From relentless telemarketers to misdialed calls, we all see unknown numbers pop up on our phone screens more often than we’d like. Most Americans say they don’t answer when they get these calls, but some of us pick up just in case—and by doing so, we could be putting ourselves at risk. In many instances, there’s a scammer on the other end of the line. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) just released a new alert to people across the country, warning them about a rising scam aimed at anyone who picks up calls from numbers they don’t recognize. Read on to find out what the FBI says you should be listening for.
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If you’re feeling overwhelmed with robocalls, you’re hardly alone. Robokiller, an app dedicated to combating these calls, recently released its 2022 Mid-Year Phone Scam Report, detailing how prevalent this problem really is.
According to the report, Americans have already received an estimated 40 billion spam calls between Jan. and June 2022 alone. It’s projected that by the end of this year, these robocalls will reach a height of over 86 billion—a 19 percent increase from the year prior. “Spam calls are on pace to reach the highest levels on record,” Robokiller warned in its report.
With unwanted calls and robocalls, it’s often a scammer on the other end of the line, according to the Federal Trade…
