If I had to make a confident prediction for 2024, I wouldn’t say a word about the markets or inflation. I would be pretty sure that there will be more robocall scams.
Although this is not a scientific sampling, I can tell you the volume of robocalls just on my phone alone has skyrocketed. It’s everything from appliance warranties to Medicare Advantage plans. And they call all the time. Many robocallers are cyberthieves, though, who are reading scripts to steal your personal information.
Scamsters count on people picking up and giving out personal financial information. Then they can steal money or use information for identity theft. The sheer volume of this thievery is mind boggling.
According to Robokiller, “consumers received an average of 145,612,964 robocalls per day in November, 2023, alone. With this kind of scam volume, consumers need to know how to identify theft versus fraud.”
Here’s the distinction between outright theft and fraud: Identity theft is “when someone steals another person’s identifying information, typically with the intention of selling it on the dark web or using it to commit fraud. Identity fraud is often the next step after identity theft, and it occurs when the thief fraudulently uses someone else’s personal information.
There’s an extensive black market for stolen personal data on the dark web. Information is bought and sold 24/7. How do you protect yourself? It’s not complicated.
You can, of course, buy a spam blocking app for your phone, which will shut down most scam calls, although this software is not foolproof. The Better Business Bureau recommends the following:
Register your telephone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry or List. In the U.S. the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) runs the National Do Not Call Registry. In Canada, it’s the National Do Not Call List.
Report illegal robocalls. In the U.S., report these calls to the FTC and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In Canada, you can file a complaint here. This will help federal agencies to identify the source of unwanted calls and take legal actions against offenders.
Watch out for neighbor spoofing. Many scammers use numbers conspicuously similar to your own to try to convince you to answer the call. Remember, con artists can easily fake caller ID numbers, so don’t answer calls from someone you don’t know – even if the call appears to be coming from someone who lives in your area.
If you answer an illegal robocall by accident, hang up immediately. Some robocalls ask you to press a button to stop receiving calls or say “yes” in reply to a question. These are tricks scammers use to identify and target live respondents. They may even use your “yes” to authorize charges to which you haven’t agreed.
The best way to short-circuit a robocall scam is simple. Look at the number calling you. If you don’t recognize it, let it go to voicemail. Robocallers usually don’t leave a message. If they do, you can identify them immediately and mark them as “spam.”
