5 Phone Scams That Target People Just Like You
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated with the rise of e-commerce and online banking, but many still prey on victims using old-school phone scams. In fact, for people who have been victims of a financial scam, phone scams ranked first among 14 different fraud categories included in a GOBankingRates survey of more than 1,100 U.S. adults.
Nearly 49% of financial scam victims said they have been victims of a phone scam. That percentage was well above the No. 2 type of scam, which involves money transfer or mobile payment services (cited by about 20% of respondents).
Of the GBR respondents who have been the victim of a financial scam, here’s how many were targeted by phone scammers per age group:
- 18-24 years old: 50.88% of respondents
- 25-34: 47.73%
- 35-44: 53.57%
- 45-54: 42.50%
- 55-64: 48.28%
- 65 and older: 50%
Phone scams come in many forms, ranging from robocalls to texts, but they tend to make similar threats and promises, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Here are common phone scams that target people just like you.
Business and Investment Scams
This is a popular scam in which the caller promises to help you start your own business or guarantees big profits from an investment. You’ll be asked to provide funds — and if you fall for it, you’ll probably never see those funds again.
Impersonator Scams
This scam involves callers pretending to be someone you can trust, such a government agency, law enforcement officer, court official, family member or business you recognize. They typically ask you to provide financial or personal information to address some kind of fake problem.
Debt Relief and Credit Repair
With this scam, you will be made an offer to lower your credit card interest rates, improve your credit score or get loans forgiven if you pay a fee. If you fall for this scam, you face the risk of losing money and ruining your credit.
Charity Scams
Here’s another popular scam that involves callers posing as real charities and asking for donations. Before handing over your money, take the time to vet the charity on your own and then donate through its official channels.
Prize Scams
In a typical prize scam, the caller will tell you that you’ve won a prize but need to pay taxes, registration fees or shipping charges to get it. If you get one of these calls, you can be sure it’s a scam.
The best way to deal with these types of scams is to simply hang up the phone and block the number. One thing you shouldn’t do is trust the caller ID — chances are the scammer figured out a way to make it look like you’re getting a call from an official agency or legitimate business.
If you’ve lost money to a phone scam or have information about the company or scammer who called you, let the FTC know about it by visiting ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you didn’t lose money and just want to report a call, use the reporting form at DoNotCall.gov.
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