Can you tell a scam from a legitimate call? Sometimes it’s easy. But sometimes… well, read it for yourself.
Even though there’s this “internet thing”, our phones remain scammers’ weapons of choice. And it’s easy to tell why. According to the FTC, the median loss from a successful phone scam is about $1,000, which is more than triple the median loss across all fraud types out there.
New technologies make phone scams even easier. In the past, phone hackers trying to mask a phone number behind someone else’s used so called “orange boxes”, a fairly complex hardware. Nowadays, literally anybody can use simple solutions like a mobile app, which allows users to mask their real phone number.
5 most often types of scam you can come across
Any scam can happen over the phone. However, some of them are more common than others. These are the most often.
Imposter scams
In this case, a scammer claims to be someone you should trust, such as a government agency’s or the IRS’ employee. They’re usually after your social security number or even your money.
How does the government scam work?
Debt relief scams
There are a lot of financial companies that can address you via phone call. And there’s nothing wrong with them (except to the fact they’re bothering you with their calls, of course). But, unfortunately, there are those fake financial companies as well. They usually take advantage of the fact that the loan register is completely public. Thanks to it, the scammers know about every student loan that was ever taken out.
Charity scams
In general, there’s nothing wrong with donating. Although sometimes annoying, charity calls are not a bad thing. You’re given a chance to donate money for a good cause and, in fact, there are a lot of charitable organizations that use your donations to make a real difference in the world. However, your generosity can backfire on you.
Learn how charity scams work
Prize and lottery scams
Have you ever been dreaming of winning a lottery? Yes, you probably have. Now imagine this. You answer a call, and someone at the other end of the line says, “Your dream has come true, because you’ve just WON!” This is how a popular “you-won-scam” starts.
This is how a popular “you-won-scam” works
Travel scams
It has probably happened to you as well. You pick up the phone to receive the wonderful news: you’ve won a free vacation! But then you remember: you didn’t enter a contest, so how could have it happened?
Here’s an important fact: these „free vacation“ offers don’t have to be necessarily scam. However, it’s a huge grey area. Since even when you get your free trip in the end, there are always a lot of „buts“.
How to avoid travel scams?
How to get rid of scam calls?
If you don’t want to put up with all these scam calls anymore, you have three options. First, turn off your phone. Second, throw it away (and wait for Santa to bring you a new one). Third, get an effective spam blocker.
We believe in the third option. That’s why we created the new and improved Should I Answer app. For years, it’s been popular with millions of people all around the world. And that’s also the app’s greatest strength.
The Should I Answer app is based on a community spam database (there are 30 000 new reports daily!), so it can block all incoming spam calls for you. It’s also perfectly safe: your data and personal information never leave your phone.