Spam calls are ubiquitous as fraudsters have found more ways to deceive consumers and trick them into buying a car warranty or other services and giving up personal data.
The number of voice and text message spams, also known as robo calls and robo texts, has escalated even as consumers attempt to thwart them. Cyber criminals are looking to make a quick buck and steal your identity.
Vehicle warranties are the hot scam at the moment, followed by bogus Medicare calls and tax fraud pitches, according to a report conducted by TrueCaller, a Stockholm-based caller ID and spam blocking app.
Phone scams are lucrative to fraudsters The average amount of money lost to phone scams was $577, up 14.94% from the average a year earlier of $502.
Over 68 million Americans fell for a racket, costing a total of $39.5 billion, the highest amount ever, the report said.
Most Popular Phone Scams
Some phone spams are innocuous and just aggressive and misleading marketing, Brian Contos, chief security officer of Phosphorus Cybersecurity, told TheStreet. Many others, however, are more malicious with the goal of stealing people’s money and identity by infecting their devices with malware.
The scammers are sophisticated and keep adopting strategies that make the calls look more authentic. One common ploy being used by hackers is called “neighbor spoofing,” which is when the criminal uses local area code phone numbers to target people.
Car warranty scams are a “huge problem” and have…
