Americans received an average of 13 robocalls per person during March, according to data from YouMail. Clearly, some of you have gotten a break at my expense, as my phone fields half that number every day.
March was the robocalliest month since last June, with 4.4 billion calls placed — 1,600 per second.
These included reminders to pay bills, attempts to collect debt and telemarketing, but the largest share of them — 33 percent — were scam calls.
They call about automobile warranties, credit card rate reductions or medical insurance for senior citizens. Sometimes they impersonate agencies, particularly Social Security or the IRS.
The other day, I got a phone call allegedly from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As a news reporter who has tried to make contact with CBP on numerous occasions, I recognized this as a scam immediately. CBP never calls me.
The recorded announcement said, “We have intercepted a package addressed to you for law enforcement purposes. It is urgent that we speak with you. Press 1 to speak with an officer.”
This is where well-trained modern persons hang up, if they even stuck around this long. But I am a diehard human interactionist who was enjoying coffee on a sunny patio at that moment, so I pressed 1.
There was the familiar popping sound of the call being routed to a call center after which a purported CBP officer picked up the phone and introduced himself simply as “Adam.”
“Adam, I understand you intercepted a package for me!” I…
