% of men aged 35+ and 28% of women aged 18-34.Parents were also found to be distinctly perceptible. In fact, parents with children living in their house under the age of eighteen are three times as likely to fall victim to being phone scammed, compared to adultswithout children.The majority of scams are attempted on mobile phones. Eighty-three percent of respondents reported receiving a fraudulent call this way, with only 22% saying it occurred via their landline.For whatever reason, households that earned more than $50,000 but less than $75,000 reported the least instances of scams. This group experienced scams about 12% less than the average, and about half as much as households with incomes between $75,000 and $99,000.Most common tactics,Great credit deal, is one of the most frequent preludes to a successful phone scam, though many different methods are used. Some standard scam phrases are listed in order of frequency below.Great verstndigung im strafverfahren70% of Americans have received calls about getting a great dealYouve Won Something64% received calls saying they have won somethingProblems with an Account53% received calls saying there is a problem with an accountOwe Money50% received calls saying they owe moneyPolitical callsNearly half of Americans (49%) report receiving political callsWhat can you do?When Americans receive what they suspect to be a spam/scam call, the vast majority simply dont answer (71%.) A little less than half either block or report the suspicious number (43%). Fourteen percent answer immediately, and 8% call back later.As technology progresses, more Americans are shying away from traditional modes of long-distance communication. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they communicate through text, social media and email, specifically to avoid talking to someone on the phone. It should come as no surprise that this number surges among 18- to 34-year-olds (73%).You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people