Consumer Phone Scams: What’s New and How to Fight Back

Chances are you’ve answered the phone recently and heard a recorded message instead of a live person. Perhaps the call was about a candidate running for office, or a charity asking for donations. While annoying, these types of robocalls are perfectly legal.

However, if you ever answer the phone and hear a recorded sales message, and you haven’t given your written permission to receive calls from the company on the other end of line, that type of robocall is illegal. In fact, it’s probably a scam.

Our research team at Pindrop Labs recently analyzed the various types of phone scams being conducted in order to determine the frequency and timing of their occurrence, as well as the methods and motives of the perpetrators. After collecting and analyzing more than 100,000 calls from the first half of 2016 — of which about 30,000 were robocalls — we concluded the following key trends:

• Google is currently the top consumer phone scam. In this scam, callers are told their business listings on Google are not up to date, or they’re at risk of being removed from the top page of search results. “Consultants” who are not actually affiliated with Google promise to help business owners in return for a fee. However, usually the “consultants” are phishing for credit card information. While this type of scam first appeared in 2015, it’s gained serious traction this year, and variations exist such as Yahoo and Bing-related scams, too.
• Scammers are targeting small business owners. Small businesses continue to grow in popularity, and unfortunately, so, too, have the amount of robocall scams targeted at them. Scammers have pinpointed small business owners as lucrative targets, taking advantage of their lack of knowledge about online search optimization. In fact, Pindrop Labs found that 29% of robocall scams this year targeted small business owners specifically.
• News cycles are driving scams. Scammers tend to devise scams based on timely and relevant news topics. For example, IRS scams gain popularity right before tax season and lose popularity afterwards. Political scams are more common during and around election years, and since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, four different types of Obamacare-related robocall scams have surfaced.

Popularity of Scams Are Always Changing

The biggest problem with consumer phone scams is that more often than not, they’re just the first step in a larger attack. Scammers rarely stop at stealing quick money from consumers. Instead, they’ll phish for personal information that can later be used to steal an identity and enable an account takeover attack at a large financial institution, insurance provider or retailer, for instance.

It’s important to understand the significant role consumer fraud plays in the larger threat landscape. To prevent becoming a victim of unsolicited robocalls calls, consumers and businesses alike should implement these four tips:

• Register all phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry. Also, consumers should consider implementing a call-blocking service such as Hiya or Truecaller. These applications can identify when a call is from a scammer by checking the number against databases of phone numbers commonly used by illegal robocallers.
• Never wire money. In 2015, the FTC banned all wire transfers, reloadable cash cards, and payment orders for phone transactions. So if a caller asks you to pay using one of these methods, it’s definitely a scam.
• Don’t interact with the robocaller. Scammers keep lists of “live” contacts, so don’t respond, interact or even request to be removed during a robocall. If the scammer detects a human on the other end of the line, they’ll make a note to start calling you more often.
• Call them back. If you’re doubtful about whether or not a robocall is legitimate, ask them if you call them back. If the caller says that’s not possible, they’re likely a scammer. If the caller says you can call them back, don’t use the number the initial caller gives you or the Caller ID number. Rather, ask for a case number for your scenario and then look up the number for the specific organization on your own.

According to a recent survey, 86% of Americans have received at least one spam call on their landline or mobile phone in the past month, and more than half (53%) have received a spam text in the past month. Worse yet, an estimated 27 million American consumers lost approximately $7.4 billion to phone scams last year, averaging $274 per victim.

Don’t let robocall scams disrupt your life and risk your safety. Stay current on the latest phone fraud trends, and take action to protect yourself and your business. While robocall scammers are undoubtedly prevalent and maddeningly persistent, it is possible to thwart their attacks and remain secure.