U.S. citizens find themselves the victims of an increasing number of spam phone calls, commonly referred to as robocalls. These annoying calls are happening more frequently. In fact, Americans received 7% more spam calls in 2019 than in 2018, according to the most recent research.
Although several different scams exist, the most common calls received in 2019 included health-related scams, interest rate scams, student loan scams, social security scams, and warranty scams. Robocalls led to approximately 25 million Americans becoming the victims of fraud in 2018. That number is expected to be much higher for 2019.
Despite efforts by service providers to halt these types of calls, robocalls increased by 35% in 2019. It’s estimated that the average American received approximately 18 robocalls per month throughout most of the year. This totals around 60 billion robocalls in 2019.
Robocallers Becoming More Sophisticated
It seems that the creators of robocalls are getting much more sophisticated, making it possible for them to get through to more people. Many have begun using spoofing techniques to avoid detection and encourage more unsuspecting victims to answer the call. Scammers often hide their identity by using phone numbers or area codes that users will recognize. It’s hard to ignore a call that looks like it’s coming from your neighbor.
In an effort to prevent spoofing, the FCC has mandated service providers to use caller verification at the network level to ensure the legitimacy of the call. All major service providers must implement the Signature-Based Handling of Asserted Information using ToKENs and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited standard (SHAKEN/STIR) by the end of the year.
Protect Yourself From Annoying Robocalls!
Although actions taken by service providers will offer some protection from these calls, it’s important that citizens protect themselves as well. Never answer a call from a number you don’t recognize. If you do receive a robocall:
- Hang up the phone
- Block the phone number
- Report the call at https://FTC.gov/complaint
It’s important to take action against robocall scams. Fortunately, there are ways to detect and block these types of calls. Computer Repair by Marcus can help! Please contact us for more information.
